Episode #216 Teaching Your Dog to Come Doesn’t Have to BE STRESSFUL

If you’ve ever called your dog and they’ve completely ignored you, you’re not alone! Most of us accidentally teach our dogs that “come” means “the fun is over”… but don’t worry, we’re going to fix that! In this episode, I'll teach you how to make recall training FUN, EASY, and super REWARDING for your pup. 🚀

🔹 Why We Ruin the Word "Come" (and how to fix it!)
🔹 Common Recall Mistakes (and what to do instead)
🔹 The 10-1 Rule – A simple trick to make your dog LOVE coming to you
🔹 Fun Recall Games! 🎾 (Round Robin Recall + Hide and Seek)
🔹 Essential Training Tools – Harnesses, long lines, and high-value treats

💡 PRO TIP: Never chase your dog if they run away! Instead, run AWAY from them—most dogs will instinctively chase after you!

👉 Ready to turn your dog’s recall into a game they can’t resist? Watch the full video on YouTube @baxterandbella and try these tips out! Let us know in the comments how your training is going!

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Teaching your dog to come does not have to be stressful. Have you ever called your dog to come and then they look at you like, nah, I'm good. Then this episode is for you. Welcome to the Puppy Training Podcast. I'm Amy Jensen, founder of Baxter Bella, the online puppy school. Here we are all about helping you create the best possible experience raising a puppy, from training tips to practical tricks, all aimed at fostering a happy, well-behaved dog who truly feels like part of the family. So if you are ready to enjoy the journey and strengthen the bond with your dog, let's get started. Hey you guys, welcome to the podcast. Thanks for listening. I appreciate you being here.

Speaker 1: 0:48

Today. We're going to have a little fun with cum. So this audio comes from my YouTube channel at Baxter and Bella. You can head over there to see the visual of it, but today you get the audio. It's kind of fun. Go with it and let's see if you can learn a few things about recall.

Speaker 1: 1:02

If I'm always putting my dog on a leash and the fun is ending every time I say come, why on earth would I ever think they would actually come? Because who wants to hang out with somebody? That's no fun anyway. I know I don't. Today I'm going to teach you how to make come easy, fun and stress-free, because, let's be honest, right now, your dog probably thinks come means the party is over. And I can teach you how to fix that. Buddy come, hey, come here right now. Buddy, here, buddy, let's go. Buddy, hey, buddy, buddy, what are you doing? No, buddy, not that way. Buddy, come.

Speaker 1: 1:38

We tend to ruin the word come by making it boring or not very positive for our dogs, unfortunately. So they hear the word and they're like, yeah, no, I don't think so. We say come when we want our dog to come inside. We say come when it's time to put the leash on and we leave the park. We say come when we're going to put their leash on and take them into the bath or the shower, and all of these things equate to negative for our dog. They don't want to listen to the word come. It means something that they don't want to do is about to happen. Basically, every time we say come, it's bad news. And guess what? Your dog is smart and they figure it out really quickly that this pattern does not work for them. So when they hear that word come, no thanks, human. I think I'll just keep sniffing this bush.

Speaker 1: 2:23

Here are a few common mistakes I see for you to avoid. Number one calling your dog only when the fun ends. Number two repeating the cue a million times. Number three chasing your dog if they don't come. News flash. Your dog loves being chased. Instead of chasing them, you become the chase. Turn and run the other way and guess what I bet your dog follows.

Speaker 1: 2:48

Now that we've talked about the common mistakes, how can we change them? Don't stress about it. Here's how you're going to change it. We're going to make it so that your dog loves coming to you. It's called the 10 to 1 rule and here's how it works. I'm going to call my dog to me. I'm going to reward them and then send them off to play again. 10 times for every one time. That, okay. Yeah, it's time to go that way.

Speaker 1: 3:12

We are overloading the positive. More often than not, my dog's coming to me, checking in, getting a yummy food, reward and being sent back to do what they love doing, like sniffing or playing, et cetera. Right, and then that one time, yeah, the leash goes on and we have to leave. But because 10 times, something good is happening more often than not, come to them means party. Go check in with Amy. She feeds me something good and I get to go back and play. But Amy, I don't have time for that. Yes, you do, it doesn't take long. This can be throughout the day randomly. Just call your dog to you, feed them something great and send them back on their way. You're doing it throughout the day so that you're getting in those repetitions and the next time that you actually need to say the word come, your dog is like yeah, let's do this. So call your dog to you Big praise, throw a party Food reward, awesome stuff, awesome sauce, belly rubs, whatever they love, right, throw their toy for them. That's great, make it a big deal, but send them off to play. Okay, go play. And you guess what? Just turn and walk away. Pretty soon, your dog's going to be following you around saying well, wait, where are you going? Well, wait, where are you going. The problem then will be getting them to leave you alone, and that's what we want. That's how you'll know it's working. This makes cum a super fun word. Instead of thinking, oh, no, my life is over, your dog's going to say, yeah, I'm going to go check in, get a food reward and go back to play Huge win.

Speaker 1: 4:37

Next, let's make training a game. The first game I'm going to teach you for recall is round robin recall. So you're going to need a group of friends. You all stand in a circle. Every person gets three to five food rewards about the size of your pinky finger now, so not huge but good and then person one's going to call the dog to them.

Speaker 1: 4:55

I like to have the dog sit. When they get to me, I like to hold their collar so that they get used to me reaching in to hold their collar and they don't play this little catch me if you can game, if you know what I'm talking about, you know. So they sit, I hold their collar, I feed them a food reward and then I become a statue. As soon as I become a statue, the next person across the circle and this can be totally random they call the dog and the dog does the same behavior. They sit, they hold their collar, they get a food reward. Then the next person calls the dog. So the dog's essentially running this way and then running that way. They're ping-ponging back and forth across that circle, greeting people politely but also practicing a really awesome recall.

Speaker 1: 5:32

The more fun and exciting you make this game, the faster your dog's going to respond when you call and bonus. It gets them tired too. Physical exercise is necessary. This game gives it to your dog. Want to make it even more fun Play hide and seek with your dog. With your dog in a down stay or someone else holding them on leash, you go hide and then let your dog search for you. So call them, make a noise, squeak a toy and let them search. That's so much fun for them and good mental exercise. Once they find you, big reward Throw a party. This game builds drive in your dog to check in with you more often, especially in distracting environments.

Speaker 1: 6:11

Playing these games is great indoors, but eventually we also want to take it outside. So once you head outside, make sure your dog's wearing a harness. I like to use a long line. This one's about 20 feet long. I clip it to the back of my dog's harness and then we head out to the backyard or to the park to play these games there too. So if you're worried that your dog will just take off, make sure they have a harness and a long line on them before you play these games.

Speaker 1: 6:36

Wait, don't forget about food. Food makes a great reward and a training tool for recall. So make sure you pick something your dog is going to drool over. These are from Pawtree freeze-dried turkey. This is beef liver medallions Doesn't sound good to us, but it sure is drool worthy to our dogs.

Speaker 1: 6:56

Remember the idea is that we are fun, we are exciting and when my dog comes to me a party happens. Something really good happens. So picking good food that your dog loves will just make their recall all the stronger. Just imagine your dog sees a squirrel that your dog loves will just make their recall all the stronger. Just imagine your dog sees a squirrel. Your dog sees a bike. Maybe they see another dog zooming by. How are you going to get them to come back to you?

Speaker 1: 7:19

If you want a strong recall, try playing these games. Bring high value food, use that harness and long line and you'll have a solid recall in no time, no matter the distractions. Okay, pop quiz time. How many times are you going to call your dog to you? For every one time that the leash goes on and the fun ends? That's right, at least 10. Does it have to be that? Exactly no, but it needs to be way more than the one time that the fun ends. Remember, you want to be the good, exciting, fun party way more often than okay, yeah, we got to go take a bath. Or yeah, we're leaving the dog park now 10 times to every one time. 10 times the dog comes, they get to go play. And then that one time, yeah, sorry, the fun's over. I promise that is the fastest way to fix your dog's recall, and that's it.

Speaker 1: 8:08

Teaching your dog to come does not have to be stressful. In fact, it's going to be fun. I'm excited to hear how it goes at your house. So drop in the comments a game you played with your dog or how that 10 to 1 rule worked for you, and then hit like, hit, subscribe. And if you'd like to see more, head on over to our YouTube channel at Baxter and Bella. Thanks for tuning in to the puppy training podcast. I hope today's tips help you feel more confident and excited about raising your dog. Remember, with a little patience and consistency, you can create a loving bond and a well-behaved pup who's a joy to have in your family. If you found this episode helpful, be sure to subscribe, leave a review and share it with fellow puppy parents. For more resources, visit Baxter and Bella online. Until next time, happy training.