Training a puppy to

Come when called

Training a puppy to come when called is crucial, not only to make your life with him easier but because it could save his life.

 

Think of this: your sweet little pup is running about in the park and doesn't see the busy road - but when you call, he ignores you! The new puppy owner's nightmare!

But you can easily train your puppy to come when you call - every time. Just follow these simple steps below for successful dog training obedience.

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On this page:

Getting started on recalls  Rewards and tone of voice

How NOT to train a puppy to come when called  Don't go off leash until your puppy is ready for it

Training a puppy to come when you call  How to be an exciting human!

Problem situation: Puppy running away  What if your puppy is having too much fun and ignores you?

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Getting started on recalls

Before you start training a puppy to come when called, make sure you have your clicker or marker word and rewards ready. See Puppy Training Tips for information about rewards and Clicker Puppy Training for information about clickers and markers.

You also need to decide what cue word (or command) you'll use to signal your puppy. Keep it short: Come! is better than Come here. The problem with using more than word is that it's easy to sound angry when saying 'Come here' - and you don't want your puppy to think you're angry with him when you call. No puppy will be keen to go to an angry human!

Try to keep your tone of voice light, high-pitched and excited. As we'll learn later in this lesson, the key to training a puppy to come when called every time is to be a happy, exciting, interesting human being; someone who is far more interesting than any rabbit, squirrel, bird, other dog and so on!

Start your recall training indoors.

Don't take your puppy out to the park or other public place off leash until you are confident about his ability to come when called. You'll just be setting your puppy up for failure from the start.

Build his confidence and skills indoors, then move outside to an enclosed area, then go into a public place on a long lead and finally try a few recalls off leash.

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How NOT to train a puppy to come when called

One of the biggest mistakes new puppy owners make when training a puppy to come when called is to punish the puppy if it returns to them after it has done something naughty.

Dogs have a quite simple idea about cause and effect. For example, let's say you see your puppy destroying your shoe and you call the puppy to you. The puppy comes and you scold or punish her.

Now, as a human you know that you're punishing her for destroying the shoe but the puppy thinks the punishment is associated with her last action: coming back to you. So the puppy now associates coming when called with punishment. So she's not very likely to come back to you willingly next time, even if next time you're calling her to go for a walk or play.

It's very important to know what action you are rewarding or punishing when learning how to train a dog. If you see the puppy chewing your shoe, go to the puppy at the scene of the crime and scold her. If she comes when called - no matter what she was doing just before you gave that command - reward her for doing what she was told.

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Training a puppy to come when you call

The single most important thing you need to learn about training a puppy to come when called is this:

• You need to be the most exciting and interesting thing in the entire world!

A young puppy who has been well treated will naturally want to stick with its owner but as it grows older it will find new, exciting, stimulating things wherever it goes. It's your job to remain the number one of all these wonderful things. That way, when you call it, your puppy will be able to tear itself away from all those other exciting objects and return to you.

Fortunately, it's not hard to make yourself exciting and interesting to a puppy!

• When calling your puppy, use a high-pitched, excited tone of voice.

You can use your puppy's name first to attract its attention, then use your cue word (command): Rover! Come!

• Clap your hands, wave your arms, slap your thighs, dance around a little - anything that shows your puppy what a wonderful, exciting object you are!
• Praise the puppy ecstatically when it reaches you (use your marker word if you have one as well as any other endearments you like) and immediately give it a reward.
• Grab hold of its collar, still praising.

By taking hold of its collar, you are letting the puppy know it is under your control without being harsh or domineering.

Get the puppy used to being called by other people by asking other family members or friends to call the puppy and praise and reward.

Practise calling your puppy at different times of day and in different circumstances: Don't just call your puppy when you want to give it a bath, take it to the vet or brush it. He will soon associate coming when called with nasty consequences. Sometimes, call him just to have a game, go for a walk, play with a ball and so on.

Once your puppy has mastered recalls indoors, you can try moving outside to an enclosed area. Leave him on the leash at first: if he does run off, it's easier to grab a trailing leash than a collar.

Only when you are quite confident about his ability to come when called should you try going off lead in a public area. Remember: Don't set your puppy up for failure by taking him outdoors off lead too early. This is important for any aspect of training a puppy.

Once your puppy is consistently coming when called, you can fade the food rewards. That is, reward him with food only every so often but always praise. That way, he will always come when called because he knows he at least gets cuddles and kind words and sometimes there's even a treat to be had!

Attaching the leash - make it fun!

Another mistake many new puppy owners make when training a puppy is to put the leash back on the dog after they've had a game in the park and then just walk off.

If you call your puppy to you and he leaves his game in anticipation of good things happening - and then you just put the leash on and walk off - the puppy will start to associate the leash with the end of all the fun. He'll be much more reluctant to come back to you after a game from now on.

Instead, when training a puppy, always continue with praise and a little game after you have attached the leash. Toss his ball a short distance or let him pull on a tug toy. Just a minute or two of this will let him know that just because the leash goes on, the fun doesn't stop!

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Problem situation: puppy running away

No matter how well you think you are training a puppy to come when called, there will almost certainly be a time when he is reluctant to come back because he's simply having too much fun.

You call and call but he ignores you. It may happen during the first few times he is off lead in a public area or it may happen if he escapes from his yard. Your main worry then will be his safety: Is he running towards a busy road? Is there an aggressive dog about?

So you need to be prepared with a technique to get him to come to you even when coming back is the last thing on his mind.

Whatever you do, if your puppy is running away from you don't chase him. Puppies (and adult dogs) love chasing games and he will simply think you have decided to join in the fun!

Instead, run away!

This goes back to the idea of being the most interesting and exciting thing in his world.

Call his name and your cue (command) to attract his attention.

Once he looks at you, start jogging in the opposite direction, either looking over your shoulder or jogging backwards.

Keep calling in a high-pitched, excited tone. Do a little dance, clap your hands and so on but keep running away.

If you happen to have his favourite toy or his ball with you, toss it into the air a few times to show him what a wonderful time you're having with it.

It may take several attempts to attract his attention but eventually your puppy will wonder why you seem to be having so much fun without him. He will realise that he'd better chase after you if he wants some of the action.

When he does catch up with you, remember to praise (and reward if you have any treats with you).

Don't scold him for not coming when called the first time. Praise and reward him for coming this time.

And remember that when you put his leash back on he should get more praise and perhaps a little game.

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