Dogs are pretty smart and with the right trainer most of them can be taught many, many things. In my world “things” fall into two categories; ‘necessities’ and ‘tricks’.

Necessities are things they must know in order to do the task they have been assigned in life. For a dog that is required simply to be a house pet the necessities are few. On the other hand, a dog that will be required to herd cattle or flush and retrieve birds has many more commands that he will have to learn in order to earn the all-important “good dog!” blessing from his master.

Tricks are optional and for the most part solely for the amusement of humans. Other dogs are neither impressed nor amused by Fifi’s ability to walk on her hind legs while wearing a tiny tutu. As I point out on my online dog training school necessities are mandatory and required of any dog who is to be a good citizen and companion to its master.

Good children do not pee on the floor; the same is true of good dogs. Good children come when they are called by their masters, and so do good dogs. Coming when you’re called has an important purpose so whether you’re raising children or raising a dog it is necessary for their well-being that they learn to respond to the command.

You will command your dog to come for any number of reasons; to eat, to get out of the neighbor’s yard on trash day, so you can pet him behind his ears and in order to save him from harm.

Your dog does not understand cars but he does understand that he is supposed to capture the squirrel he’s chasing that is headed for the street. You can see that this most basic command, ‘Come!’, can suddenly be elevated from its usually innocuous or convenient stature to crucial.

Missy sees something unfamiliar and her natural curiosity draws her almost hypnotically toward it. You watch in horror as she trots unknowingly in the direction of a furry black-and-white animal about the size of a small cat; a thorough understanding of and unwavering obedience to the command ‘Come!’ can save you and Missy a great deal of difficulty. (By the way; not only is tomato juice not effective at removing skunk odor, nothing else works very well either. This I know from experience.)

“Come on”, “Here boy!” and the many other commands (requests?) designed to bring your dog quickly to your side are fine—once “Come!” is deeply ingrained and immediately obeyed. “Come on…” and “Here Boy!” mean fun; “Come!” means business and your dog must learn that there is no acceptable alternative to obedience. Let’s get started.

At the Dog Training School Online I teach that two things are necessary for a dog to learn a command. First, she needs to know what to do and second, she needs a good reason for doing it. In order to teach her what to do I’ll need her undivided attention so we’ll go to a place with minimal distractions; a quiet room in your house or the back yard are perfect.

Put Missy on her lead (*If you haven’t introduced her to collar and lead yet, spend some time getting her accustomed to those before proceeding.), move in front of her and command “come”; say it with authority but do not scold. It is also acceptable to preface the command with her name in order to get her attention, i.e. “Missy, come!” with the emphasis on the command. She will, of course, not do it.

It’s time to get creative. Tug on the lead a bit or walk backwards while commanding “Missy, come!” As soon as she begins to respond shower her with praise in your best “What a good, good doggy-woggy!” voice while petting her enthusiastically. Make Missy feel like she just brought you the winning Powerball ticket. Your praise will be her good reason for learning her new command.

Now repeat the process after increasing the distance between you and her. After she’s completed her task successfully, praise her lavishly and stop for now. Increase the time you spend on learning the command until she obeys off-lead and from the other side of the room or across the yard.

Once you’re confident your dog understands and knows how to obey the ‘come’ command begin using it when she doesn’t expect it. So far she’s only been asked to do it in training situations but in real life she’ll be expected to respond without warning. Call her to you while watching TV or when the two of you are doing something unrelated to dog training in the yard. Have other family members or friends call her—but be sure you’re there to supervise.

Remember; this needs to be fun for both of you. If you get impatient or angry, just stop. If your dog seems unresponsive, uninterested or bored, stop—but only after a successful “Come!” (fake it if you have to!).

Bird dog trainers often have to communicate with dogs that are beyond shouting range and they do it with hand signals. As your dog gets good at coming on command raise your hand, open palm, straight up in the air. It will take a while for her to link the visual signal to the verbal command but once she does you’ll be one step closer to owning the coolest dog in the neighborhood.

I hope this article from the Dog Training School has opened your eyes to the importance of the ‘come’ command and given you the confidence to teach it to your dog. Keep in mind that there are only two things you can do to screw it up; get angry and punish your dog, or nor teach her the command at all. Happy training to you! See ya’ in the next Dog Training School lesson and please; spay or neuter your dog!