Reliable come trouble.

cool.. thanks guys... Hopefully i wll be reporting back soon with good results..I think i was too busy teaching her cute tricks. she does sit and sit stay and down and she can circle right and left and knows left paw right paw and bang to fall down. and she waves.so i think its time to buckle down with the obedience..

Mary
 
this may sound crazy...

but, I hand feed my shelties for the first two weeks. I want them to know I am "mom". I know it sound silly... but with Jasper, when I call his name, he come running. So far, with Charlie, I am noticing the same thing is happening. I think the concept I am hoping they will establish is "she provide my food, I better listen up".

Annie on the other hand, well... she is very independent! She would stay outside all day and night if you would let her. She loves to stay on the opposite side of the trampoline from us! I gotta tell you, I love that thing plus the kids... but, when it come to getting Annie back in; I wish I could just make it disappear!

it worth a try.. if she start getting too independent, you could try hand feeding her~ Or I may be off my rocker! Not sure which yet.... /smile warmly
 
thanks for sharing your story Beth, i do in fact already hand feed Bella. At first i hand fed her all of it but now i sit with her and her bowl and i will take a hand full and feed her and then she will get some and we go back and forth, I had also read about that very thing..and that it also prevents resourse guarding.

Bells loves every part of me, she is under my feet constantly, when i go to the bathroom she cries at the door waiting for me to come out. Every morning when she comes out of her crate we have couch time after daddy leaves for work and she gets as close to me as she possibly can. She watches my every move and if i talk she looks. And she does come to me inside, just not always immediately. She is very strong willed and independent, when she walks out that back door she forgets all about me LOL..but i did go back to the leash for now and going to do long lead work with her. We went to the park yesterday with the long 20 training lead and she came to me every single time i called her.. go figure...just something about that yard or should i say palm tree..
 
sound like Annie to a "T". When inside, it is all about Mommy and Daddy. She want to be with us every single moment... but once that magical door open to the great outdoor, you cant stop Annie from rushing the door for freedom! LOL

Sound like we both have a little girl who is a handful! /smile
 
There's a great DVD called Really Reliable Recall that you could get your hands on. It has great tips on how to work on getting a superb recall from your dog, including:
1. don't call your dog to come when you know it won't!!
2. reward with a high rate of reinforcement (if your dog likes food), instead of one big piece or just one piece of treat, break it up into many tiny pieces, like 20, and give each one over and over when the dog comes.
3. oh and the age old, never call your dog to come for anything it hates!

The scary part is that you could be training this for a year or even 2 before your dog can be really reliable. This is coz you'll have to proof your dog against all kinds of distractions too which will take time. And your dog will go through adolescence (hopefully easy on you!) and that will take you back a few steps in training as well, so there's time gone there.

I've been working with Romeo on a long line. When I call and he doesn't come or gets distracted along the way I reel him in slowly. It helps to find something they find truly rewarding too (his is running to pee on a tree or sniff some dog's wee). I also call him back to you frequently (starting with short distances, as someone else suggested, and releasing him out to play again (with a cue Go Play!) after I get a sit and touch the collar. I would do this on a long line too. No off leash yet!
 
During my puppy training, the trainer showed us a way to reliably get the dog to come to you. First, he had us pick a special word that we don't use very often (we picked hussle... other picked thing like pickles, or whatever you like, as long as it's not used frequently). Then, you start "loading" the word; you say the word, click, then give a treat. After a while, the dog will understand that anytime you say that word, there are treats.

Once you've loaded that word for a while, you can use it as your come command. Call your dog with that word, say it only ONCE, and sound really happy and excited. The dog will run to you to get their treat... and of course make sure you reward her.

Zoey will not come outside when called with come... but when I say hussle, I only need to say it once, and she comes as fast as she can. Good luck with your puppy.
 
thanks romeo and raya those are more great ideas and i really love loading the "whatever i chose" word i think that may work well for bella, i think i may have ruined the cue "come" for now by watering it down anyway, i ithink i need to start with a new word.

Thanks,
Mary and Bella
 
what I do when I want my pup who is 6 months old and happily playing with other dogs in the pooch park is to run AWAY from him, toward the gate, behaving as silly as I can manage.... dogs do like to participate in every fun you are having...so he followes me in most occasions... I do not expect reliable recall yet so he is only off leash at certain places...
in the house I would try warming up something nice and smelly like fatty hot dog in the microwave so smell is spreading around and then try to call you dog with it i...just an idea, their noses are great....
 
SheltieChe said:
what I do when I want my pup who is 6 months old and happily playing with other dogs in the pooch park is to run AWAY from him, toward the gate, behaving as silly as I can manage.... dogs do like to participate in every fun you are having...so he followes me in most occasions... I do not expect reliable recall yet so he is only off leash at certain places...
in the house I would try warming up something nice and smelly like fatty hot dog in the microwave so smell is spreading around and then try to call you dog with it i...just an idea, their noses are great....
Click to expand...

I agree with all the above. Running away is the best way to get a dog to come, esp a pup. Suddenly you are far more exciting. Keep something yummy on you (I used to carry salami and cheese) so the pup learns to value coming to you. And as SheltieChe says, reliable recall can take a while so always be vigilant.
 
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