A good way to get a dog to come to you is to ask him to go with you. You begin when the dog is young. At about 5 months old many pups stop coming to you. It is something that happens in their development and is a normal sign of your pup maturing and becoming independent from his dam. Pups may stop coming to you, but they still have a natural desire to go with you.
Let’s say you’ve taken a pup for a run and you want to pick him up. First, try to avoid calling him to you if you think he isn’t going to come. Instead, ask him to go with you. Start walking in a new direction. He doesn’t want to be left behind or miss anything, so when he sees you leaving, he runs to get in front. As he gets close, turn towards him, bend down, and call his name. If your timing is right, he should almost runs into you. Pet him up and let him know how happy you are with him. You are building cooperation.
As your pup matures there may come a time when he no longer wants to go with you. At this stage, you need to stop running him until you introduce the e-collar so you can stay in control. Once the e-collar has been introduced, try to avoid using it to make him come to you. Anyone can make a dog come to them with enough stimulation but the dog will never be happy about it. Instead, ask him to go with you. Use stimulation if necessary to ask him to come around, and as he runs to catch-up, turn, bend down and call him. You will find him becoming more and more cooperative, and eventually you will be able to call him to you and he will come running. By going slowly and working with your dog’s natural desires you are building cooperation, and you and your dog are becoming a team.
