Coming When Called - Part 1, A New Perspective

It has happened time and again to many people, they say the word "Come" and expect their dog to arrive at their feet instantly. When this doesn't happen, especially in height of excitement for your dog, can be especially disappointing to you. Let's look at it from the dogs perspective.

A gaggle of goose just perused your yard about 20 minutes ago. Having no idea they had traveled through you venture outside for the second potty break of the day. Your dog goes out the door and nose glued to the ground starts following their wondering path. As your curious pup ventures into the tall grass surrounding your property you start to grow concerned that he is no longer paying attention to your presence. "Wally come!" you protest with hopes your dog turns and comes bounding in your direction. Nothing. "WALLY come!" still nothing but you start heading out in the direction of where you last spotted him disappearing into the tall grass. As a last desperate attempt you muster your scariest, deepest, "WALLY COME!" You are greeted with silence.  You are now frustrated, your dog surely knows what come means but is being "stubborn".

Now let's put this in to perspective of a human. Have you ever tried to converse with someone who is deeply engrossed in a book, movie or video game? You start talking to them, expecting them to hear you and then surprised when you find you are repeating yourself.  "Mom....yadda yadda yadda...Mom! MOM!" Meanwhile, Mom has heard nothing. When one sense is heightened, in this case, say reading, all other senses are not as quick to respond, such as listening. Do you immediately drop what it is you are doing when your parent, spouse or significant other calls you from another room? I think a common response is, "Just a minute" or "Hold on". When our dog's nose is turned on, or they are fixated on something in the distance, or found something interesting, they are less likely to key in on any verbal cues, or come when called.

How then, does one teach a reliable recall? Let's think about it for just one minute, really think about it. What is motivating? If every, single, time, I asked you to come here, and then gave you $5.00, no matter how slow your response was, I bet I would see an increase in response time verses the "just a minute", thus strengthening your coming when called. Overtime, regardless of the distraction, when you heard the words, "Could you come here?" whether playing with friends or video games, you would quickly drop what you are doing to come earn an easy $5.00.

If humans can learn through repetition and rewards, why can't our dogs?