Teach your dog to "Come"

Communicating with your puppy

Teaching the "Come" command...

The “come” teaches your dog to sit and face you instead of sitting toward the left side. Keep your lead slack when teaching this exercise. Command “Front!” and then walk backward without moving the position of your hands on the lead. As the dog is coming in front of you, gradually gather the lead up and coax him in close. Hold the lead tight and command “Sit!” Praise him immediately and then command “Stay.” Step back to heel position without circling.

Once again, walk backward, keep your lead slack, then command “Front!” Don't drag your dog around on a tight lead. The lead is used to bring the dog in close and to make him sit in front. Step back to heel position. Command “Front!” Remember, the dog does the turning! All you do is walk backward two or three steps. When the dog turns around, gather the lead up and prompt him to sit. Praise at once.

Stand up straight and do not lean forward towards your dog. Hold your hands low and close to your body. Pull up on the lead to make the dog sit. Insist that your dog sits straight and squarely on both hips. If he sits at an angle, hold the leash tight and cuff him on whichever hip is out of line. Every obedience exercise includes the “come-fore” position. Therefore, it is important that the dog learns to do it correctly from the very start of his training so he will not get into the habit of doing sloppy work.

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