Thursday, April 6, 2017

Quick, Simple & Fun Way to Teach the "Come" Command to Your Dog





Are you tired of your dog running the other direction when you call his name? I was reading a post on Facebook about an owner who was frustrated about her dog ignoring her command to come. 

I suggested a game that I use to reinforce recall in my dogs. My dogs love this game and they are learning at the same time. It strengthens that "memory muscle" if you play the game often, so they can't even help themselves but to come to you when you say "come".

Here is the game:

1. Instead of feeding your dog's meal in a bowl, throw a few pieces on the floor. 

2. While they are gobbling those up, run to a different location & yell "come" in an excited & happy voice. 

3. When they get to you, say "yes!" and throw a few more pieces to the floor, run to a new location & yell "come!"  

4. Do this until you have fed the entire meal.  

If you feed every meal this way for a few weeks, they will come every time. They can't help themselves after being so conditioned.


BTW, dogs LOVE this game & they're learning a very important command at the same time!

Here is Daisy demonstrating how we play the game. She has gotten so good at it, she just automatically turns and runs to me.


6 comments:

  1. this is fun if your dog is food motivated. Not all dogs are, but the concept is still the same. The reward of returning has to trump the reward of running off.

    

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    1. I agree. If not food motivated, I would try a high value treat, ball, favorite toy, or praise.

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  2. I will try it with cheerios! I cook their food so it would be hard to do with food.

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    1. Let me know how it works for you! (P.S. I want to start cooking my dogs' food too. I am starting to research it. Where did you get your recipe(s)?

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