Thursday, July 8, 2010

Dog Training Information - Training Your Dog to Come When Called

How to train your dog to come when called.

One of the most important skills that dogs can learn is to come to you when called. All dog owners would never put their dogs in dangerous situations. The "come" command is very useful in averting you dog from a deer chase, a car-dog collision and other potential dangers. Once trained, your dog can be given the freedom to go on hiking trails, to play in the park, or roam anywhere else because you are confident that you can call her back.

To make training easier, you need to convince your dog that you are more likable than short-term freedom. Rewards should be given at all times and training sessions should be kept short. However, teaching a dog to come when called can be difficult at times because most dogs discover that you cannot outrun them and that escape is more fun than walking calmly beside you. If at all possible, freedom should never be given to your dog until reliability has been proven at coming when called.

When and how to reward

At all times, dogs should be rewarded for moving the right way, for the full action and for best efforts. You can give rewards like food treats, toys, games and praises. As long as your dog wants that particular thing, it can be considered a reward.

Name recognition

In order to make your dog recognize its name, you can hold a reward between your dog's eye line and yours. Then say its name and give the reward the moment it looks at you.

Coming when called

In order to make your dog come to you when called, you can show a treat or a toy then move about a few paces away. Call out its name and say the word "come" in a cheerful voice while smiling and gesturing. When your dog comes to you, hold the collar and you can either play with it or give the treat. Increase the distance between you and your dog gradually until such time you call from room to room or in and out of the house and it comes to you immediately. Never call your dog if you are going to shout at it or inflict punishment because it might have a negative impact to the training. Always make it a point to make learning pleasurable and pleasant. Your dog is more likely to respond to the training if the training is enjoyable.

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