Teaching Your Poodle to Come
Coming when called, which trainers call a “recall,” is one of the most important skills your dog will learn. A dog with a reliable recall can enjoy much more freedom than a dog that ignores his owner. Training your poodle to come is all about making yourself more attractive than whatever else your poodle is doing. And the way you do that (naturally) is with food!
Laying the Groundwork
When you're teaching something this important, it's worthwhile to go slowly and do it right. Start in your living room. Working with a partner (or partners), stand just six feet apart, with one of you holding on to your poodle.
Call your poodle's name, followed by a bright and enthusiastic “Come!” The person holding the poodle should let go and ignore the dog. Whether your poodle runs to you or just looks in your direction when you say her name, click for any kind of acknowledgment. Let her come to you for the treat.
If you're the caller and get absolutely no reaction from your poodle, walk up to her, show her the treats, walk back, and try again. Bend down to encourage her to come. Still no reaction? Get out a smellier treat. Walk up to her, show her the treat and walk just a short distance away. If necessary, keep shortening the distance between you until you get a reaction you can reward. (Most dogs will come to you from the outset.)
Essential
Treats are an essential component to positive training. Just as you go to work every day for your paycheck, your dog does what you ask because of what he receives in return, not out of some instinct to please you. So think of treats as your dog's paycheck for a job well done.
Now the other person should call the poodle by name and click and treat when she reacts. If you have more than one helper, take turns calling the dog among all of you. Make this lots of fun, gradually increasing the distance between you.
After your poodle is doing well with this exercise, have the person who is holding her try to distract her from the recall after he lets go. He can talk to her or even squeak toys. If your training foundation is strong, your poodle will ignore those distractions and come to you anyway for the delicious treat she knows you'll give her.
If you don't have a helper, don't despair. Just walk a few feet away from your poodle and say, “[Fill in the name], Come!” When she looks up at you, run backward a few steps. When she starts to move toward you, click. When she nears you, stop running. And when she reaches you, dole out the treats. Gradually increase the distance and the distractions, as above.
Alert!
Never, ever call your poodle to you and then yell at him when he arrives. Even if it took him ten minutes to come, give him a token treat. Don't call him to come for something unpleasant (like toenail clipping). You should always make coming to you a source of pleasure for your poodle.
The Next Step
Teaching your dog to come into the house is one thing. But getting her to come when you're outdoors, with all its temptations, is quite another. That's why laying the groundwork is so important.
After she's coming consistently into the house, start working with her outdoors in a safely fenced area or on leash. Don't let her off the leash in an unfenced area until her recall is rock solid. Start doing the exercises that you did in the house, starting at a shorter distance than you've ended up with in the house. Increase the distance, as well as the distractions that the holding person creates.
If you don't have a secure area in which to practice the recall, or if you want to practice in a new area that's not fenced (and it's a very good idea to practice in all different types of environments), you'll need to use a long line. It can be a retractable leash or a simple cotton web or nylon lead. (A hint: cotton is easier on your hands.) Don't use the lead to correct your dog or force her to come. Simply use it to keep her from running off — and being rewarded by the fun of running free.
When training the recall, increase the difficulty in very small increments. Use the word “Come!” only once — you don't want your poodle to learn that she can wait until the third “Come” before responding. And always, especially during training, give your dog a food reward when she comes on cue.
Fact
You can strengthen your poodle's recall and make it easier to train by selecting an especially delicious treat that you use only when you ask him to come. That way, he'll really be motivated to come when you call.
When Your Dog Won't Come
What do you do if your dog turns a deaf ear to you when you ask her to come? You show her that there are consequences to ignoring you.
No, you're not going to get physical or angry with her. Instead, make her wish she had listened by excitedly giving the treats to another dog (if one is available) or, barring that, eating them yourself. (There are lots of treats, like cheese, cereal, and meat, that you can eat, too.) Be very dramatic about what your dog is missing. When your poodle sees that by not coming she's missing out on the good stuff, she should think again about ignoring the recall.
