The "come" command :)

C

Cowgirl32

Forums Regular
I have a new boy, Gabe. Gabe is the star of his training class- super smart(he's 4 four months). He is almost too smart. I have two questions. The first has to do with the "come" command. He knows what "come" means and will only do it for his special training treats in a confined space(on the long line). When I reward him with "big boy" play time in my living room. All of his training goes to pot... "come" is an option.

He processes the command and looks at me and runs to the opposite side of the house. Come is associated with his meal time, play time, and he gets LOTS of love and attention. It's been nothing but positive. I don't play with him and ignore him when he does this. And only reward him when he comes to me willingly. I need reassurance from other sheltie pup parents. Is this his "naughty" stage? When did your puppy get his 100% recall? Trust me he is leashed at all times and was such an angel at 8 weeks old... stayed right by my side.

The second part of the question: what did you do different when they weren't quite getting "come"? How did you change it up? Thanks ya'll! :gaah
 
The "come"command

Leslie Nelson has a dvd and book on Really Reliable Recall and she also has a video of it on youtube.I trained under her for it and highly recommend it.We learned we needed three things to learn this behavior and they are 1 being mangament 2 being relationship 3rd being training .
 
Yes it is common for a pup this age not to come - it is one of the stages they pass through. There's been several threads in recent weeks from people with exactly the same concerns as you about their pups at the same age.

How long it takes to grow out of it varies. They can have periods of ignoring you up to 2yrs (once they pass through adolescence), other times they will suddenly remember their recall and do it beautifully. It is important to keep working on the recall though so it solidifies in their minds a lot earlier.

When you go into the living room there are obviously many more distractions for him and more things to investigate so he loses his focus - not unusual.

If he wants to run when you call him then the best option is for you to run away from him. Few dogs can resist their owner running away.

Another option is to use a squeaky toy to get his attention. There is something about the squeak that gets the attention of all dogs, but pups will generally be attracted to playing with whatever you are squeaking.
 
Caro said:
Yes it is common for a pup this age not to come - it is one of the stages they pass through. There's been several threads in recent weeks from people with exactly the same concerns as you about their pups at the same age.

How long it takes to grow out of it varies. They can have periods of ignoring you up to 2yrs (once they pass through adolescence), other times they will suddenly remember their recall and do it beautifully. It is important to keep working on the recall though so it solidifies in their minds a lot earlier.

When you go into the living room there are obviously many more distractions for him and more things to investigate so he loses his focus - not unusual.

If he wants to run when you call him then the best option is for you to run away from him. Few dogs can resist their owner running away.

Another option is to use a squeaky toy to get his attention. There is something about the squeak that gets the attention of all dogs, but pups will generally be attracted to playing with whatever you are squeaking.
Click to expand...

These are great options- thanks, but I would love to hear real life examples of those with similar pup experiences? :) Thanks!
 
Have a look through the puppies 101 and behaviour threads - you'll find many people going through the same experience.
 
no dog has a 100% reliable recall all the time :D

Look at the criteria and circumstances each time when he doesn't come, uppp your training to reward heavily... it's usually something the handler is doing inadvertently. Also using a long line was helpful, and I NEVER called when I figured he wouldn't come

It worked and I train recall everywhere and anywhere I can
 
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