Teaching to come - every time he's called

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bentleysmom

Forums Novice
Hello everyone :)

I recently got a 10 week old sheltie that I absolutely love. He's so smart; doing great on house training and knows sit/lay down on command already. I got him about 5 days ago and for the first 3 or 4 days he came when he was called - every single time. He got lots of praise and/or treats when he came. Now he's ignoring me sometimes. I'm not really sure what to do in order for him to come every time he's called. I make it super pleasant for him to 'come' but regardless he chooses to ignore me at times. Unfortunately it's not a matter of not knowing what 'come' means, he chooses to disobey. I know he's young and puppies will make mistakes but I'd like to nip this problem in the bud :)

He follows me for the most part, doesn't ever get farther than 20 feet away. And I dote on him, but I'm also firm and will correct him (gently) if he needs it.

Thanks!
 
I know when Joe was a pup for the first week or two he would come when he was called. But after that, for an additional week or two, he would ignore me. All I did was every time I called him he would get a very high reward; treats, toys, play, etc. I liked to make it seem like he had just did the most amazing trick ever! I looked ridicules, but Joe is now a very well behaved and happy boy that comes the first time, every time!:biggrin2:

Good luck with your furbaby!
 
Expect it to get worse before it gets better. Puppies, while needy, also are growing both physically and mentally and need to explore their boundaries. Just keep reinforcing the positive and ignoring the negative ... and be patient.
 
I've noticed Fillion isn't running to me every time I say his name like he used to. Thankfully he is highly cheese motivated, so I never say Fillion Come! unless I got the cheese :) I want that trigger to be set in stone.
 
bentleysmom said:
Unfortunately it's not a matter of not knowing what 'come' means, he chooses to disobey.
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Get this mentality right out of your head. This is a 10 week old puppy for goodness sakes.

Your job is to be more interesting than EVERYTHING else. At 10 weeks old, there are probably lots of things more interesting than you, so yes, you'll have to work at it.
 
She is still just a baby so don't expect too much, she isn't disobeying - just exploring and doesn't understand when you want her to come. Something we always say to puppy classes - it's not the puppy that's doing it wrong, its the handler. So we never blame the puppy, we always look for ways for the handler to help the puppy understand.

At this age the best way to teach is by setting them up for success. So only get her to come if you know she will. If she is distracted by something else then you go to her. If you keep calling her when she is distracted your voice is going to become white noise. Also, think about the words you are using for recall. Are you just calling her name, because that does become confusing do you actually want her to come to you every time you say her name? Teaching her a separate word - like 'here' or 'come' - will make it much clearer that you want her by your side.

As mentioned, the distractions will become greater and her recall will worsen - as she becomes more confident it's part of her job growing up to explore the world (and she still is way off adolescence where the brain just switches off for several months).
 
I have this one Sheltie book that I got as a gift, and when they teach about coming when called, they say not to say "come" as a lot of times when folks use that word, they are in a hurry or nervous and the dog picks that up and runs the other way, I can sort of attest to that. When I call Laddie and say "come" I must be nervous about him not answering and it is showing, because the little rascal will run the other way, so, I am now saying "Here Laddie" and it has been working, I am more relaxed saying it and it is coming across that way to him as well. Just an idea. Being a pup, they have so much exploring to do, it is a wonder they answer at all. Oh, and when he does come to me, he gets high praise and a treat.
 
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