How to teach a dog the "Come" command?

Team “Come to me!” refers to the list of those very basic commands that every dog should know. Without this command, it is difficult to imagine not only a walk, but also communication between the owner and the dog in general. But at what age should a pet be taught to this team and how to do it?

Ideally, the command “Come to me!” is a guaranteed way to call your dog to you, no matter what business is distracting him at the moment. This command allows you to control and regulate the behavior of the dog and greatly facilitates its interaction with the outside world and society.

With the right approach, the command “Come to me!” easily absorbed by the dog. You can train this command both for an adult dog and a puppy: at the age of 2-3 months. However, starting classes, you need to understand that for a good result between the dog and the owner, a trusting contact must be established. In addition, the pet must already respond to the nickname.

Algorithm for teaching the command “Come to me!” next:

We start training the team with feeding, as food is the most powerful stimulus for the dog. Pick up a bowl of food, attract the pet’s attention by calling his name, and clearly give the command “Come!”. When the dog runs up to you, praise him and put the bowl on the floor for him to eat. Our goal at this stage is to instill in the dog a strong association of approaching you (albeit for the sake of feeding) with the “Come!” command. Of course, in the future, this team will work in isolation from food.

Repeat this command several times before each feeding.

During the first lessons, the dog should be in your field of vision, and you – in hers. Over time, call your pet from another room or corridor, and also try out the command at the moment when the dog is enthusiastically chewing on a toy or communicating with another family member. Ideally, the team should work regardless of the dog’s activities at a particular moment, i.e. On command, the dog must always approach you. But, of course, everything should be within reason: you should not disturb the team, for example, a sleeping or supper dog.

After about 5-6 lessons, you can move on to teaching the team during the walk. The algorithm is about the same as in the case of feeding. When the dog is about 10 paces away from you, say his name to get attention and say the command “Come!”. If the pet followed the command, i.e. came up to you, praise him and be sure to treat him with a treat (again, this is a powerful encouragement). If the dog ignores the command, attract him with a treat while remaining in place. Do not move yourself towards the dog, he should come to you.

Within one walk, repeat the exercise no more than 5 times, otherwise the dog will lose interest in the exercises and training will be ineffective.