Crate Training

Teaching your dog the command "come."

If you want your puppy to be safe and controllable there is no more important command to teach your dog than “come.” Puppies are notorious for getting into mischief and yours will be no different, so you’ve got to control your puppy always, even off the lease.

“Come” is probably the hardest command to teach your dog. I know it was with Quincy. With Max, forget it. Sometimes Max would come if I whistled, a very loud whistle, the shrill kind you get when you place two fingers in your mouth and whistle, but only if he “felt like it.”

While training Quincy to come, I read about and used with some success the method of employing a long lead and collar. Using a long lease or cord, at least 15 feet long (I had a retractable twenty-five foot lease), set your puppy out the length of the lease and give the command “come” and gently reel your puppy in praising him and lavishing affection on him when he does as “commanded.”

And it worked fine with Quincy as long as I had the ability to reel him in. Off the lease however he would, at the command “Quincy come”, cock his head slightly and look at me like I had just asked him to spell Shih Tzu. He’d just stand or sit there with that quizzical look all dogs are born with, gazing at me. It was beginning to look as if all my effort went for nothing.

So what did I do? I resorted to bribery.

I know some experts say giving treats isn't necessary when training your dog, but I have found that method to be most effective. And Quincy, like most dogs, even Max, was highly food motivated. So at the command “Quincy come” along with the obvious treat in my extended hand, Quincy quickly learned to come, eager to get his reward.

And when I stopped giving a treat did he stop coming? Of course not, because in addition to his treat he also received my praise and lavish affection. I’d rub his muzzle and the nape of his neck while saying, “good boy, Quincy; what a good boy you are.” He literally and figuratively ate it up.

And when teaching “come” as well as all new commands, repetition is very important. Every day, even several times a day I would repeat the command "come" slowing weaning him of the treat. And even when he is fully trained and no longer receiving a treat, giving a treat now and then will do nothing but reinforce the command. Why? Because he’ll never know when there is gong to be a treat at the end of the command and when there isn’t. It will become his nature to immediately and always respond to “come.”

Another reminder. Always begin your command with your puppy’s name. I always say, “Quincy come. Quincy heel. Quincy stay.” This is important because it trains him to be alert for a command whenever he hears his name. He’s “conditioned” to respond to a command whenever he hears his name.