Training a Stubborn Dog to Come
Dogs aren’t actually stubborn. However, they at first don’t understand precisely what they’re supposed to do. To make this clear, you need to appropriate the alpha status right away. Be ready to practice patience and modest and firm force to achieve the behavior wanted. This can be hard to do when training the command “come”.
Dogs enjoy exploring their environment naturally by sniffing all around the area, digging, turning things around and running away with little objects. A training session is best done when you keep your dog away from other distracting voices and people. A clear yard without any little objects is the best idea for such a purpose.
The moment the dog comes spontaneously towards you, act quickly, and reinforce the command with a hand gesture. If he moves towards you, spontaneously, reinforce “Come” with the hand movement. Make sure that the gesture and/or the word is unique and not one which is used during regular training sessions.
Start the session by putting your dog in a sitting position. Move back a number of steps while saying ’stay’ firmly, and using the hand gesture. Correct behavior should be praised lavishly, but do not reward incorrect and partial responses.
Repeat this as you continue stepping back a few more steps. If the dog runs to you too soon, vocalize the “sit-stay” command and try it again. If the dog doesn’t want to come at all you may have to use a toy or a treat to prompt him a little bit.
For dogs that are hesitant students, or a little reluctant, leash and collar training may be needed. Put your dog in the sit/stay position and begin to step back a few feet as you are playing out some slack on the leash. If your dog won’t comply, give a gentle tug that is unmistakable while executing the vocal command along with the hand gesture.
For a dog that comes too eagerly, use a long rope or cord and wrap it around a post or a tree. If the dog starts to respond too early tug the leash as you execute the “stay” command. If there are no trees available, use a friend to help with the session. The detrimental part about using someone else during the session is the dog can become confused about who they should obey. It’s mostly best if they just focus on one person.
Consistence as well as patience is necessary during training sessions. Human induced commands like sit, stay and come are not naturally understood by dogs. Yelling at the dog when it makes errors or does not obey your orders is quite a counterproductive exercise. You have to establish your alpha status by your body posture, a firm voice, and your patience while you wait for it to obey you. Physical leading and restraint is not such a helpful technique.
Many dog breeds are quite willing to be trained, and respond very positively to quick praise, for proper and correct behavior. If necessary, you have to show that you are the stubborn one waiting for them to ‘come’, instead of your going to them.
Related posts:
- When Teaching Your Dog to Come Be the Hardheaded One
- Be the Headstrong One When Teaching Your Dog The Command ‘Down’
Filed under: Dogs
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