Teaching a dog to come can be quite easy if you just follow a few simple rules. Dogs that do not come consistantly is one of the biggest complaints that we get from new clients. Their dog will not come to them under any circumstances. A dog that will not come consistantly when called can be one of the most aggravating things for any dog owner. Not to mention that dogs that run off can place themselves in harms way quickly by running out into traffic, etc. A majority of the time when we talk to new clients we find that they have usually broken at least one of these simple rules. Until you have successfully trained your dog to come consistantly, follow these simple steps:

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If there is only one command that you can teach your Pit Bull that command should be to come to you when he is called. Aside from being a neat trick, being called on command can actually save your dogs life. You can never be sure that he will not bolt through the door or escape from his collar. For this reason, getting him to come back to you is very important and should be the first training lesson that he gets.

If you think about it, your Pit Bull already knows how to come. He automatically comes every time he sees you holding the food bowl, his favorite toy, or his leash. You may have even used the word come to get his attention, which gives you a good head start. The trick is to have him respond to come all the time with the same excitement that he has during mealtime.

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In teaching your puppy the “Come” command, position yourself several feet away from him. Kneel or bend down, say his name and then come, at the same time you are clapping your hands. Repeat this several times if necessary to get the puppy to come to you. As the puppy begins to understand this exercise, and as you begin to get his attention more easily, move back a few feet farther.

Do not make the mistake of calling him from a distance of twenty-five or thirty yards when he is not paying attention to you. If you do that and he ignores you, you are teaching him that it is okay to ignore you. You are defeating the purpose of puppy pre-training, which is to pattern him to pay attention to you and to do what you ask of him.

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Teaching a young puppy to come when called starts off perfectly. The puppy learns his name and that people use it when they want to give him something fabulous like dinner or a new toy, so he comes running. Well, he soon learns it is not a perfect world. He may hear his name called to come in from outdoors just when he is having fun or while enjoying a nap.

The biggest, the number one mistake people make with this command is to say Come!” when there is no possible way to enforce it. The puppy only has to disobey a few times when he hears “Come!” and you have taught him (and he has learned) that he has an option. He can come, or not.

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