Whats the best way to teach your dog to come whenever you tell him to?

Question

everytime i tell him to come he never does unless i have a treat.. and show ti to him before hand, how can i make him obedient.. hes a 3month yr old chihuahua, anyone have some tips? i dont want him to think hes the alpha abd only come when he wants to..

Answer 1

We've recently learned how to do this in a puppy class for our 5 month old Border Collie. One thing to remember is your puppy is very young and it can take time and patience to get this command down.

First rule, when you call your dog to come, never do it so that you can punish your dog. They'll come to think this is what they get for coming and simply won't do it anymore.

We started inside our home. You need a couple things ready to go for this...
1) Lots of small soft treats. I cut soft treats into smaller pieces as a little treat goes a long way.
2) A big hapy to see you voice. The happier, the better. A stern voice is what you might use for discipline and you don't want your puppy thinking that's what's going to happen when you call to come.

Have a friend help you the first few times. Set up in a room with you, your friend and your puppy. Call your puppy's name followed by the "come" command. The moment your puppy turns in your direction, immediately say "yes" and continue with happy good dog praises as your puppy comes to you (if your puppy doesn't come the first time, you may need to get closer to the puppy until he realizes what you're trying to do). When your puppy arrives, take your left hand and place the thumb in the back of the collar so your fingers can scratch the back and neck gently. The scratch feels good to the puppy and your puppy will come to like this and be more easy to train to allow you to take hold of the collar. The whole time continue to offer happy praises to your pup. Once you have hold of the collar, then give the puppy the treat. Attempt to do this without the puppy actually seeing the treat first. The idea of the dog learning you to take hold of the collar is so that you will have control of your dog. If the puppy was heading for the road, you want to make sure he doesn't turn and head back once you've given the treat. Now release the puppy and have your friend do the exact same thing. Do this excercise a couple times a day in 10 minute sessions. You will probably notice that your puppy is getting it after the first day or two.

Once your puppy is responding well with the help of your friend, you should now be able to do this alone. When you're in a room with your puppy and your puppy is distracted, call your puppy's name and the come command. Continue as above, saying yes when your puppy responds and praising as your puppy comes to you. Do this throughout the day, when your puppy is off doing other things. Once you know your puppy will respond to the command in the same room, try doing it from the next room. When your puppy is coming from another room, you should be able to take this now outside to a confined yard.

This also takes lots of time and patience as some dogs catch on faster than others. But being persistent will eventually show good results.

I would also suggest seeking out a good training class as a good trainer can take you and your puppy a long way and be so helpful. It's also good to socialize your puppy with other dogs and people. A good start in finding a good trainer is to call or email a local Obedience Club, Agility Club or Breed specific Club. These people will have good suggestions and will refer you to trainers they have used and have been happy with in the past. We contacted our local agility club and found an excellent trainer. We had already signed up for one class, but this trainer used fearful methods and I was not okay with that. There's better ways to teach your pup you are the dominant one than to instill fear of you into them.

Hope this helps and Good Luck!

Answer 2

Make sure every time you call the pup to you that you can enforce it. Never say "come" if you are going to have to chase the dog for 15 minutes or if you don't feel like getting up off the sofa to make him come to you. Do not teach him it's okay to ignore you!

Sound inviting and exciting when you call him. No dog is going to come to someone if they think they are going to get into trouble.

Stop showing your pup the treat to get him to come, but use it to reinforce him for doing so. If you don't nip that in the bud now, he will think part of the cue for coming is you waving a treat.

When he does come to, load on the praise and fun. Use treats, toys, or a walk to reward him. The faster he comes to you, the better the reward should be.

Answer 3

Start off by telling him to come here and use his name flash a treat At him when he comes to get the treat make sure to let him know that he did good by petting him and saying "good boy". Keep doing this for a couple of weeks may need longer for some dogs eventually stop giving him treats and just keep the verbal treats and he will learn.

Answer 4

first mistake is giving your pet a treat everytime he does something you ask him to do. I substituted treats for toys not always but used the toy much better. As far as the dog not listening to you when you tell him to come be firm realy firm and speak loudly. When my dog decides she wants to ignore me, I use the command voice and say come now. If my dog still doesn't come to me and I start taking steps, you should see how fast she comes to me then. I had to spank her a few times with a newspaper when she didn't obey my command, now she does. Just keep at it and be firm. Giving treats is good, but try praising the dog instead of giving treats and toys. Go and pet him and say good dog, good boy, or whatever you wish to say when he obeys. good luck.

Answer 5

I've had good luck using physical commands. When I was teaching my dog to come, I would say "come" and pat both hands on the ground. Now, she reliably knows come.

Also, if she isn't listening when you tell her to come, she may think she is alpha to you and you may need to start exerting yourself as her boss (like the Dog Whisperer says).

Answer 6

we've been using the clicker method and it works great. Now we don't need the clicker or a treat and she'll come even if she's in trouble.

google clicker dog training and the sites are endless

Answer 7

If you want to work for a while on it, by a LONG leash and attach him. Walk to the end of the leash and then kneel down and call him. If he doesn't respond give the leash a little tug.

Answer 8

put a chain on him and have him across the room. then say come after you say it pull him to you with the chain that way he come to you. after you get him to you give him a treat. do it over and over again until he learns it. it may take a while! lol

Answer 9

hode a dog tret in your hand and say come or you dog's name like this (come)

Answer 10

hold food and say come here