{"id":23244,"date":"2026-08-19T17:46:39","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T23:46:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=23244"},"modified":"2026-08-21T17:48:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T23:48:05","slug":"is-come-the-end-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/19\/is-come-the-end-game\/","title":{"rendered":"IS \u2018COME\u2019 THE END GAME?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Fran Jewell<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

So many times I am asked how to get a dog in the car at the end of a walk. Their dog loves to run around the car and play \u201ccatch me if you can!\u201d One of the issues I see with the word \u201ccome\u201d is that the dog relates that word to being the end-of-fun time.<\/p>\n

At my house, come means get to me and sit, get a treat, petting or ball throw, then go play again. Now it is a game they love to play. The same is true on walks. We play the \u201ccome\u201d game many times during a walk, not just when there is something the dog should not chase. When walking multiple dogs, it\u2019s the same thing. I say, \u201ccome\u201d and they all come and get treats, then they get to go play again. As part of that routine, I have them sit when they get to me, wait for a treat, or two or three (the number is always variable), then say, \u201cGo play!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When I get to the car, they all know it\u2019s treat time in the van. At first, I toss a treat in the van\/crate. Then they get in. Eventually, they get in first, lie down, and then they get the treat.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is a simple way to practice leadership and have a fun walk or outing.<\/span><\/p>\n

If your dog is not food motivated but loves to chase a ball or toy, this can also be the reward for doing the come command. Take a ball or toy they love (and use it only on walks) and toss it after they get to you and sit. It\u2019s a little harder for the toy reward in the car.<\/span><\/p>\n

The point to all of this is that if your dog associates the end of a good time with the word \u201ccome,\u201d your command will lose meaning. If your dog does not respect you, then \u201ccome\u201d is not a behavior your dog will feel is necessary. That is why you always add in the sits, wait, and release (\u201cgo play\u201d). This helps to build leadership and respect with the dog.<\/span><\/p>\n

While I practice it every day in the backyard with my dogs to keep that command fresh, you can also practice it in the house. I don\u2019t usually play fetch in my house simply because I have 80-pound dogs in a small house! And, I don\u2019t let my dogs tell me when to play. I am always the one to initiate the play usually before they do. A little work before play (sit, wait, etc.) is always a good respect builder.<\/span><\/p>\n

These are simple things you can incorporate to build a stronger bond with your dog and to have a dog that is better behaved away from home. Requiring a sit for a treat is always helpful to help your dog be better behaved with greeting people.<\/span><\/p>\n

The other thing you can do to build a stronger \u201ccome\u201d command is to associate a whistle with food or favorite toy. It\u2019s basic classical conditioning. Whistle = treat or toy. Do this three to five times before you leave for the walk. Then practice it multiple times during your walk.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your dog will want to stay closer to you if you are the giver of all good! Make \u201ccome\u201d or a whistle (it can be a simple lifeguard whistle) the best thing in your dog\u2019s life. <\/span><\/p>\n

Good luck\u2014and keep on hiking!<\/span><\/p>\n

Fran Jewell is a dog behavior consultant, NADOI-certified instructor and vice president.\u00a0She owns Positive Puppy Dog Training\u00a0LLC and can be reached at (208) 721-7221.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Fran Jewell So many times I am asked how to get a dog in the car at the end of a walk. Their dog loves to run around the car and play \u201ccatch me if you can!\u201d One of the issues I see with the word \u201ccome\u201d is that the dog relates that word […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":479,"featured_media":23245,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-commentary","category-no-bones-about-it"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/479"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23244"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23244\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23246,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23244\/revisions\/23246"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}