Four Legged Scholars LLC, Dog Training Hiram and Surrounding Areas

Are you struggling with getting your dog to come? This is definitely a common issue and can be really stressful.  I can personally relate and of course I can help you with dog training. Hiram is where much of my dog training career began.

I learned much about failing with “come” by training my dogs at a young age.  The story began when I was 8 years old and I lived in Garrettsville, Ohio.

My first dog, Heather, ran away from home often and wasn’t allowed to be kept indoors at my parents house.  As a result, I had her off leash often.

She had numerous opportunities to run off. I didn’t have the heart to have her on-leash every time I was indoors. So there were many hours I spent looking for her when she ran away from home.

I was so stressed by the time I found her that I had no energy to be positive if she “came” to me. Well she learned very quickly that when I found her I was often angry. So she never really learned to come that great for me.

I remember hiking with her in Hiram. Dog training knowledge on training a good “come” was not known to me. I eventually lost her and found her across a stream that she didn’t want to swim across. Finally, she got enough courage to swim. The years went on with never really succeeding with a good “come” command.

I loved her so much and was crushed when she past. I wished I had known more about positive dog training.

I decided that I would work on shifting my anger with my second dog and was no in Middle School. I gave her rewards every time she came to me. I raised a more confident dog. The problem was Shadow’s chasing drive because she was a border collie. Her chase drive was strong so there were still many times she ran off.

I honestly enjoyed walking and hiking with her in Hiram. Dog training was a huge focus on our hikes. We trampled through the Hiram Field Station, the beautiful grounds at Hiram College and the woods behind our house.

I really focused on having awesome treats on me to help her want to “come” to me. I used leftovers from the fridge including pizza, roast, hotdogs, stew, and anything else that I thought my border collie would find to be tasty.

The main problem I had with Shadow were distractions. I trained in her super distracting environments, and I had her off leash frequently. However, I kept training and rewarding her when she came. In fact, if she came fast she got a huge jackpot of my mom’s leftovers.

So eventually, when I moved to Utah, I was able to hike with her off-leash in the mountains.

Seiki, my third dog had a “come” command that was almost developed to perfection. By the time I had him, I knew enough. I kept the distractions low and easy until he was ready to “come” with harder distractions.

Before I knew it we were hiking everywhere in Utah off-leash. Seiki never saw Hiram. Dog training had shifted to Utah with mountains and the desert surrounding us.

The biggest lessons I learned:

1.) Keep your dog on leash until you know that your dog will come.

2.) Give really special treats for a good “come.”

3.) When you have your dog off leash start in super low distracting areas. Gradually increase the level of distractions as your dog is ready.

4.) Never yell at your dog for coming to you.

Tell us about your dog.

Johanna Teresi, Hiram Ohio Dog Trainer and Owner of Four Legged Scholars LLC, Dog Training, Hiram, Ohio and surrounding areas.