Training your dog to come while its called

Instructing a k9 to come after it’s called can be a fundamental, and likely life saving, component to every successful puppy training course.  Any effectively trained dogs must learn how to react quickly to the owner’s voice, and also earlier that lesson is learned the better.

The benefits of training your puppy to come as soon as called are understandable.  For starters, coming as soon as called will assist you regain control of your puppy in case of collar break, snapped leash or other related equipment failure.  This is particularly important while you are out with your dog, especially in an area with lots of traffic.  It can be vital that your canine friend respond to your voice and return to your side, even in your absence of collar and leash, and whether there are lots of other things competing for its attention.

Coming while called just happens to be a crucial talent for every single working puppy.  Whether your dog’s job is herding sheep, guarding livestock, or sniffing out bombs and drugs at your airport, your working four-legged friend must be under total control at all times, whether on leash or off.

Even if your dog’s sole job is being a loyal friend, it will be still vital that he learn this important basic obedience exercise.  After the first obedience lessons, such as heeling, stopping on command, sitting on command, etc. have been learned, it will be time to start incorporating the come when called lessons into your daily training sessions.

One note about k9 training – it is all too easy for training sessions to become dull and routine for both handler and dog.  A bored k9 will not be receptive to learning, just as a bored handler will not be a good teacher.  This is important, therefore, to always incorporate fun things and play into each and every training session.  Incorporating a few minutes of play time before your lesson begins can do wonders for the attitude of k9 and human alike.  Likewise, ending each training session having a few minutes of free play time is a great way to end on a positive note and to help your four-legged friend associate obedience training with fun and not drudgery.

The command to stay and the command to come anytime called are often combined in obedience training lessons, and they do go naturally together.  Start with the k9 on a loose leash, ask the pet to sit and then slowly back away.  If the four-legged friend begins to get up and follow you, return to the four-legged friend and ask him to sit again.  Continue this process until you can reach the end of your leash without your pet getting up.

After you can successfully reach your end of your leash on a consistent basis, try dropping the leash altogether.  Of course you will want to do this in a controlled environment like a fenced in yard.  After your dog has mastered the stay command, it will be time to add your come while called command.

Take up your leash again, and with the four-legged friend on your end of the leash, say “come” or “come here”. Its often helpful to use a lure anytime training this behavior.  The lure provides a visible item for the puppy to focus on.  Training your dog to come to the lure is a good first step in training your four-legged friend to come as soon as called.

Repeat this procedure many times until your pet will consistently stay and then come as soon as called.  After the k9 has mastered coming anytime called while attached to the leash, slowly start introducing the concept while your leash is removed.  As before, these training sessions must only take place in a controlled, safe environment, such as a fenced in front or back yard.

A highly trained, obedient dog should respond to the call to return to its owner no matter where it’s and no matter what distractions may occur.  It will be therefore necessary to test the dog with distractions of your own.

If you have a neighbor, if at all possible one with a dog of their own, try having him come over with your dog.  Have him, and your dog, stand just outside your fenced in area and repeat your come anytime called exercise with the dog off leash.  If he becomes distracted by your other dog, put the leash back on and repeat the process.  The goal is to have your puppy consistently pay particular attention to your commands, whatever interruptions may possibly present themselves.

The use of reward training and positive reinforcement for dog training has long been recognized as both extremely effective for owner and a positive experience for the dog.  Positive reinforcement training is so important that it is the only method used to train dangerous animals like lions and tigers for work in circuses and in the entertainment industry.

Proponents of positive reinforcement swear by the effectiveness of their methods, and it is true that the vast majority of dogs respond well to these training methods.

Reward training has become increasingly popular in recent years, but chances are some sort of reward training between humans and dogs has been going on for hundreds if not thousands of years.

One reason that positive reinforcement training is so effective is that is uses rewards to teach the dog what is expected of it.Provide the dog with a reward, most commonly in the form of a dog food treat, but it might also be a scratch behind the ears, a pat on the head or a rub under the chin when the dog performs the desired behavior.  The important thing is that the dog is rewarded consistently for doing the right thing.

When understanding what makes reward training so effective, some knowledge of the history of humans and dogs is very insightful.Years ago, wolf pups were tamed and used for protections from predators as alarm systems and later for herding and guarding livestock. 

 It is possible that the wolf pups that made the best companions were the most easily trained, or it is possible that these early dogs were orphaned or abandoned wolf pups.The wide variety of dog breeds that we see today, no doubt have their origin from the wolf.

 Wolf packs, like packs of wild dogs, operate on a strict pack hierarchy. Due to Dog and wolf packs hunting as a group, this type of hierarchy, and the teamwork it brings, is essential to the survival of the species.The hierarchy of a pack rarely changes with the exception of an injury or death and each dog know it’s status in the pack.

Every dog, therefore, is geared by nature to look to the pack leader for guidance.The foundation for any good dog trainer is to set themselves up as the pack leader in respect to the dog being trained.  The pack leader is more than just the dominant dog, or the one who instructs all the subordinates what to do.The pack leader provides protection and leadership and their leadership is vital to the survival of the pack.

 It is important for the dog to see itself as part of a pack, to recognize the human as the leader of that pack, and to respect his or her authority.Domination of certain dogs is much easier than others.  If you watch a group of puppies playing for a little while, you will quickly recognize the dominant and submissive personalities. 

A dog with a more submissive personality will generally be easier to train using positive reinforcement, since he or she will not want to challenge the trainer for leadership.  Even dominant dogs, however, respond very well to positive reinforcement.It is know that there are very few dogs that do not respond to positive reinforcement also called rewarding training.

 Positive reinforcement is also the best way to retrain a dog that has behavior problems, especially one that has been abused in the past. Getting the respect and trust of an abused dog can be very difficult, and positive reinforcement is better than any other training method at creating this important bond.

No matter what breed of dog you are working with, chances are it can be helped with positive reinforcement training methods. Training methods should be based on respect and trust, rather than pressure and fear is the best way to obtain the most from any dog.

All puppies seem to want to bite and all puppies should be taught to change this habit. A lot of characteristics that you find cute in your puppy, such as jumping on you or nibbling on your arm, must be corrected before your dog gets too big.

When a puppy is left in its natural environment, she will learn to control her biting. The reason is if she bites too much, the mother or her siblings will correct the dog. Since puppies are removed from this natural environment, training a puppy is up to you the owner.

Let your puppy play with other puppies so it learns from them what type of behavior is allowed.

There are special classes for puppies sponsored by pet shops called puppy playtime and puppy kindergarten. There your puppy can socialize with other canines and humans. When your puppy plays too rough and bites too much, the other puppies will correct her.

Always try how to train your dog when it is still a puppy. This goes for biting training as well. You need to have your dog spend time with other dogs. A dog that does not have the experience of socializing with other dogs can be hard to control and dangerous. Try to socialize your dog in the first 12 weeks of its life. This is according to dog training experts.

The same applies with training for dogs to socialize with people, particularly children. Parents may not want their child exposed to a dog that is older and bigger. It is best to allow your puppy to learn how to behave with children when it is still young and less of a threat.

Letting the puppy be around different things and people is a good idea. Like being around adults of different races, children, other puppies, cats.

Getting your animal to spend time with other dogs and people is important to ensuring your puppy does not bite. Also, it will help if you provide your pet with toys to bite on. It gives your dog something to do and helps him to not bite things he should not.

Tell your friends and family that you do not want you puppy to bite. If your pet bites one person and they do not scold the animal, then it will be confused and might bite someone else.

One thing that every dog must do is come when called. This is for the dogs own good as well as the welfare of other pets and people. Dogs need to be taught this for their own good because they can run into danger, like a car or an untrained animal. Once a dog is trained to come when called, you can take him out in public places.

It is not hard training for dogs to learn how to come when called. Basically, you would give your dog special treats when it listens to you. Training should be enjoyable for both you and your pet.

Before you start this type of dog teach training, make sure the animal is going to react positively to the type of food you will give him. Show the food to your pet and let him smell it. If he likes it, you can start.

Use small size food when dog pet training. You do not want to feed the animal too much where he does not get motivated to want to more food. Chicken and cheese are good to use.

Many professional dog trainers want the dog owner to work with them when they train the dog. This is because the dog must not only listen to one person. They need to understand that anyone who is in charge of them, will need them to listen. If someone in your family member wants to watch the dog, he will have a problem if your pet only listens to you. Have a friend or family member call the dog and then you do the same. Have your pet go back and forth, going from your friend to you. This is a great exercise. Stand approximately 30 feet away from each other in a safe place. You can call the dog and tell it to sit. Your friend can call the dog after you and then he can give the dog a treat. Every time the dog comes, give the dog a treat.

Try spreading out further and further away from each other. The dog will eventually have to look for you. It must search for you to get the food. This will teach your dog how to come when called.

Using the dogs own instincts is the best house training a dog method for your pet.This is what Crate training does. You would leave the dog confined to a small area of your house. Since dogs are naturally clean, they will not want to soil in their “den” area.

Potty training dogs can be done for any age pet using these techniques, as they have worked well for all dogs. There are mistakes that many do when trying to follow this type of house training philosophy. Don’t be inconsistent with the time that you feed your dog and do not rush the process. Rewarding the animal is good practice and this can cause the house training a dog to be trained quicker but do not move too fast.

When your dog has an “accident” it can be because the animal is in his den for too long a period or the den area is too big. It could mean that your pet has not understood yet that this den area is its bed. It could also be that the dog might have a urinary infection or another medical issue. Also it could mean that your dog is bored. Being bored might cause it to drink more water and urinate more. There are other signs of boredom as well. When your dog destroys things or nibbles on things he is not supposed to, he might be bored.

Your dog could think of its den in a negative way. This might be because the den was not introduced to your pet in the right way. He might feel trapped and may show this by whining, barking or by biting.

Get to know your dog and its needs. Make sure that the den area is safe and pleasant for your pet and provide a toilet area that is known to the dog. One of the biggest reasons dogs are given to shelters is because of “going” in the wrong place.