Basic Dog Training: Teaching Your Dog To Come When Called - Part 2

The less distractions you have, the faster she will be to learn that these two events just did not happen by chance. So it is best to start training her in the house in a one-on-one situation when there is nobody else around. You can start out giving her praise and a treat, with nothing to interfere.

Once she learns that the command "come" or "come here" means she should come to you, you can start on her outdoor training. It will probably help if you have her on a long leash to begin with, as this will stop her wandering too far and not being able to hear you clearly.

When she has learned the skill thoroughly, you can stop giving her the treats. But never, ever  stop giving her praise. Even when she is 20 years old you should still praise her for coming to you when she is called.

And just to make sure you are in charge, only reward her for this when she comes to you when called, not for coming to you at other times.

Always remember that for most things, dogs have a relatively short attention span. So in order for the dog to remain interested the lessons need to be reasonably short.

And one final point to remember is your tone of voice. When we start out with our training we tend to use a stern or serious voice. This is not good as the dog may think you are angry before you start and become even more confused. This in turn can make the training stressful for her. So when you are beginning your basic dog training, please try and use your normal voice, at least most of the time.