Happy Tails

Everyone wants their dog to shoot back to them like a bullet the second they’re called.  That’s not a bad reason for my having named my young Border Collie, Shooter!  He needs to learn that “COME” means stop whatever you’re doing and come directly to me as fast as you can.  No hesitation!  That means he ignores the dog barking outside the fence, the cat prowling near the gate or the bicycle zooming down the walk.  It’s a thing of beauty to see a dog come bounding into his owner—tail wagging and filled with excitement just to be near the person he loves, trusts and respects.  For the trained dog it’s like coming home after a hard day at work.  The AKC has incorporated “come when called” as Item #7 on the list of 10 exercises required to earn the Canine Good Citizen^® (CGC) certificate.

Here’s a brief recap of the first 6 exercised we’ve already covered:

Item #1: accept a friendly stranger

Item #2: sit politely for petting

Item #3: appearance and grooming

Item #4; walking on a loose lead

Item #5: walk through a crowd

Item #6: sit and down on command and staying in place

When being evaluated, Shooter will be left on either a “SIT”  or a “DOWN” and the handler will walk about 10 feet away and call him.  You can say either STAY or WAIT and you can encourage Shooter along the way.  The important thing is that he comes.  He doesn’t have to sit in front of you or do anything special—just come.  Unless you’re preparing for a competitive sport like Obedience or Rally, all you want is for Shooter to come running into you for lots of hands-on praise.

Always begin training Shooter to “COME” while he’s on lead.  This is one command you want to make sure he obeys!  Start with him on a relatively short (6’) lead and have him sitting in front of you.  Tell him to “COME! and reel him in to you—quickly and enthusiastically.  I like to run backwards a bit to encourage his momentum.  Always praise generously, first with your hands and then with a treat.  Only give the command one time, but be cheerful and excited.  If he doesn’t come, go to him and physically bring him to where you were standing when you called him.  Put him back and try again.  Don’t get angry or frustrated—just start over.  ALWAYS praise Shooter when he comes to you.

As he gets better, begin using a longer lead and mix things up a bit.  Even try turning and running before he reaches you and then turn around and give him a huge hug.  Don’t try this off-lead for a long time and even then, begin it in a fenced area.  Even though Shooter will learn what the word “COME” means very quickly, this is one exercise you’ll want to practice forever.  If he learns—just once—that he doesn’t have to come when called, you’ve created a dangerous situation and you need to go back to the beginning steps and proceed cautiously.

I promised a trick this week so let’s  teach Shooter to “ROLL OVER!” Start with him in the “DOWN” position.  Kneel next to or in front of him.  Hold a treat in your right hand, really close to his nose.  Move your hand in a circular motion back and towards his shoulder blade until he rolls over on his side.  Keep luring him around with the treat close to his nose at all times and tell him how terrific he is.  For the next step move your hand from the shoulder blade towards his backbone.  Tell him to “ROLL OVER.” This should lure him onto his back and over to the other side.  Celebrate the minute he lands on his opposite side.  Keep practicing and tickle his tummy as he twists his heads to reach the cookie.  As soon as he gets the idea, you can begin to use a slightly less exaggerated hand gesture, but keep using the treat for awhile.

With any new trick, practice it three to five times and then quit.  Letting Shooter think about it overnight seems to help.  You always want to stop before he gets frustrated.

Make sure those tails are happy and let me know how you’re doing.