by Carol
Gannaway
When you
call your cat to come in, if he dawdles around before he does
in, no problem. You open the door and pet him as he walks in.
You call your husband in for lunch he responds "Be there
in a minute", no problem. You sit and have a pleasant lunch
together. You call your dog to you and he looks at you and finishes
sniffing around for a few moments then comes to you, some dog
owners would berate the dog for his delayed response. Yes our
faithful companion, the dog, is held to a standard like no other
creature in our lives.
| Or,
maybe this is the how it goes at your house. You call your
dog "Fido come!" and he sniffs a bit longer and
then takes off running in the other direction or your dog
comes but stops just out of reach and as you try and reach
for the collar, off he goes. The game is on! These last
two scenarios will require that you, as your companion's
"advisor", should concentrate on retraining your
dog to reliably to come when called. |
 |
This retraining
process could take as long as a year. It depends on how much
time you spend practicing with your dog. Where do you start?
I think of the come when called as having your dog sit in front
and look at you. So anytime your dog is sitting in front of
you and looking at you, praise and reward him for a "Good
come!" This is how you want your dog to end up when you
call him, sitting in front and looking at you. You are going
to want to work on this for a few days with lots of repetitions
and delicious rewards.
During
the next step in the training process you will have your dog
on his 6 foot leash and when he is not paying attention to you,
but not very far away, call him to you "Fido, come!"
he should come and sit in front. Praise and reward, make it
meaningful! If your dog doesn't quit what he is doing take a
few steps backwards. To further encourage your dog to come your
direction, you may want to pat your leg with your hands or open
your arms. Fido should end up with a nice sit in front of you.
Praise and reward.
Practice
the above hundreds of times over the next few weeks, until your
dog can think of nothing better to do when you call "Come"
than to head your way and sit in front. Once this part is reliable
you will want to add the use of a retractable leash or long
line to your training so your dog will be further away. You
will still have the security of the leash to help your dog make
the correct choice to earn praise and reward.
Once the
above is reliable and your dog heads your way every time you
are ready for this next step.
You will
need a 20 foot long-line you can easily make out of rope. This
long line should have a snap hook on one end and a big knot
on the other end. With the long line dragging behind your call
him to you. Make sure you are standing close enough to the line
so you will be able to step on it of needed. The knotted end
will prevent the line from sliding
under your shoe. Repeat this in as many different places and
situations as possible. This is called proofing your training.
Don't be surprised if during the training you have to go
