Obedience training can improve the ties between man and dog. Basic obedience lessons develop the dog into good canine citizens. Without a doubt, an owner would brag about the pet’s ability to do tricks. Obedience training is one way of controlling a dog’s behavior. One of the important basic obedience trainings is teaching the dog to come when called as this can save the pet from a potentially dangerous situation. Dogs have been injured, others have died because the owners were not able to teach the pet to obey the recall command.

Dogs that are usually kept in a crate or leashed must be trained to come when called. Being energetic animals, dogs would want to run, jump and play freely. The elation of a dog that was able to break the leash and escape from confinement would be immeasurable. The dog would surely be very hard to catch especially if it was not trained to obey the come command. This kind of situation has caused a lot of dogs to be injured and even killed.

Due to the dog’s tendency to follow people, teaching the recall command would not be too difficult. Dogs were even branded as Velcro pets. Dogs though are hunters and noted to be curious animals. The dog will be torn between following an interesting scent and obeying the recall command of the master. In most cases, the interesting scent will win hands down.

Just as with any other kind of obedience training, teaching the dog to come when called must be started while the dog is still young. A place that is relatively free from distractions must be chosen to make the dog adapt well to training. Start the training by standing a couple of paces away from the dog, call the pet’s name and give the “come” command.

Expect the dog not to come during your first try thus arm yourself with a toy or a treat to encourage the dog to follow the command. Give the command again and when the dog comes to you praise and hug the pet or give the reward. Five to ten minute training sessions repeated several times a day are more effective as short sessions will not bore the dog. A dog that is well trained will come even if the command is issued from another room.

Sarah’s Dogs provides more information on how to train a dog to come when called as well as dog first aid.