Does not respond to the 'Come here' command !

[kt]

any one got any idea's of getting an 18mth old boxer boy to come back to you every time you call him - no matter what is going on in the park???? tried toys, treats, traning, running away from him ......

what a nightmare - don't want to keep him on an extention lead but I don't want him to get run over when he deceides that what is over the road across the park is more interesting......

any hints on this would be greatfully received.


yours hopingly


kt

 

[JulieM]

Practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, and some practice.

You have to be more interesting than whatever else is going on! Do *lots* of practices at home where there's not a lot of distractions, and _don't_ let him off-lead until he is 100% reliable. When he's 100% at home, start with small distractions and gradually work up to the park or wherever. If treats and toys don't work, you may have to get creative - jump around, clap, dance, wiggle - whatever will get him to you.

*Never* give a command that you can't enforce. If you aren't sure he'll come when you call him (and you don't have him on a leash), go and get him. If you give a command and allow him not to obey it, he will learn that you don't really mean it.

Also, remember that 18 months is the height of adolescence - he's a rebellious teenager right now, so daily training is essential to "keep him in line" and keep your role and his role in the pack firmly established.

Julie

 

[kt]

thanks for the advice !

I will keep trying - sometimes he is as good as gold then he just gets look in his eyes and he turns into a little devil !!!!

I will let you know how I get on

kt

 

[Tulsa-Dan]

Ah yes, I know that "Devil Look" very well. I did the same thing, keeping Maggie on leash in the park for months, gradually introducing distractions and making sure she came each time I called. It took several months of working every day (I use the reward/treat method since she's a slave for food) before I let her off leash. Now she comes every time (mostly) I call, regardless of whether she's playing or running away from me or whatever. She's reliable about 98% of the time.

But, last evening, she wouldn't come to me when called. After I called her twice and she didn't come, I calmly walked over to where she was getting tough with some other dog and grabbed her collar, said "Maggie, COME" and put the leash on her and took her home immediately. We have to do this occastionally to reinforce the behavior we want from her. But then this morning, she came on the first call every time, so she learned. She knows that if she doesn't obey, especially that command as it IS important in a world of danger for dogs such as cars, etc., play stops and we go home right then and there.

Of course, I expect her to continue testing me periodically, and we'll have to reinforce again, but since she's reliable most of the time, I am very, very pleased. Others have asked me now I get her to come even when she's in the middle of playing. It makes me very proud when her obedience gets the admiration of other dog owners.

Keep after it and keep us posted on your progress.

 

[Jan]

As Julie said you need to go back to square one and start from scratch. Charlie has learned to tune out the come command so you need to think of a different word. Do not use it unless you can enforce it. Use lots and lots of praise and treats. When Charlie becomes reliable at coming on command, make sure that the recall does not always end playtime :( . Make a habit of calling him to you, give treats and then allow him to go off and play again.

Good luck,

 

[kt]

I have gone back to basics with him and I do call him and give him treats when he comes to me and cuddles then off to play we go agian - I would love to be able to walk over and grab him when he does not come but he lets me get about 6 paces away and then he bolts - he thinks it is a great game!!

I like the sound of using another word other than 'come' - that is going to take ages to retrain - not just Charlie ! I will have to think of something that I will remember too!

I will go back to basics with him working in the house and on his lead in the park then we will do short time off the lead and I will try out bringing him home when he does not come to me maybe that will work !
wish me luck..........


kt

 

[Ona]

KT

Try the "Come and get me" trick. When you call him to come and he gives you that "devil eye" turn on your heel and run the other way. Charlie will think that Mom is playing too. He should come running up behind you. Treat him to associate: you, coming, and reward. Also, try hide and go seek. This teaches come when he can't see you. Lots of love and praise and treats.
Good luck.

 

[Kellie]

We were despairing with Tess too. We wanted her to get lots of exercise, which she really couldn't get on the extention lead. We put her lead on her and took her straight home whenever she didn't come when she was called. The trick was to take her for a walk early in the morning when there weren't too many other people about. It's taken a while but she's quite good now. She'll ignore everything except other dogs now. This morning she even came back when there was a dog (& owner) across the road. We were so excited!
Good luck.

 

[LMS]

In my experiences with Max, if he didn't come on command, I would scold him, he knew he had done something I didn't like because his head and butt practically touched the ground. However, after being scolded I would let him redeem himself by backing away from him and then saying come again and praising him when he would listen. It works every time, he is almost 11 months and I still need to refresh his memory when he decides to smell something a little longer before he obeys the command. I guess redeem is the key word, let your dog know you didn't like what they did, but immediatly give them a chance to make you happy.

 

[Agent Scully]

Hi everybody,
Rookie to this website, just registered today, and i'm finding out alot of info on our favorite breed. I hope i'm not too late on this topic. My Forrest, a 9 months old very flashy fawn has the exact problem. After some basic training I realized how this problem began. I gave him too much freedom way too soon. I've never taught him what come means and just assumed that he knew what it meant. When you choose to let them off leash, you also choose to give up all control of them. They don't have to do anything they don't want to. I kept saying Forrest come, but to him it meant hey it's okay if you don't come, just keep playing. By the time I get him back, I'm very mad at him, and I let him know. Scolding them when you get them is never good. Even when you come home and find him torn up the house and you say fido come and he does, the words that coming out of your mouth should be good dog, good dog for coming. This is if you ever what him to come to you again.
For the last month we practiced the stationary come command.
I put him on a 6 foot leash in a sit stay command. Walking away holding the leash, I say Forrest come with a little tug on the leash towards me when he comes to me, I give him a treat right away. We do this in 10 reps, 3 times a day.
Now he knows what come means, good things happens when he comes to me. When we're out i do the same with a 25 ft leash. When his attention is on something else I walk up to the end of the leash and say come while pulling the leash. As always I give him a treat right away. We've done this for a month now and he knows what i expect when i say come. It's getting his attention the next challenge. that's where the 25 ft leash comes in handy. I beleive it will take at least another 2 months to get a reliable recall out of him.
Time is the key i guess. I hope I didn't babble on too long.