There is one technique to teach your dog to come, and it doesn’t involve any kind of electric shock collar. In fact, if your dog has already been trained to come when called on a leash, you don’t even need that kind of device to teach him. As long as you are consistent in your commands, your dog will be consistent in his obedience too. Of course, the quality of your relationship with your dog will also depend on it. He will respond well to you, if you treat him well.
Teaching your dog to come when you call him is easy. You just have to teach him that it is worth it, on cue, when called away on either leash or on outdoor or indoor lead. Even more important, that should be done without applying any kind of physical pressure or electric shock to get him to do it. You don’t even need a collar to train a dependable recall. Simply using your voice and gestures will work, every time.
To begin, you will want to establish your lead (the longest line leading out from you). Lead your dog to the end of that lead and wait there, with your arm straight out in the front. Your dog should begin to move toward the end of the line, but not until you or another person are at the other end of the line. This breaks up his path and makes it less likely that he will run into something he doesn’t want to. Be patient, it will only take several times before he gets the idea.
Try to use the same words, phrases or sentences when teaching him the reliable recall as you would when training him for other things. He needs to associate those sound with your voice and actions. He may have some problems getting it down on his own at first, but stick with it. You can even repeat the action during the next few lessons. Don’t yell at him when he doesn’t perform the trick correctly. Praise him in a neutral way, and make sure he knows you are pleased with what he is doing.
You can start training your dog to come by having him stay near the leash and call attention to him each time you pass in front of you with the leash in your hand. At first, he will probably run away when you call his name, but try to hold onto the leash and calling his name again until he goes near you. When he tries to follow you, give him positive reinforcement so he knows he did the right thing. After a few lessons, he should come naturally to the routine and you won’t have to do anything to encourage his coming when you walk by.
You can use the same technique to teach your dog to come when you are holding treats in your hand. Have your treats near the leash and call him to come whenever you pass in front of you. Stop giving the treats until he actually comes towards you and stops before you say “come”. This may take a couple of times before he gets it. Reward him verbally and give him a treat. When he corrects himself, give him the treat.
Another good technique to teach your dog to come is to distract him with his high-value treats until he has to walk by you give him the signal to come. Put your dog’s high-value treats in his mouth and then give him the command to come. When he goes near you, immediately drop his high-value treats to his side, but leave the low-value treats available so he will want to pick up them later. Do this repeatedly until he gets the message that comes when he goes near you with the treats in his mouth. When he corrects himself, reward him verbally.
The final technique to teach your dog to come mean when you say it is to use a clicker. Some dog owners use a clicker as a training aid for other reasons, but using a clicker for this purpose means you are not competing with your dog or using intimidation tactics. Clicker training works by rewarding your dog whenever he obeys your command.
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