Come, Dog Runs Away

Question
My schnauzer follows most commands but I have always had trouble with her coming when called. Let me add that she obeys my husband when he calls . She will come to the door and wait and when I reach the door she runs. The other day she was gone for 3 hours I was frantic. We live in the country with not much traffic and a big yard to run in. I don't know what to try and I don't want her to get lost or someone get her.  Please give advice.

Answer
COME is one of the most important commands because it can save your dog's life. Here are some tips for helping a dog learn to come when called:

Your dog won't know what COME or any other command word means until you teach her. She needs to learn it means the same thing for you as it does for your husband.

Whenever you see your dog coming toward you, say the word COME. That will help her link the action with the word. I usually teach my students to use this when the dog is right by them and reinforce with a treat. This way your dog learns that COME means treats right by your body.

Don't tell your dog to come unless you're in a position to enforce the command. Otherwise, as you know, the dog will learn that it is acceptable to ignore you and then COME means something entirely different. One approach is to start by having the dog on a long leash or line, which you can lightly tug to help remind her to come to you. (Note: when off-leash, make sure that you and the dog are in a fully fenced, secure area if not indoors so she doesn't have the opportunity to run away.)

Arrange things so that when you say COME there's a high likelihood that she will come to you. For example, say COME when your dog is looking at you and appears to be ready to return to you anyway. Or have really desirable treats to increase his motivation when you say COME. If your dog is motivated by play, hold his favorite play toy when you say come, and use a firm, positive, upbeat voice. Think about asking a coworker for something as a good businesslike tone of voice.

Your dog has learned to ignore the command-word COME, so you may be better off using a different word to teach her to come to you. The trick here is to not allow the new word to mean anything other than come to you. If she learns it means run away, the new word is useless. Any word is fine as long as you are consistent in using it. HERE works, so would MARSHMALLOW just be consistent.

When the dog comes when called, reward her. Make sure you prevent COME from meaning that fun times are over. Sometimes you want to call your dog and then let her go back to what she was doing so she realizes that coming to you is not the end of what she is enjoying.

Practice the Come command three times a day for at least two weeks. This is the time to really teach what the command means. You will need to teach it and practice it.

If you don't have verbal control, you must have physical control. Keep her on lead or in a fenced area. As you are aware, every time she runs off, she is practicing running off and gets better at it with practice.

When you give a treat for coming, hold your hand against your leg and make her reach in to take it. This will ensure that she comes all the way to you on COME and doesn't stand just out of arm's reach looking at you. You can then work to handing the treat to the dog. Never reach out to the dog, but have the dog come to you. Imagine holding a dime under each elbow when handing out the treats, if the dime would drop on the floor your dog is too far away from you.

Once she is convinced that the command COME means good things, don't ever confuse her by saying COME then scolding her when he arrives. The rule is that she is ALWAYS safe and ALWAYS forgiven if she comes to you. Don't call her to do something she dislikes, like toenail trimming or baths. In those situations, go get her. From now on, COME only means positive things.


Good Luck!