It’s very important that your pet respond to the dog come command. Yes, life threatening circumstances may necessitate such obedience, but an additional perk of this obedience is some off-leash time (provided that the dog is in a safe area). Here are two ways to get your dog to respond no matter what the situation.

1. Give your dog the command, “come” or “come here” and then start to run away from him. This will trigger your dog’s natural tendency to chase whatever is running from it. Stop running and when the dog finally reaches you, give it a treat or lavish it with plenty of praise. Your dog should fully understand and respond to the command after about a month of daily practice without you having to run.

2. Have your family members sit in a circle and hold a treat. Let everyone take turns calling the dog’s name and then treating her when she runs to the person who called her.

There are some ways to call your dog without using the dog come command. For whatever reason, most dogs run toward the person who calls its name and then claps, snaps, makes a kissing sound, whistles, shakes the cars keys, or slaps the thighs.