How To Train Your Dog To Come When You're Outdoors

After you have trained your dog to “Come” when you’re indoors, its time to try the same lesson outdoors.

Keep in mind that this will be slightly more challenging, as there are more distractions outside.

Because of this, you should try to find a quiet place at first with the minimum of extra distractions.

Keep your dog on the extending leash for now, to make sure you still have control over him if he doesn’t respond to your “Come” command just yet.

Does your dog ignore your come command?

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Here’s what you do if he won’t “come” outdoors:
Encourage your dog to come back for his food reward. A quick jerk on the leash is usually enough to attract his attention.

Sometimes a toy reward might work better because it’ll be more visible from a distance than a food reward would be.

Dogs (especially puppies) have fairly short attention spans, which means training can be mentally exhausting for them. So you should only try to train your dog for 5 to 15 minutes at any one time, and never train when you or your dog is tired.

You should also try to plan all training sessions to take place before the dog has any active exercise (such as a dog walk), so he’s physically and mentally prepared for the training session.

Here’s an idea:
Vary the places in which you train your dog, so you can maintain your dog’s interest easier.

If your dog doesn’t seem to be responding very well to his food reward, you should change his meal-time routine. Try giving him fewer meals but in larger quantities.

If he still doesn’t respond well to food rewards, try using his favorite squeaky toy as a reward instead.

If your dog is strong willed or stubborn at this moment in time, always carry out any training exercise with him on a leash at all times.

This will mean you’re still in control, and he will soon learn you’re the dominant one which reminds him that he must listen and respond to you when you make a command.