HOME :: Pets / Dogs How to Train Your Dog to Come to You When You Call to Him

One of the most frustrating things for some dog owners is having a dog that won't come to them when called upon. After all, one of the reasons to get a dog in the first place is to have one that is responsive to you. Unfortunately, not all dogs are that responsive whether it be because their breed is one that is less tractable compared to other breeds or the personality of the dog tends to be more independent. Fortunately, these difficulties can be overcome through obedience training of your dog. Obedience training is an important skill for your dog to develop if you want him to be able to come to you when you call or perform other tasks or tricks. Here, we will take a look at how you can develop this skill in your dog.

First, it is important to begin obedience training at the right age. The best time to begin this training is at about 3 to 6 months of age. The reason is the dog is most responsive to training at this point and has developed enough to where they can appreciate what is going on. However, older dogs can still learn to become more obedient too although they may be less responsive than younger dogs.

Second, once you have begun your training. You need to develop a plan of allowing the dog to respond to your voice and come to you. One of the easiest ways to do this is to have the dog associate your voice with him or her getting food. The goal is to develop a Pavlovian response where your voice means food to the dog and the result will be a dog that comes to you when you call them.

To develop this skill, you should cut up a big slab of meat into about 100 small square pieces. Then, while on the sofa in your home, give a piece to your dog and say "Here, boy" or you could use the dogs name. After you give the dog the first piece, you should ignore the dog until it gets bored. Then, you should give the command again and give the dog another piece of meat and then ignore the dog again. This process should be done again and again. The result is a dog that will respond to this command through all of the repetition.

Later on, you should stop using food, and simply give positive reinforcement after the dog comes running to you. This will allow you to substitute out the food but still get the positive result. In addition, the dog will feel good as you are patting them on the head or petting them after they come over.

By using these simple steps, you can have your dog come to you when you call and be well on your way to having a more obedient dog.