Author Topic: how to train a pup to come when he is called?  (Read 5846 times)

Offline Kermit

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how to train a pup to come when he is called?
« on: July 11, 2005, 07:28:54 pm »
Ok, seriously folks. My puppy doesn't come to me when I call him. He just looks at me like, "yeah, whatever." I am thoroughly embarassed. He knows his name, so it isn't that. I really think he is being stubborn...? I have never had a problem with Zoot, he has always come to me when I called him since day 1. And I think Nigel only comes when I call them inside because he is following Zoot. I know I need to take care of this issue now, while he is still young. I should have dealt with it already but I have been in denial.  :P
So can anyone give me some greatly needed advice? He is 4 1/2 months old now. He's very motivated by food, so that could work to my advantage, but I am usually alone so it would be kinda hard for me to find a partner to help out with training. A lot of what I have read says you need a partner to help. Is this true? Anyone who can share an experience, I would greatly appreciate it!

Offline shangrila

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Re: how to train a pup to come when he is called?
« Reply #1 on: July 11, 2005, 07:43:15 pm »
You could try this trick that they told us in puppy kindergarten (which honestly, I haven't tried since I couldn't find a long enough leash). Here is what they told us to try:
*get a long long leash (think like 20-30 feet) and attach it to the dog's collar
*go in the backyard or a field where there is no distraction
*Start say 5 feet away. Say the dogs name, start realing them in with the leash, and say 'come' as you are basically pulling them towards you.
*When the pup gets all the way to you to the point where you can hold their collar, give them a treat and tell them 'good come'.
*Work up to further distances and you pulling less.

Try it and it might help your little one learn that 'come' means to go to mommy.
RIP former BPO

Offline jabear

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Re: how to train a pup to come when he is called?
« Reply #2 on: July 11, 2005, 08:50:50 pm »
You know what..I have given up on this topic. Bear is almost 3 years old and will still only come when he wants. Even when he was in puppy school and the next level up he did not like this command. He will "come" when inside and occasionally when we are outside (he is usually off-leash but doesn't go far) but he mostly chooses to ignore the command. We did it all and nothing worked. It was probably and is probably a problem with us and not him but he is a good listener other wise. He sits, lays down, waits, heels, stops & waits fo us at the end of a street all on command but come...oh come.....he just doesn't like that one.  :)
 Nicki can testify to what I have said because when we crossed a street and he had to wait, heel, then cross with me she was like "Oh Please!" hehehe Then again, she also saw him blatantly ignore me when I told him to come. He's my independent thinking boy, what can I say??
Hugs,
Jaime
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Offline pndlake

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Re: how to train a pup to come when he is called?
« Reply #3 on: July 12, 2005, 01:31:59 am »
I believe the best way to do it is to make the dog WANT to come to you.  You know your dog, you know what he likes best and dislikes.  You know what faces and sounds you make that he likes better than other faces and sounds you make.
I personally do not use treats for such a basic command.  It is a command that shows he is your dog and will love to be by your side when he is needed.  I like to use tremendous personal praises that are between you and your dog that nobody else knows.  The leash thing sounds like it would work as long as you tie it in with your own personal touch. 

 I once trained three of my dogs to walk horizontally by my side without a leash, then stop, sit, and again walk step,step,step then stop again and sit as soon as I stopped.  I got them to do it without a verbal command.  They just loved it and it became a great game with all of them including me - they even seemed to compete with each other as who could sit the fastest when I stopped suddenly.  I know you can develop your own method. 

Peggy
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Offline TwoNewfies

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Re: how to train a pup to come when he is called?
« Reply #4 on: July 12, 2005, 05:50:47 am »
I agree with Peggy.  The training we were taught is buillt on your relationship with your dog, knowing their drives and them wanting to please and be with you.  We do not use food.  We were taught that once the food is gone or there is something stronger to motivate your dog like kids running by, or another animal or whatever, the food motivation goes right out the window.  This method of training is very hard.  We had some serious reservations about it in the beginning because it took time and dedication.  But it has really paid off with Bella and already starting with Rocco who just had only his second puppy class last night.

Now with this said - how to get your dog to do a good come.  With your dog on his/her leash or long line, when the puppy is looking at everything else but you: 1.  Call his name (in a pleasant, happy, inviting / interesting voice)  2. Flick your wrist with the leash towards you - don't pull the dog though - firm but not too light or don't pull his neck off.  If he doesn't start coming in about 1 or 2 seconds, flick the leash again (don't use his name though - only once).  Also stay where you are at - don't move back.  Bend down slightly with legs spread slightly to make sort of a V where the dog can come in.  When the dog comes in give him alot of love and praise and say good come, good come - don't back off from your dog - give him love and let him give you love.

Last night with Rocco was the first time we did it at class and it took 4 flicks before he came.  So it is not always immediate results.  The key is not to give up until the dog comes.  If you give up the dog won in his mind.  Our trainer said the record is 53 flicks for one dog.  But by the end of training the dog was doing it on the first time by just saying come.  We were also taught in Obidience 2 to use a hand signal for the come but I won't go into it.

Like I said this is what we were taught and have had good results with it.  I hope that helped.  Good luck.
Gina

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Offline greek4

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Re: how to train a pup to come when he is called?
« Reply #5 on: July 12, 2005, 06:08:23 am »
Rocco has never come when called.  He thinks come means run a few feet away, turn around laugh, then keep running.  If I call his name in the house he checks out what he might get if he comes, debates the issue, then most of the time will come on the off chance I am hiding something good or the fact that he knows I will catch him.  Rocco can not be off leash outside a fenced in area or he becomes a wild dog.  In the fenced in area he is relatively obediant with sit, shake, and down.

Maia will always come.  She is less confidence in herself than Rocco so she likes to stick close.  I don't think she really knows the command.  It took me over a month to get her to do down.

Good luck.
Thanks,

Emily and 1 husband, 1 boy, 1 on the way, and 4 crazy dogs

Offline RedyreRottweilers

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Re: how to train a pup to come when he is called?
« Reply #6 on: July 12, 2005, 06:25:06 am »
The Recall Game

Having a dog who will reliably come when called is one of the best things in life. This means FREEDOM for your dog. Here is how to teach your dog to RUN to you each time you call it.

1)   NEVER call your dog unless you are CERTAIN you can enforce the command. Each time you call your dog and he does not immediately come to you to receive a food reward, you take a step backwards in his learning to come when you call. It is important not to make mistakes when teaching the recall. DO NOT CALL YOUR DOG if there is ANY chance you cannot enforce the command. EVER.
2)   NEVER call your dog to you for anything unpleasant. If you need to interrupt a play session, or you are going to trim nails, or if you are about to do anything to your dog that he does not enjoy, GO GET THE DOG. Do not call him to you.
3)   FOOD REWARD every single recall. EVERY SINGLE ONE. This means keeping treats in your pockets at all times.
4)   Smiles are required equipment when calling your dog. NEVER EVER call your dog in anything but a praise tone of voice. Correction will NEVER help a recall. Your dog must WANT to come when you call.

To play the game you need at least 2 people, and several is great. Each person is given a handful of very small soft treats. I prefer tiny pieces of hotdogs or string cheese. Pieces should be VERY small, even for a larger dog or puppy. I slice a hotdog in half and cut the pieces the size of a nickle. Once people have their treats, they should take a seat around the room with as much room between them as the room will allow.

One person takes the puppy or dog and points him towards the person who is going to begin the game. This person may do anything to get the puppy to come towards him except say the word COME. Clap hands, smile, laugh, show the treat, call PUPPPY PUPPPPY PUPPPPY, or the dog’s name. When it is CLEAR that the pup is committed to going to the person, and ONLY THEN, say the pup’s name, and come. For example, Bailey, COME! It does not matter if the puppy is almost to you, as long as the pup hears his name and the word COME while he is going TOWARDS the person calling.

Hold the hand with the food right up next to your body so that the puppy has to come all the way up to you and touch you to get the treat. Do not feed the treat until you are holding the puppy’s collar. This prevents the “snatch and run” game. Praise and pet the puppy cheerfully while he is getting his treat. Once the pup has had his little tiny treat, it’s time to point him towards another person who does the same thing.

It is extremely important that the participants understand they are NOT to say the word COME unless the puppy is already doing just that.

Play as long as the pup is interested. Main rules, Do not say COME unless the puppy IS coming, hold the treat up CLOSE to your body, and you must be holding the collar to feed the treat.

This simple game does more to build a reliable recall than any other training you can do. Your pup will quickly learn that his name and the word come means TREAT. Each time you call the pup and reward him for coming quickly to you, you build a more ingrained and reliable response. If you are consistent and train this game at least 2 to 3 times per week, you will have a dog who will ALWAYS come when you call it. Most owners list this as a top priority for their dogs. Here is a fun and simple way to attain this goal.

Practice often! Your pup will love this game, and so will your friends.
Redyre Rottweilers
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Offline greek4

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Re: how to train a pup to come when he is called?
« Reply #7 on: July 12, 2005, 06:32:53 am »
I have tried everything with Rocco.  The only time he reliable comes is when his shock collar is on.  I worked with a trainer and she couldn't even get him to do it reliably.  She says some dogs just won't do it, it's rare but I got one of those dogs.  We tried everything.  Rocco won't run out the front door because I have an invisible fence and he knows that he can't go anywhere and if he tries he gets shocked.  He won't jump the fence anymore for the same reason. 
I just have to continue to be careful that he doesn't get free.  I have learned to live with the fact that I can't be one of those people who has their dog off leash and can maintain complete control over them.  So when we go out he has leash and gentle leader on.
I have also heard that he will settle down with age and I can give it another try.  Who knows, for know I am happy with the hand I was dealt.
Thanks,

Emily and 1 husband, 1 boy, 1 on the way, and 4 crazy dogs

Offline RedyreRottweilers

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Re: how to train a pup to come when he is called?
« Reply #8 on: July 12, 2005, 06:44:02 am »
Emily, it is a very wise person who can understand their dog and how they must manage the dog for his own safety.

You are correct, some dogs learn this better than others. Occasionally dogs who have not been trained as a puppy that coming when called means a reward are extremely difficult to retrain later.

I personally would use aversives such as an electronic collar as a very last resort on any training issue. The problem with useing such things as a shock collar is exactly what you are experiencing: no collar, no recall.

A dog who has a reliable recall must want to come when you call him. When you really need your recall your dog is likely to be distracted (that's why you are calling him... *grin*), and may be headed for danger.

You can try the recall game in your house, and it's possible over time that you can build a  more positive response from your dog.

So many people do not realize that you cannot use a word to elicit a behavior that the dog does not associate with the word. So if you call the dog, and he is not already COMING when you call him, you have taught him that the recall command means whatever he was doing at the moment he heard the command, whether he was standing there looking at you, or running in the opposite direction.

You MUST have the behavior FIRMLY ingrained, and train it under controlled circumstances until the dog learns to associate the word WITH the action. Dogs learn by timing and pairing, so it's extremely important to pair the command with the behavior you are looking for.

Even if your dog does not learn to come when called by doing it, most owners and dogs love to play this game.

:D
Redyre Rottweilers
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Offline greek4

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Re: how to train a pup to come when he is called?
« Reply #9 on: July 12, 2005, 06:50:30 am »
I'll try.  You are right about him knowing when the collar is on or not.  I need to dedicate more time and effort in helping him to learn this command.  We do well in the house, on leash outside but once we reach the off leash outside step, I lose his interest and he just walks away.  I don't know how to transition from on leash outside to off leash outside.  I know Rocco is smarter than he lets on.
Thanks,

Emily and 1 husband, 1 boy, 1 on the way, and 4 crazy dogs

Offline Kermit

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Re: how to train a pup to come when he is called?
« Reply #10 on: July 12, 2005, 07:51:07 am »
Redyre, I was afraid of that exact thing- that every time I call him and he doesn't come, I am reinforcing that he WON'T come! Like training him to ignore me when I call him! I hope there is still time for me to turn this around!
It is really amazing how different my two dogs are. Zoot was housetrained the first week I had him home, and has always listened and done everything possible to please me. Nigel is the opposite. He still isn't housetrained, he doesn't listen, but I know it's not because he is stupid, he just has a different mentality than Zoot. To my advantage, he has picked up some great habits from imitating Zoot like being very polite while I eat and being patient when I have to leave them in the car for a few minutes.
So I will try these approaches. I'd sure like for my dog to come to me not only for food, but I can see how developing a habit in him to instinctively come every time he is called would work using treats in the beginning. I am just embarassed at the moment because I realized that my neighbors litter of 7 week old puppies all come when they are called, and my dog who I have had for at least 7 weeks ignores me!!!
Thanks for all the advice!

Offline Jaimie

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Re: how to train a pup to come when he is called?
« Reply #11 on: July 12, 2005, 09:13:29 am »
I am starting to believe that there are just some commands that dogs just choose not to obey.  I have been trying for like 3 1/2 yrs. to get Ace to heal, I have tried EVERYTHING, he just WILL NOT heel.  Here a tip for the come command( you are probably already aware of it but anyway), you have to be really careful that you NEVER ask your dog to come for something he does not like, like asking him to come to take a bath( if he hates the tub) stuff like that, or calling him and then scolding him for something, not good.  Let us know how its going :)

Offline Carolyn

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Re: how to train a pup to come when he is called?
« Reply #12 on: July 12, 2005, 02:35:59 pm »
In school, "ok" was a kind of attention getter & release. I started saying "ok, look, come" & it worked wonders for me. I'll only call "come" when I know they will come off lead in the yard & usually have a treat. Same as "stay" I'll only use that when I can re-enforce with the leash. I use "wait" as a more informal command off lead.
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