Your dog coming to you is ALWAYS a good thing.
If you care care about dog training, particularly reliable recall, you get to read or hear this quite often. You'll probably come across the term 'spoiling a cue' as well.
What is the big deal with this?
Let's face it, the only way you can get your dog come to you reliably is when they WANT TO come to you. Ever tried catching a dog who didn't want to get caught? I don't care who you are, you can be 007, you can't run faster than your dog can.
If somebody called you to come over and when you did they'd poke you in the eye, would you respond to their call the next time?
Perhaps ... by running the other way ...
I still remember our precious granny when she was trying to get us to come home at the end of the day. "If you don't come home right now, I'm going to beat you up."
Firstly, she'd never followed through on her threat. More importantly, "If we didn't come home, how exactly was she going to?"
Dinner on the table usually wasn't a good enough incentive either.
"Get your asses home, the Goodnight Story is coming on," however, worked like a charm.
It was about motivation.
Of course, we'd come home sooner or later, when it got dark or when we got hungry ... But if she wanted us home before that happened, she needed to give us a better reason than getting beaten up if we weren't.
Your dog coming to you needs to ALWAYS be a good thing. For the dog.
Even when you dog did something bad or took their sweet time coming.
This is where we're most likely to get it wrong.
You call and call and the dog is not responding. When he finally does, either you're already pretty mad or feel that you need to teach him a lesson. Whichever means of educating your dog you like to use, do you think it's going to make your dog come to you faster the next time?
But it seems to be something that comes naturally to us.
"You better come right when I call you or I'm not taking you to the park any more," accompanied by an ugly face, perhaps a raised finger, is about the best case scenario.
We just can't help ourselves, can we? Well, we need to. I have had a hell of a time getting through to my hubby with this and I admit there were times I slipped also. I got better it with practice and keeping the line in my head, "Your dog coming to you is ALWAYS a good thing."
With a dog like Cookie, this is crucial. She does need a good incentive to stick around or come when called. With her prey drive, the competition for her attention is fierce.
Every now and then she 'drops her brain' and won't hear you even when you're standing right next to her. But when she does hear you, she comes flying with a happy look on he face. She WANTS TO come.
Punishment isn't the only punishment you can spoil your recall cue with.
This one is even harder. You're not trying to punish your dog or teach them a lesson, you're trying to get something done, such as brush their teeth, give a bath, trim the nails, or whatever else you dog doesn't like.
The best recipe is to get your do TO LIKE those things.
Well, at least make them worthy. I don't think I'd ever like somebody else sticking a bristly object into my mouth and rampaging about in there. Like, seriously. For a hundred dollars? Sure, knock yourself out.
If you use your recall word to summon your dog for undesirable procedures, you are also giving him a reason not to respond the next time.
The recommendation is to go and fetch your dog for such things.
That's all fine and dandy when you have a Pomeranian but what if you have a Rottweiler? You can't exactly fetch them and deliver them I tone bathtub unless you're Hulk.
And the instinct to call your dog is so strong! I know it is.
Cookie loves her life up here, just about everything about it. But she isn't exactly crazy about 'office time,' time when I have to work and hubby has to go somewhere so the guys cannot just stay outside unsupervised, particularly since I don't know for sure whether and how far they're willing to go looking for the missing pack member.
Let's face it, Cookie does not like office time, she wants to be outside. Fort hat reason I should call her in there. But how am I going to get her where I need her then?
Bribes always work.
I will up the Kongs, go to the office and call out "Look what mommy's got!" The incentive of the Kong is strong enough and I'm not contaminating my recall cue. I am also trying to establish the term 'office time' but I'm not sure how well that may or may not fare.
Might not be the correct procedure but it works and keeps my recall cue safe.
How do you keep your dog coming to you to always be a good thing?
Related articles:
From The End Of A Lead Line To Casa Jasmine: Meet Cookie, Our New Adoptee
Creative Solutions And An Incidental Product Review
Taming Of The Wild Beast: Cookie's Transition To Civilization
Staying On Top Of The Ears: Cookie Is Not Impressed
Who's Training Whom? Stick And Treat
Observation Skills Of Dogs
If You Want Your Dog To Do Something, Teach It
Tricks? It's Not Just About The Tricks
What Constitutes The Perfect Dog?
Are Dog Training Classes Really For The Dogs?
Look Where You Want To Go: Finding My Reactive Dog Training Zen Zone?
Dog Training And Emotions
Dog Training And Emotions: Postscript
Dogs Love Sentences In Question Form?
Not All Dog Trainers Were Created Equal Either
A Thought On Separation Anxiety
Happy One-Year Adoptoversary, Cookie!
About Freedom, Trust And Responsibility: A "Pilot Study"
