It's time to head to work and your dog needs to come in from outside. This should be simple, right? Call your pup by his name, he joyfully bounces over to you and runs through the door just in time for you to grab your cup of coffee, pat your buddy on the head and waltz out the door.
If you are still playing the chase game to get your dog to come in from outside, try this quick training game --
When you **don't** have to leave, come outside with your dog and let him smell the tasty treats you have in your pocket (if they don't smell, try replacing them with something that has an aroma)
Next, go inside the doorway. Now, call your dog by his name (in an upbeat tone) and wait for him to come through the threshold, the moment he does, say "good boy" and give him his treat
Then, walk outside and call him to join you
Let him go back to sniffing or ball play, whatever independent activity he was engaging with
Now, walk back inside, call his name again and get ready to reward him the moment he walks through the threshold like previously
Repeat this 5-10x so that your dog begins to associate being called inside with a treat **and** going back outside
Next time you have to call your pup inside, take note of how much quicker he responds to you
To keep this behavior of coming when called from outside, make sure you practice this exercise once a week to maintain the understanding that coming when called doesn't always mean the fun outside is ending
Comments