Answer this question:
Your dog bolts through the front door and takes off. How do you get your dog to come back to you.
Most people would take off after their dogs and yell “COME” and have some kind of treat ready.
If only it were that easy. If all you had to do was offer food and your dog would come back to you.
A lot of trainers will tell you that is all you need to do. But I am here to give it to you straight.
You know that your dog often ignores your treat. That they are much more interested in exploring the big, exciting world that lies beyond the front door.
Some dogs will come back for a treat but many won’t. So what do you do if your dog does not want the treat you are offering?
If your dog is running away from you or does not want your treat hopefully you have taught the word “NO” and your dog clearly understands it.
Last week I traveled up to Rockland MA to help a dog that was on his way back to the shelter. One of his big problems was refusing to come back to the owners when he was let out into his fenced in yard.
The owner told me he had spent up to hour chasing his dog around the backyard.
I had just taught his dog the word “NO” and asked if we could go outside.
We let his dog run around for a few minutes and then I asked the owner to call his dog. The dog did what was expected. He immediately went into a play bow, his butt up in the air, tail wagging with the “Come and try and catch me” look.
I asked the owner to do what he normally does to get his dog back. He offered food, he called, he threatened, and even tried to chase him down.
I explained that when a dog is doing a behavior we want to stop we have to use the word NO which we had just taught him inside the house a few minutes before.
A dog running in the other direction is doing a behavior we want to stop. Once the dog stops, we can give him the command we want: Come.
I then demonstrated. I said the dog’s name and clearly, firmly said “NO!”
The dog hit the brakes. I then said “Come.” He trotted over to me and I said “YES” and rewarded him with a treat.
No is important to teach your dog because your dog is always going to only do two types of behavior. They are going to do behaviors you like (sit,down, stay, etc.) and behaviors you don’t like (running away, chewing, jumping, etc).
This is why your dog needs to learn YES and NO.
Yes is taught with a positive consequence.
No is taught with a negative consequence.
Yes is used to reinforce and reward behaviors we like and want more of.
No is used to eliminate or reduce behavior we don’t like.
Your job is to teach both words so you can effectively communicate to your dog and train him.
If you like to see how I do it for just $1.00 go to the Dog Training Inner Circle and get started. Here is where to go next:
Best,
Eric