Holly’s Den

Fostering Peaceful Packs for Humans & Dogs

COME -Training

This study handout is divided into Part I-Discussion and Part II-The Training Exercises.

Part I. Discussion-Building the Foundation

Most people who seek obedience training for their dogs would very much like to have off leash reliability, which means that your dog will Come when called.  However, there is lot more involved in teaching a reliable recall (Come command) than in teaching a simple trick.   Whether a dog will come when called reflects both the basic state of the relationship between dog and owner and the level of training that has been achieved.   In addition, although some breeds and individual dogs within breeds have the type of temperament that makes them more naturally “hang about” dogs, those dogs that are more independent, more stubborn, more inquisitive or more confident present bigger training challenges. 

Overcoming Distractions--What makes training the recall more difficult than training most other things is that not coming when called and continuing to pursue a distraction can easily be more rewarding to your dog than coming to you (the problem of "competing motivations"). The solution is to make the response of coming when called a very strong ingrained habit, by beginning with great rewards in low distraction situations and gradually building reliability through proofing until your dog will come even in the face of greater temptation. 

Don’t make the common mistake of letting your dog off leash and calling her to come in circumstances where it is likely she won’t, and then compound your mistake by punishing her when she returns.   Instead, use good management to avoid giving your dog more freedom than she is ready to handle, and set your dog up for success by progressing one step at a time.  Avoid calling your dog to Come for anything she considers unpleasant—if she doesn’t like baths or getting her nails clipped, rather than calling her to come, go to her, put her leash on or take her gently by the collar.  When her playtime is over, don’t call her to end it—instead lure her to you with a squeaky toy, bouncing ball or treats—or run and encourage your dog to chase you 

Build Motivation--Always make coming very rewarding for your dog.  Call him to Come when he's hungry and use special treats he really loves to reward him.   Make sure that EVERY time he Comes when called something good happens – pop him a treat and reward with praise and play.  Meanwhile, make sure that you never allow him to practice and be self-rewarded or rewarded by the environment for not coming.   If possible, we don’t ever want our dogs to find out that they can successfully run away from us! 

Use Real Life Rewards--Set your dog up for success--After your dog has learned what the word COME means, begin to call her to come at those times when you know she will—for example, when your dog is hungry, call her to COME to the kitchen for her supper.  Call her to COME to the front door to go for a short walk  In these instances, giving her supper  and taking her outside for a walk are real life rewards for Coming.  Keep treats in your pocket and call her to COME from short distances in the house—when she does, click and treat or reward her by having a favorite special training toy on hand and playing with her.  Using different kind of rewards will make things more interesting for your dog and keep her motivated.

In the teaching phase with a green/novice dog, it is important that you save this exact command (Fido, COME) for those times 1) when your probability of success is high and 2) for when you really need it for your dog’s safety.  Whenever you use the C word be prepared to follow through to help your dog comply if necessary.   The goal is for your dog to believe that if you say this word, he should never ignore it!  When you want your dog to come in other circumstances, use other words and phrases, like “here Fido, or “Wanna go out”, etc. 

Adding distractions

Distractions introduce the problem of  “competing motivation.” The distraction may be a bush your dog is busy sniffing, another person walking by with a strange dog, a squirrel, or a child bouncing a ball, etc.  To train your dog to Come even in the presence of enticing distractions, you must begin with very mild and/or distant distractions and gradually work up to tougher ones.

Really Reliable Recalls--Off Leash Work

Safety First—The recall is one of the most difficult behaviors to instill to the point of high reliability—no animal is ever 100% reliable.  Therefore, never take a chance with your dog’s safety—only allow your dog off leash when the environment is safe to do so.  The long line is a safety tool for teaching your dog to come to you in open outdoor places.  You can buy these 20+foot long leads at area pet stores.

After your dog is doing well with the long line, you can begin your off leash work inside fenced ball fields or in other safe areas.    

If your dog is off leash and chooses not to come—this tells you that your dog is probably not yet ready to be off leash in the presence of this level of distraction.  Rather than get angry at your dog or take a chance with his safety, just realize that you were likely pushing too far too fast.

Part II –The Training Exercises

Level 1

Play Chase—Puppies and dogs love to play chase games but instead of chasing him, make sure that instead he chases you!  When he "catches" you, praise him and give him a treat or play tug!  (Caveat: Children shouldn’t play this game if the puppy has a tendency to chase and nip them).

Catching/Capturing the (Come) Behavior--Begin by simply observing your puppy/dog and when your dog is coming toward you, say Come, then click or say YES.  Since she knows that the click predicts a treat, she will probably keep coming to get the treat. 

Exercise 1- Come on Leash -Don’t forget to start with a hungry dog!  When you begin teaching your dog to Come, it’s essential that when you call him, coming to you is the most exciting, interesting, fun thing he can do!  Therefore begin to train in a quiet location with as few distractions as possible.

HOW

1.     Choose a quiet spot with your dog on leash, and say “Fido COME” as you take a few backward steps.  If your dog makes any move toward you, click & treat or say “YES” and treat.

2.     Gradually begin increasing the distance between you and your dog when you call him to come.  

Training tip

Exercise 2- Come and Sit--Stand directly in front of your dog. With  your leash in one hand and a treat in the other, call your dog to Come as you take one step backward. Hold the treat against the front of your body at your dog's nose level.  As your dog approaches, remind him to Sit, then give the treat.  When your dog is readily coming in close, move the cookie up to your mouth, but keep it visible to teach him to come in and focus on your face.  Practice both on and off leash.

Come Game - Two Person or Round Robin Recalls-- Begin by sitting or standing about six feet apart and take turns calling the dog back and forth between you.  When the dog comes, each person should click or say “YES” and give a treat.  After your dog catches on, you can move farther apart to encourage  him to run back and forth. Eventually, you can do this with people stationed in different areas of the house or yard.  Stop on a high note before the dog loses interest—always leave your dog wanting more!

Exercise 3-Motivated Recalls--In this exercise, one person restrains the dog, in order to help build his drive to reach his handler.  The dog does not need to be on a sit and should not be told to stay.  The handler should have a really yummy treat and show it to his dog, run backwards about 10 feet and say, “Fido COME!”  As soon as the owner says “Come” the helper should release his hold on the dog.  If the dog comes running, reward with a  treat and play.  Repeat, but increase the distance to about 20 feet.  Variation:  While your helper restrains your dog, run away, call him to COME.  When he “catches”  you, you can turn and alternate having  him Sit for a treat or play a rousing game of tug.

Cookie Toss Game--Get your dog's attention and toss a small treat away from you, telling him to "Get it, "  and as soon as he does, say, “Fido Come!”  As he starts toward you, click or praise and back up a few steps; when he reaches you, praise him and feed another treat.  Repeat a few times but stop before your dog loses interest.  *This is a great game for encouraging the retrieve instincts, and for helping your dog to come back and focus on you after running in the opposite direction.

Level 2—Adding Distractions

Come on Leash With Distractions--Your dog should be on leash. When she has started paying attention to a distraction, walk a few steps away leaving slack in the leash and call her to COME.  If she comes, praise her and give her a jackpot of treats.  If she ignores you, repeat Come in a firm tone as you take her leash and run backward a few steps.  Now praise her for coming, but don't give her a cookie.  Repeat and give her another chance—if she comes, give her a Jackpot (a series of treats that you feed one by one). Later you will essentially use this same technique in your long line work.

Come On Long Line—Call your dog to Come, praise him as soon as he starts toward you and when he reaches you, reward him with treats and play.  If instead he ignores you, gently tug the line and encourage your dog to come and follow you. This way without threatening your dog, you can teach him that it does no good to ignore your call to Come. 

Now, drop the leash or long line as you release him and give him permission to “Go Play.”  When you are separated by about 20 feet or so, call him again to COME—if he does, give him a Jackpot of the special treats by doling them out slowly, one at a time, for about 30 seconds.  Lavish him with praise, treats and play, then release him to go play again.  Do this several times.  Teach him that coming to you does not automatically mean the end of freedom.

Person With Food Distraction-You and your helper should both have food but your helper’s should be the more boring food and yours should be the most yummy. Give your dog permission to play with your helper by saying "Go say hello" but stay right behind her.  When she is showing interest in your helper’s food, call her to COME.  If she does, run backwards as you warmly praise her and when she gets to you, give her a Jack Pot (feed her several treats one at a time). If instead she ignores you, repeat Come in a firm tone as you take her leash and run backward a few steps.  Now praise her for coming but don't give her a cookie.  Again,  have your helper distract her with food as you call her to Come--if she does, give her a Jackpot.

Recall past a line of people holding out temptations.  A variation is to have friends form a line on either side of your dog and try to tempt him away with treats and toys as you call him to Come.

When your dog can do the above exercise try this one:

Recall past path of treats/toys-- Make a path, beginning with the treats several yards to the side of the path your dog should follow to come to you when you call.  If he starts to veer toward a distraction, say No and move forward, then call him again as you run backwards.  When he comes straight to you, reward with praise, a special treat and play--then leave him on a stay as you gather the temptation treats--return to him and feed him.  Repeat several time

LEVEL 3  Outdoor Drills

 Add an Instructive Reprimand--if your dog is on his long line and chooses not to come, don’t reel him in like a fish.  Instead give an immediate verbal warning by saying "NO” (or “Leave It” if that is appropriate) so that he will know the exact moment that he made his mistake.  Walk down the line to him and when you reach him, look him in the eye, and say, “Dog, Come” in a no nonsense tone of voice as you run backwards a few steps.  Now release him and allow him to move away; when he is at least 20 feet away from you, call him again.  If he comes, give him lots of warm praise and a Jackpot and release him to go play again.  If he doesn’t, repeat the correction as described above.  Teaching your dog that you will not allow him to ignore your COME command will solidify his recall and make it much more reliable.

Off Leash Work—After your dog is consistently coming when called on the long line, even in the presence of distractions, begin your off leash work in enclosed areas—friends’ backyards, ball parks, etc.  Repeat the same drills and games, adding greater distances to the recall.

Encourage your dog to check in with you when off leash by rewarding that behavior with praise and treats and by giving him permission to “go play” again. 

Encourage Voluntary Checking In – Encourage your off leash dog to “check in” with you (voluntarily return to your side without being called) by reinforcing this behavior with praise and treats whenever your dog offers it!