Come!!!
Come is the most important exercise we can teach a dog without question!
To perfect a recall we have to have perfect working pieces in all of the following categories
Instant response to hearing their name, no matter the environment
A strong desire to move to us as quickly as possible
An ability to ignore all other things on their way to us
A desire to stay connected to us once they get to us
To teach a great come command we need to actually teach all four of these pieces!
Since we have started I’ve had you working on your engagement so we can make that last bit very strong! Now let’s start to work on that first part. The instant response to their name. First order of business try not to use their name as part of a correction, don’t holler your dog’s name at them when you are angry with what they are doing. Don’t make their name a negative and don’t make it a nagging bit of micromanaging. Make it POWERFUL! If your dog loves toys this is the perfect reward for a head swing.
Don’t worry about the return to you yet, and don’t worry about adding the come cue yet, just condition their name to mean treat or toy is incoming. You can use a treat too as long as your dog is close enough for you to throw it to them for a catch.
I also want to build a lot of value for my dog’s response to their name when they are not expecting it. So when my dogs laying around the house and not distracted I am going to practice calling them. Notice in the video below I have a nice container of treats that’s just on my table. That way I can call BEFORE I reach for the treats and I can wait until he is to me before rewarding. When I am training a dog I just have some containers like this laying around my house in areas I hang out in. Hot tip: in the US Talenti Gelato jars are awesome for this, and you have to eat the gelato first so win/win.