Dr. Dunbar’s 28-Day Good Dog Challenge

Come from Afar

Day 16 · Across the room, from another room, and from the yard.

Watch Ian

Why Come from Afar?

Remember learning the last line of the poem first? By now, your dog has practiced the end of the recall, the Come-Sit, hundreds of times. It’s their position of strength. So today, we add distance. (Missed it? See Day 2: Come-Sits.)

And remember: for Ian, Come means come, sit, stay, and watch me. A dog who sits in front of you is a dog who has arrived.

Step by step

1. Start across the room. Say your dog’s name and “Come!” Open your arms wide, smile, and make happy, encouraging noises.
2. Praise the very first step. Don’t wait until your dog arrives. Praise the moment they turn toward you, and keep praising all the way in.
3. Ask for a Sit before they arrive. When your dog is two or three dog-lengths away, say “Sit.” Otherwise, small dogs whizz past, and big dogs flatten you!
4. Take the collar, then reward big. Gently take hold of your dog’s collar, praise like crazy, and give a few pieces of kibble, one at a time.
5. Go farther. Next, call your dog from another room. Then from the yard, if you have one.
6. Count your first-call Comes. Call 10 times in all, and keep score.

Reward the speediest

Here’s a question Ian loves to ask at his seminars: if you’re going to practice ten recalls, which ones should you reward? All of them? The first? The last? Ian’s answer: the quickest ones. Reward every Come, and your dog takes the rewards for granted. Save your best rewards for the zippiest recalls, and just praise the slower ones. Your dog will soon learn that speed pays.

Bonus: Hide & Seek

Hide behind a door or the couch, call your dog, and celebrate when they find you. Dogs love this game, and the whole point of it is for your dog to find you. It teaches them to keep an eye on where you are.

Round-Robin Recalls

A wonderful game for the whole family. Imagine Mike, Amanda, their daughter Savannah, and their dog, Dude:

1. Mike calls Dude to Come and Sit. Then he says, just once, “Dude, go to Savannah.”
2. Savannah immediately says, “Dude, Come!” and opens her arms wide. When Dude arrives, she asks for a Sit, takes his collar, praises, and gives a piece of kibble.
3. Then Savannah says, “Dude, go to Amanda,” and Amanda calls. And so on, around and around.

Make sure everyone sends the dog to everyone else. Before long, your dog learns everyone’s names: whenever someone says “Savannah,” Savannah always calls.

Recalls at the dog park

So many dogs learn that “Come here” means “We’re leaving.” The dog comes, the leash goes on, and the fun is over. It only takes a visit or two for a dog to learn to stay well away.

Instead, take your dog’s dinner kibble to the park. Every minute or so, call your dog, ask for a Sit, take their collar, praise, give a couple of pieces of kibble, and say “Go play!” Coming when called becomes a quick time-out for a kind word and a snack, and then it’s back to the fun. Your dog’s recalls will be the talk of the town!

When it’s really time to go, soften the blow. Ian tells his dogs, “Let’s go and find your Kongs!” and leaves stuffed chew toys waiting in the car.

So next time your dog finally comes, put on the leash, walk out of the park… then turn right around and walk back in. Ask for a Sit, give five pieces of kibble one at a time, take off the leash, and say “Go play!” Then walk away from your dog. Most dogs will follow. Repeat this half a dozen times, and you’ll have a different dog.

Ian’s favorite game: Tag

Dogs love chasing and being chased. Ian’s first dog, Omaha, adored Tag. After a Sit-Stay, Ian would say “Tag!” and Omaha would run off, with Ian in hot pursuit. Every minute or so, Ian asked for a quick Come-Sit, and then they’d play Tag again. Ian never once managed to catch him. But Omaha’s normally leisurely recalls got quicker and quicker.

Another of Ian’s dogs, Dune, would race all over the house, upstairs, downstairs, and around the couches, and they’d always end up running around and around the dining room table. A great rainy-day game!

More recalls from Ian.

Ian’s story: why Sit can beat Come

Ian trained his Malamute, Phoenix, to be the fastest Malamute on the planet. One day in the park, he called, “Dogs, Come!” and Phoenix streaked toward him like a wolfy missile, just as a group of elderly people walked right into her path. Parents screamed. Ian shouted, “Dogs, DOWN!” and both dogs hit the grass.

Afterward, Ian apologized to everyone, and asked Phoenix and Oso to Sit, Bow, Beg, and High five to show they were friendly. The softball game was put on hold while every child came to say hello.

The lesson: in a real emergency, a dog flying toward you isn’t always the safest thing. An emergency Sit or Down stops your dog right where they are. So keep practicing those quick Sits and Downs from a distance, too.

Special tips

What’s next

• Tomorrow, Day 17, it’s Verbal Cues: does your dog understand your words, without the hand signals?
• Use it every day. Call your dog lots of times on every walk and at every dog park visit, and then let them go back to having fun.

Filming tips and prizes: Videos and Prizes.