Probably the most important command a dog can ever learn is to come when he is called. In our daily lives with our dogs we might encounter many different situations in which we choose to call our dogs. Most often we would do so because he is playing off the leash and we want to walk home.
But there are also other -potentially dangerous- situations in which you might need to call your dog. His ability to listen to your command and respond properly by coming to you could then even safe his life!
To avoid such tragedy, our dog absolutely needs to obey this command. One thing to keep in mind to make him want to come to you is to always be cheerful when he comes to you and to always reward him for this behavior. The only way to make him come consistently and reliably is for him to know that coming to you when called is the best thing in the world.
With that being said, it is actually quite easy to make mistakes when calling your dog - mistakes that would want him to NOT come to you. Here's the two biggest:
The first mistake: Our dog is playing away, having a wonderful time. We call him, but he is too preoccupied to pay attention. Eventually, he does come around and comes happily running toward us.
But having waited this long, we are less than pleased. We know he was fully aware of the command, yet he intentionally disobeyed! Hardly the kind of behavior that we desire. And naturally we would want to scold him for that.
But beware: We just discussed the importance of being happy when our dog comes to us. Scolding him would be the exact opposite - something our dog would always remember with great displeasure.
The second mistake: This mistake is quite similar to mistake number one. But in a way, it is more vicious, because we often make it without even being aware of it. Let's say our dog is running around, we call him, and he responds. We greet him happily (excellent!), but we are in a hurry, and so home we go.
Careful: To our dog this might still seem like a punishment! After all, before he came to us, he was having a great time - and then he came, and the fun was over in an instant! And home he has to go... that just doesn't seem right to him. To avoid leaving this impression on your dog, just play with him for a little while before heading home.
But there are also other -potentially dangerous- situations in which you might need to call your dog. His ability to listen to your command and respond properly by coming to you could then even safe his life!
To avoid such tragedy, our dog absolutely needs to obey this command. One thing to keep in mind to make him want to come to you is to always be cheerful when he comes to you and to always reward him for this behavior. The only way to make him come consistently and reliably is for him to know that coming to you when called is the best thing in the world.
With that being said, it is actually quite easy to make mistakes when calling your dog - mistakes that would want him to NOT come to you. Here's the two biggest:
The first mistake: Our dog is playing away, having a wonderful time. We call him, but he is too preoccupied to pay attention. Eventually, he does come around and comes happily running toward us.
But having waited this long, we are less than pleased. We know he was fully aware of the command, yet he intentionally disobeyed! Hardly the kind of behavior that we desire. And naturally we would want to scold him for that.
But beware: We just discussed the importance of being happy when our dog comes to us. Scolding him would be the exact opposite - something our dog would always remember with great displeasure.
The second mistake: This mistake is quite similar to mistake number one. But in a way, it is more vicious, because we often make it without even being aware of it. Let's say our dog is running around, we call him, and he responds. We greet him happily (excellent!), but we are in a hurry, and so home we go.
Careful: To our dog this might still seem like a punishment! After all, before he came to us, he was having a great time - and then he came, and the fun was over in an instant! And home he has to go... that just doesn't seem right to him. To avoid leaving this impression on your dog, just play with him for a little while before heading home.
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