Come

A reliable recall is the single most important safety skill. Never punish a dog that has come to you.

🐾🐾 · ~14 days · 10 min/session

Step-by-step

1. Make yourself a magnet

   Start at home, two or three metres from your dog. Say a cheerful “Come!”, crouch down and open your arms. When they arrive, feed several treats one after another and praise them warmly.

   💡 Your voice should sound like a party invitation, not an order.

2. Play recall ping-pong with a partner

   Stand at opposite ends of a room or hallway with another person. Take turns calling the dog, each rewarding generously on arrival. The game makes running to a human the most fun thing in the world.

3. Touch the collar, then reward

   When your dog arrives, gently touch their collar before giving the treat. They learn that a hand reaching for the collar is part of the game. This prevents the “catch me if you can” game at the park.

   💡 Never call “Come” for something unpleasant — baths, nail trims, or the end of a walk. Go and get them instead.

4. Move outside on a long line

   Practise in a yard or quiet park with a 5–10 metre training line for safety. Call your dog when they’re mildly distracted and reward generously. If they don’t respond, don’t repeat the cue — move closer and restart from an easier distance.

5. Build up distractions gradually

   Add difficulty step by step: other people, then dogs at a distance, then play. Save the highest-value rewards — cheese, sausage, the favourite toy — only for outdoor recalls. Recall around distractions is the gold standard and takes weeks, not days.

   💡 Call your dog several times per walk, reward, then release them to play again. That way “Come” never means “fun is over”.

Common mistakes

• Scolding the dog when they finally arrive — they learn that coming to you leads to trouble.
• Repeating “Come! Come! COME!” — the cue wears out and becomes background noise.
• Only calling when the walk is ending — dogs do the maths very quickly.
• Going off-leash around distractions too early — every failed recall weakens the cue.

Problems & solutions

My dog comes at home but completely ignores me at the park.

The park is a million times more interesting than your living room. Go back to the long line, shorten the distance, bring tastier rewards and train in quieter corners of the park before trying around other dogs.

They come, grab the treat and immediately dash off.

Feed several small treats in a row and touch the collar between them. The dog should stay with you for 5–10 seconds before you release them with a clear word like “Go play!”.

I’ve worn out the word “Come” and it no longer works.

It happens a lot. Pick a fresh word (like “Here”), retrain from scratch, and this time never use it without a reward or without being able to follow through.

Reward ideas

Only the best: chicken, cheese, tiny bits of sausage. For some dogs — a quick ball throw or a game of tug.