Owning a dog is a huge responsibility. It’s up to you to keep your dog happy and healthy. Teaching your dog to come in any situation is an important part of keeping them safe.As a dog trainer one of the most frustrating and perilous things I’ve observed is an owner chasing their dog down a busy street trying to catch them.They get more and more upset the longer it takes to catch Fido. Out of frustration, when they finally catch Fido they reprimand him.They have just taught their dog that when they are caught they are in trouble. As the problem persists things just get worse.

Teaching your dog to come is really very simple if you stick to these guidelines. Start when your puppy is about 8 or 9 weeks old. This will work on any age dog.Put a long leach attached to a collar not a choke chain. Make sure you can always see Fido. They can get tangled up and hurt if left unsupervised. When your puppy is not paying attention to you say, “Fido come.” You may have to slowly and gently pull your puppy to you. When they get to you give them a small piece of their favorite treat and praise them. Repeat this over and over throughout the day and for several days.It wont be long before Fido figures out that “come” is a good thing and they’ll eagerly run to you.

So what do you do if your dog has done something wrong like chewing up your favorite shoes? You ALWAYS go to the dog. Don’t run and ensue a chase. Walk to them calmly. They may walk away sensing they are in trouble. Do not call the dog. Once you have Fido walk him over to his mistake and calmly say, no.” If your dog is loose and you must call them be sure to praise them even if you catch them while they are trying to get away from you. Your dog must be 100% sure that they will get love and praise when they get to you.

It’s also good to do this training around many distractions. This will instruct your dog to come every time.