Route 10: Wynley Park’s Road to Becoming the Goodest Dog (Dog Training)
“Rehomers” is what we call the dogs who visit us on their way to their forever homes. Route 10 is how we refer to the dog’s training as they prepare to move from our home to yours. Our goal is for the rehomer to learn ten concepts before he goes to his forever home. Eight of the concepts are common phrases and two are cues. As a bonus, we teach a trick of some sort. Although his training may not be complete, the rehomer will be on the road to becoming the goodest dog. Training concepts we cover at Wynley Park:
- yes!
- sit
- kennel up
- wait
- off
- heel
- load up
- come
- stop that (cue) – this is not a word. It is a sound we make when a dog does something we do not want him to do.
- foot stomp (cue) – We stomp one time if #9 does not work. A dog will probably experience the foot stomp at some point, after he has learned phrases 1-8, but we use it sparingly.
Bonus Trick: Which trick we teach will depend on the dog’s natural talent.
3 Suggestions for Getting Your Loose Dog to Come to You (Without Saying “Come”)
Dogs get away from us sometimes. They run out a door left open or wiggle out of their collars. Sometimes an owner simply thinks the dog is further along in his training than he actually is, so the owner decides to take the dog to a dog park or put hi in the yard sans leash. And the dog tastes freedom!
What to do when your dog is loose? 3 suggestions:
- Give him a command he knows really well. Have you already been working with your dog on basic training, and he has mastered sit and wait commands? If so, then yell “sit”. Have him wait for you to catch up. This is why “sit” and “wait” are 2 of the first 4 commands we teach. Is your dog an MVP ball player? If yes, then yell “fetch”! Chances are, he will come to you, looking for his ball.
- Be more fun than the surroundings! Maybe your training is not far enough along for a command to work. Pique his attention by using a happy sing-song voice. This is harder than it sounds. Fear tends to be our first response to our dog getting loose, and he can hear it in your voice. This is why you’ll want to sing a fun or silly word. “Pup, pup, pup”, or “here doggie doggie”. Make something up. Just do not say “come! in your angry, frustrated or fearful voice because who would want to come to that?
- Fake an injury. Fall to the ground, grab your ankle and say “owww!” Sounds odd, I know, but it might work for you. Although Charley and I are dog trainers, the command “come” works on half of our 5 dogs. Two of our dogs come regularly when asked to come; one does it about half the time. In our defense, Great Pyrenees are notorious for not coming when called. Guarding dogs are much more likely to check on a human or animal who is hurt, so the ole ankle injury works for us.
Got other creative suggestions for getting a loose dog to come to you? We’d like to read your comments!