How To Make Your Dog Come Back Back When You Call
Have you ever heard the term “Catch 22?”
The phrase became popular after the novel of the same name written by Joseph Heller in 1961.
Wikipedia defines the phrase as: “Catch-22” is common idiomatic usage meaning “a no-win situation” or “a double bind.”
Here is one example from the book:
The Texan turned out to be good-natured, generous and likable. In three days no one could stand him. The case against Clevinger was open and shut. The only thing missing was something to charge him with.
Joseph Heller, Catch 22
“The Texan turned out to be good-natured, generous and likable. In three days no one could stand him. The case against Clevinger was open and shut. The only thing missing was something to charge him with.”
What does all of this have to do with significantly increasing your dog’s chances of coming back when you call? Because one of the secrets to getting your dog to come back to you is like a Catch 22 situation; or if Joseph Heller were to write it, it would probably sound like this:
“The secret to getting your dog to come back to you when he is off-leash is to let him spend some time off-leash.”
You see, the big problem with dogs not coming back to their owners is not that they don’t understand the command, not that they don’t like you, not even that there is something else distracting your dog.
The big problem with your dog not coming back to you is…
YOUR DOG’S LACK OF FREEDOM.
If you look at the way many dogs live you’ll see that most of them live under some type of confinement. They spend long periods of time in a house, in a fenced in yard, in a crate, in a car, on a leash, etc.
The last thing your dog is thinking about when he gets a little taste of freedom is coming back to you or me.
I once worked with a German Short Haired Pointer that had been confined to the house and tied up for seven long years. For whatever reason, the owner after seven years decided he wanted to train his dog.
He showed up for a training session and thought that the area we were in was fenced and let his dog off-leash. Within seconds his dog was out of sight. He became very angry with his dog as we chased after him.
After we caught his dog (which was not easy) I tried explaining to him that what his dog did was natural. That after seven years of confinement I expected his dog to take off.
I added that in order for his dog to ever get good at coming back to him, his dog would have to develop a sense of freedom. He gave me a very puzzled look and asked, “How the heck do I let my dog develop a sense of freedom?”
There are a couple of ways to do this. One of the best ways is to get a 30 to 40 foot long line. Attach it to your dog’s collar and go to a big open field. With the long leash attached to your dog, let your dog just be a dog.
Let your dog sniff, play, run around and do dog stuff. Stay close to the long line, this way you can step on the line if your dog starts to get too far away. Then when you call your dog, you can use the long line to get your dog to come to you.
I also recommend tying some knots in the long line. This way if your dog starts to run and you step on the long line the knot will help slow down your dog.
You can also go to a fenced in ball park or tennis court. The more you allow your dog to just be a dog and run around, the easier it will be for your dog to come back to you.
If you follow this simple step you will significantly increase your dog’s chances of coming back when you call.
Go ahead and try it out.