Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde

Consequences of not coming when called

If your puppy is really too busy to come when called, you can practice “Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”. In the beginning, this may be difficult to practice because you need to switch back and forth from the bad guy to the nice guy in the blink of an eye. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde makes it very clear to the dog what is acceptable and what is not.

First rule of dog training: keep everything black and white. No grey areas! The dog should never have to guess what you mean.

Call your dog. If he heads off in the wrong direction, say “hey” or “oh-oh” in a stern (but not necessarily loud) voice. Clap your hands or go towards him scuffing your feet. Your goal here is to make him turn to look at you, nothing else. All that is required is that he acknowledge you in some way. Don’t keep repeating his name or the command come — just do something that will make him look at you.

As SOON as he glances your direction, or even twitches an ear in your direction, you’re going to be the most wonderful thing in the whole wide world. Call “puppy puppy puppy” in a bright happy voice. Say “yaay, what a good dog!” and mean it. Be happy and inviting — back away from your dog, smooching or clapping your hands. You might even turn and run, looking over your shoulder at him and inviting him to chase you.  Don’t be a brick wall by standing up straight or moving forward, in doggie language that means “stop” and will effectively block him from coming in to your space.

If he goes back to sniffing or looks away (and he will), scuff your feet again and say “ott…”. Again, scuff, clap, move towards him. You might even have a tin can with some pennies in it to throw. All we want to accomplish here is to get him to look at you so we can reward the look.

When he does look at you (even to see if you’ve gone nuts!) move backwards again and be cheerful and inviting. Your job is to switch from “darkness” to “sweetness and light” back and forth as quickly as you can. If he looks away, it’s darkness. If he looks towards you, it’s sweetness and light and all sorts of wonderful things.

Your timing is critical. You’ll fail if you are still saying “oh you bad dog” when he turns to look. Stop mid-sentence and switch to “what a good dog!” the moment you get any response, no matter how small.

Give him every opportunity to come to you. We want him to be successful, but we also want him to understand that ignoring your recall is not an option. Be very happy, with lots of genuine praise and abundant treats when he finally decides to come to you.

If he’s still too busy sniffing or otherwise ignoring you, you may have to walk up to him. Give him a little pinch or pull his hair. He will swing around to see what you did — at that exact moment, start backing up and say wonderful things. Tell him what a good dog he is in a happy, sing-song voice. If he looks away, say “ott” in a warning tone. If he looks back, say “excellent! What a good, smart dog you are!” We’re walking a tightrope here, and need to make it very clear that one side is everything wonderful and the other side is darkness.

If he still doesn’t come when you call, you can have him drag a light 20 foot line around. If he takes off away from you, step on the line. Let him correct himself by hitting the end of the line. Don’t pick the line up — it’s imperative that it’s his choice to come to you. If you must pick up the line, just give him a few quick tugs in your direction and drop the line again.

This method doesn’t work because of punishment, it works because the reward is so wonderful.

When your dog hears his name or the word “come/here” he should be excited because he knows that those words are attached to all the best things in life:  dinner time, car rides, going for walks, going outside, coming inside. Reserve “come/here” for those good things. When you need to give him a bath, trim his nails or put him in a crate, go and get him. Don’t call him and then do a Bad Thing. Coming when called should be happy. The dog should respond without thinking and be halfway to you before thinking “hmm, maybe I really wanted to stay and sniff that bush, but oh, well coming when called is always good too.”

Call your dog to you may times throughout the day. Touch his collar, praise, reward, and release.
Use Life Rewards — those good things mentioned above, and not just treats. DOG TRAINING HAPPENS throughout the day. A few moments of training 10 times a day is far more effective than 20 minutes once a day.