Dog won't come when called

[cosmo]

Hi,
I have 4 rescue Shelties and the last one we got will not come when called when we are outside. The first three all listen very well but the last one we got, a six year old male, forget it. He comes when inside the house but outside he follows his nose, chases whatever is going up and down our country road, chases anything in sight, and visits the next door dogs and people barking all the time. He is the most loving dog I have ever seen and is a big sheltie - 50#. I took him through basic obedience class and he was great although the classes were inside. We have 10 acres and I would like to let him run around with me outside. I don't want him out of my sight. When he realizes he is loose outside and gets 25 feet from me there is no stopping him. I'm an old guy - long retired and don't run any more so I can't really chase him. The only way I can get him to come to me when I want him is to take him into the back of our property on our golf cart and let him run around. Then when I want him to come I call him and start driving off in the cart. He then runs for his seat on the cart so not to be left behind. This is not a good system but it works. I am open to all suggestions.
Bill

 

[Katagaria]

My boy Cosmo is a bit like that (hey, your username is Cosmo! Ha!) once he starts sniffing, he is easily distracted away from me. At first, I never took him off the lead, in fact I only started taking him off about two weeks ago to run around, I'm still cautious because he is quite a friendly/curious fellow, if he sees someone he likes the look of, he'll (probably) trot over to them and say hello.

There are a few things you need to keep in mind. How you discipline your dog is one of them, you need to make sure you NEVER use your dog's name when you are telling him off, it comes naturally to some people to include their dogs name when they tell them off for doing something wrong, but you have to keep in mind that a dog's name should only ever be used as a positive and exciting thing, otherwise they will not be interested whenever you say their name.

You could also start using a new word from inside the home, every time you say "here here!" give your dog a high value reward, like a tiny piece of ham or sausage meat, something meaty and smelly usually does the trick.

Go into another room inside your house away from your dog (if possible, knowing how often shelties follow people around the home) shout "here here!" and even if your boy comes a minute later, reward. Once this is reliable inside the home, THEN take it outside (always start new things from inside the home, there are less distractions so your dog can focus on you easier). Or if you're not into shouting, get a whistle and train him for that to be the cue to come to you, over a distance it might be a better idea, it'll be an unmistakable sound.

When you take it outside, you should get a recall training lead like this: http://thedoggerel.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/meandp_grace.jpg - And make sure that whenever you call your dog, it's not always to put him on a leash or go home, try and make it so that he comes back to "check in" with you (when you first get this behaviour, make sure you reward it with some tasty treats), and then you release him again.

Oh, another thing, never chase after your dog! It often feels like a game, or the dog will worry and try to avoid you (depending on their nature and history). Your best bet is trying to run away from your dog and try to keep yourself exciting (high pitched excitable noises are usually the best!), this is largely why your dog goes after the golf cart in part too. But I wouldn't try going away from your dog just yet, you need to build him up bit by bit first!

 

[Mignarda]

How you discipline your dog is one of them, you need to make sure you NEVER use your dog's name when you are telling him off, it comes naturally to some people to include their dogs name when they tell them off for doing something wrong, but you have to keep in mind that a dog's name should only ever be used as a positive and exciting thing, otherwise they will not be interested whenever you say their name.

That's a good point, and you should never order him to come when he's going to catch it for something he's done wrong. Go to him instead.

 

[Toffee's Mom]

Good advice already, I would second the running away part, neverrr chase him

You obviously have experience, so only thing I can think to add is that he should loose his offleash privileges until you can get somewhat of a recall, aka I would use a long line, even if it is a 30 footer So that he can run when you go with the golf cart, but it will help him make better choices
The more he gets to practice NOT coming when you ask him to, the more he gets re enforced for choices you didn't want him to make
Don't call him when you know he won't lol, and I like the idea of doing it in the house first, too
Also carry the best treats EVER, lol

Good luck

 

[3dmodeler]

word come could mean a bad word

What I found out, a dog that has a bad experience when asked to come, will no longer come. We have the same issue with our sheltie. She will just stop, sit down and look at me. Use some other word that is like a reward word such as heel and give her food every time.

 

[Caro]

That's true about having the right word to get your dog to come. Are you just calling his name to come or do you have a word you use? Often we just call the dog's name to get them to come. Generally a dog gets that when you say their name it means give me your attention, they may then work out what you want next by your actions. If you look like you want them to come then they do. But some dogs aren't that good at interpreting human actions, or they aren't interested unless you tell them they have to. That's why it's best to have a recall word so they know for sure that you want them to come.

Try 'charging' the word come or here. The best place to do it is inside the house. When he's within eyesight call his name to get his attention and then say 'come' or 'here' and give him a treat. Increase the distance until you can call him from another room, then try it outside. No doubt your other dogs will pick up the word too!

If a word alone isn't working outside (where there's far more interesting things) you may want to try whistling. I have a whistle for my dogs to come when they are outside. It's amazing how a human whistling gets through a dog's senses. I can whistle my dogs to come when I'm inside the house and they're in the backyard, and I use it on bushwalks all the time. Again you'll need to 'charge' the whistle with treats.