How to Teach a Puppy to Come When Called

Teaching a puppy to come when called is not complicated: it's just going to require a certain amount of time, persistence, and patience. The keys to teaching a puppy to obey your commands are to repeat your actions consistently, reward the puppy when he responds correctly, and start small, then progressively increase the challenge until the puppy is able to follow through on the entire process.

There are a few different actual training methods you can use to teach a puppy to come when called:

• With two people training the puppy you can each sit on the floor with the puppy in the middle. Each of you should be very welcoming, calling the puppy's name. Then, when he comes to you, give him a toy or a treat.
• You can whistle or make another specific loud noise and give your dog a treat each time he hears the noise - this will teach him to come to the noise.
• You can also teach your dog to come when called by using a retractable leash.

No matter which specific method you choose, whether it is these or others, here are a few basic pointers that should come in handy. Every dog is different, of course, but these tips will probably apply to almost any puppy and owner who are learning how to communicate with each other.

1. Start Training the Puppy When He's Young

Contrary to popular belief, you can, in fact, teach an old dog new tricks... but it's much simpler to begin when your puppy is still young.

• Ingraining behaviors in his memory at an early age will eventually make them seem like second nature as he grows up, and he'll eventually obey your “come” commands without even questioning whether or not they're natural to him.
• Puppies have lots of energy and short attention spans, so you're going to have to be patient, loving, and keep your training sessions to short spans of time while your dog is still very little.

2. Sound Happy While Puppy Training

When it comes to dogs, it's all about the tone of your voice.

• Your puppy might not understand all of your words, but he's sure to get the difference between a stern voice – or even an apathetic one – and a cheerful, enthusiastic one.
• You might feel a little silly, but when you first begin training your puppy to come at your command, you should use a very happy, warm tone of voice that'll get his attention and make him feel glad to obey you.
• Along these same lines, don't ever call the dog to you and then punish him for a behavior; make it so that coming at the sound of your voice is always a positive thing for him.

3. Work Your Way Up While Puppy Training

Your main goal is going to be associating the sound of the word “come” with the dog's action of running to you.

• In order for him to understand this, you're probably going to have to reinforce it visually, at least at first.
• This means starting small, and keeping the dog within the same room.
• At an opportune time, simply kneel down to the floor, hold out your hand, and call to your dog; when he trots across the room to you, reward him with petting and warm praise.
• Gradually, you can increase the challenge to longer distances and, eventually, call him from places where he cannot see you, but can still hear you.
• The important thing to remember is to use the same words and the same tone of voice each time, so that even when you're not kneeling in front of him with your hand out, he'll still instinctively come trotting at the sound of the command.

So, now that you have these tips for teaching your puppy to come, you can help your dog learn this important skill.