Come When Called...Or Not?

Does your dog come when called?  For most of us, the answer is, "It depends." It depends on whether there's another dog around, whether you're at home or on the beach, whether your dog feels like it, and so on.  Most dog owners don't have this problem when their dog is still in puppyhood.  But come adolescence, the dogs develop more independence (just like teenage kids) and they'd rather do their own thing than hang out with Mom and Dad.

Well then, you say, how do you get your dog to come when there are distractions?  It's all about mentally conditioning your dog to think that coming to you is a good thing.  Below are 12 guidelines to help you teach your dog to come amidst distractions...

1. MAKE IT WORTHWHILE FOR YOUR DOG

Make it worthwhile for your dog to come to you.  You have to look at it from your dog's point of view.  For instance, let's say your dog is playing with his friends and you ask him to come to you.  He complies, and all he gets is a lousy pet on the head (which he could care less about!), and then you put him on leash and take him away from his friends.  Was it worth it for your dog?  Probably not :-)

Praise is good, but it usually doesn't work as an only reward.  If your boss at work praised you profusely for doing a good job, it might make you feel good, but if you didn't also get paid, then you'd probably end up quitting your job.  We all work for something.  Think about what your dog will work for.

A lot of clients tell me, "My dog loves attention, so praise and petting should be enough of a reward for him."  I see their point - typically a dog loves attention when he has nothing better to do - but if he is distracted, then he could care less about your attention!

2. USE HIGH-VALUE TREATS OR REWARDS

For some dogs that are not food-motivated, a tug toy or tennis ball might serve as a good reward.  For most dogs however, food is the number one thing they will work for.  If you're going to use food rewards, use high-value treats.  Coming when called is one of the most important things a dog can learn - it could even save his life.  So pay for his compliance with something good like real chicken, freeze-dried salmon or something equally valuable to the dog.  Dry biscuits are not as effective because they are not stinky and wet.  In summary, the reward should be equal in value or more valuable than whatever your dog is leaving in order to come to you.

For instance, if your dog is doing nothing and he comes to you, you don't need to give him a steak.  But if your adolescent dog (who LOVES other dogs) is playing with his friends and he comes to you when called, then he probably deserves a piece of meat, or even a few pieces!

Mix up the rewards too.  Don't always use the same treat.  Keep your dog guessing.

3. NO BRIBING

There's a big difference between rewarding and bribing.  Don't bribe your dog (e.g. with food), or he'll always depend on seeing the bribe.  It's okay to bribe the first few times when working with a particular distraction, in order to show your dog that it pays to go away from that distraction and come to you. But after the first few times, give your dog a chance to voluntarily come and THEN get rewarded.

4. ASSESS DIFFICULTY LEVEL OF EACH DISTRACTION

Recognize that each distraction is at a different difficulty level.  You have to train (condition) your dog at each level. It would help to make a list of your dog's distraction and rate the difficulty level.  For instance:

~ Geckos - MILDLY DIFFICULT

~ Smells - grass, trees, other dogs' pee - MODERATELY DIFFICULT

~ Other dogs - VERY DIFFICULT

~ Food in the bushes - VERY DIFFICULT
~ Cats - ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE

Keep in mind also that the DISTANCE from which you call your dog can add to the difficulty level.  Your dog might easily leave a faint smell on the grass and come to you from 5 feet away, but not if you are 20 feet away.

If your dog hasn't learned to come to you at a certain difficulty level yet, then don't ask him to Come.  Either don't put yourselves in that situation or manage the situation (i.e. use a long leash or Flexi-leash).

5. SET YOUR DOG UP FOR SUCCESS

While your dog is still learning to come to you and away from distractions, meet him halfway if you have to.  For instance, walk halfway to your dog and then ask him to Come.  Don't use Come when the situation or distraction is beyond your dog's level of training.  It will only teach your dog to ignore you. Instead, if you happen to be in an off-leash situation in a location where the distractions are very high, you might try rewarding your dog for "checking in" with you voluntarily, rather than explicitly asking for a Come.

If your dog is playing with other dogs, learn to recognize the quick natural pauses in the play, and use those moments to call your dog, rather than saying Come when they're in the middle of wrestling on the ground. 

6. SEND YOUR DOG BACK TO PLAY 9 OUT OF 10 TIMES

Nine out of ten times that you ask for a Come, send your dog back to play (or whatever he was doing before you called him) right after he comes to you and gets his reward.  This way, your dog will learn that when he comes to you, he gets a yummy treat PLUS he gets to go back and play. If you only use Come for things that your dog doesn't enjoy, such as taking a bath or clipping his nails or leaving the dog park, then your dog will think of Come as a bad thing.

7. COMMUNICATE CLEARLY

Be clear in your communication.  I recommend saying your dog's name first, and then the cue Come.  For instance, "Fido, (dog looks), Come!" rather than "Come here puppy" one day and then "Over Here" another day.  Say the name clearly first, wait for a head turn or acknowledgment, and then immediately say Come (or use a hand signal) with enthusiasm.

Remember that it's windy in Hawaii, and there are times when your dog may not hear you because you are downwind from him

8. USE PRAISE AND BODY LANGUAGE EFFECTIVELY

In order to encourage your dog to come to you, praise your dog enthusiastically once he starts walking or running towards you.  I often see dogs that start coming to the owner, but get distracted halfway and walk away.  Praising your dog with enthusiasm as he's coming to you will keep your dog focused on you.  You might also find that standing sideways (i.e not facing your dog directly), or slowly walking in the other direction (i.e. away from your dog) as you call him will also encourage your dog to come to you.  Facing your dog or walking towards him as you say Come may appear as a chase and trigger his "running away" instinct.

Another thing I see often is a dog coming to the owner but then ducking from the owner's hands, or not coming all the way (i.e. dog returns but stays 3 feet away), or coming all the way and then immediately taking off.  Often it's because the owner inadvertently had been doing one of a few things such as:

~ Hovering over the dog when the dog came

~ Petting the dog on top of the head or all over his face (most dogs don't like that)

~ Grabbing the dog's collar in an invasive way

To avoid this reaction from your dog, you can stand straight and have your dog target your hand (which is holding the reward treat).  If you have to leash your dog, then gently and inconspicuously grab her collar while she's eating the treat, not afterwards.

9. GIVE YOUR DOG ENOUGH EXERCISE, DOG PLAY AND OFF-LEASH TIME

Make sure that your dog regularly gets enough exercise, socialization with other dogs and/or off-leash time to get his ya-ya's out.  Otherwise, he may run off every time you take his leash off, because that's the only way he can fulfill his own needs.

For an energetic or young dog, a 30-minute leashed walk in your neighborhood is not going to cut it, even if it's twice a day.  They need to run or play with other dogs or play fetch or go hiking!

10. SAY IT ONCE

Get in the habit of only saying Come once.  Otherwise the cue becomes "Come, come, come" and your dog will learn that he doesn't have to come the first time you say it.  But what if your dog doesn't come the first time you say it?  Read on...

11. COME MEANS COME, NO MATTER WHAT 

Don't allow your dog to blow you off. If you follow the rules above, including not asking for more than your dog is capable of, then your dog shouldn't blow you off.  But life happens, and you will find yourself in situations when your dog blows you off, assuming he heard you say Come.  In these situations, go get your dog!  Don't scold or punish your dog, just go get your dog.  The consequence for Come has to be that your dog comes back to you, whether he does so voluntarily or you have to go get him.  Consistency is important, or else your dog can learn that he can get away with blowing you off!

12. REWARD SCHEDULES

When your dog is is initially learning Come, or if he is learning for the first time to Come away from a particular type of distraction (such as another dog), you should reward every single time he complies to your Come.

Once your dog becomes reliable at coming away from a particular distraction, then you can switch to rewarding him on a random basis. For instance you might reward him once out of 2-4 times or just for the quickest response out of 3 responses.  It's scientifically proven that a random reward schedule will make a behavior stronger.  You can see it in gamblers - they'd get bored if they won every single time, and they'd lose interest if they NEVER won, but because they only win sometimes, they are driven to keep gambling.

+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=

I hope these guidelines help you train your dog's recall.  As with the rest of the advice on my blog, they are just guidelines, and I recommend supplementing them with a group class or private lessons with an in-person trainer.  There also some great videos out there including Dr. Patricia McConnell's "Lassie Come!" video:

http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/product/lassie-come-dvd-dog-recall-training  

Happy Training!