Doesnt come

[hechiquera]

Hi!

I have a 9 and a half months old puppy girl and we have been in training for about a month and a half. however my little girl is a bit stubborn. She is still running after cats/birds, doesn't come when she is called. I really need her to come when I call cause there is some violent (or violent looking) pets out there so she needs to stay away from them.

My trainer says that I am not enthusiastic enough for Bonnie to come to me..What can I do about this? I am really scared that one day she is gonna jump over the fences and run after a cat in the middle of the street...

Thank you!

 

[sargboxerluv]

Titan just looks at me like I'm stupid no matter how enthusiastic I sound!
I cheat and make him jealous by petting my other dog and he comes running over. Does your dog like treats? Or any toys that would gain her interest?

 

[Lizzie]

My advice is that you need to find something that she values really highly. For exmaple, my Diva would not come for food as a youngster, but she loved to chase tennis balls. I always had an issue with her coming back to me on the beach - too much open space and smells - but what I did find worked was to ensure she knew that I had the ball in hand and also and to walk in the opposite direction from her waving the ball around and to be honest I think I probably looked like a complete idiot as I would be over-enthusiastic, but it worked like a charm :D Your trainer is right - she needs to get that coming back to you is the best thing in the world.

However, your girl may not be a 'ball girl', but find something of really high value to her and try that. Good luck.

 

[SnowDove]

So nice to see this post after coming back from our second class of puppy kindergarten... We played a game where each owner in turn went and hid behind a screen, then called their pups. Well, everyone else's dog came running around looking for them in a timely manner.... until it was our turn. I was back there "Daisy-ing" away, and evidently my baby was running around and greeting all of her classmates... D'oh!

 

[tamrabee]

can she be associating 'come' with an end to playtime? i have been calling my girl to me and treating her (and acting like a fool) at random times, not just when it is time to come in.

 

[Lizzie]

can she be associating 'come' with an end to playtime? i have been calling my girl to me and treating her (and acting like a fool) at random times, not just when it is time to come in.

Yes, I believe that if every time you call them to come and play time stops, then they will associate being called as fun time stopping. What I what do is call her to you and then release her again to go and have fun, so that being called isn't always associated with the end of fun :D

 

[elgerdes]

Thanks!

Just stumbled on this thread, and there are some good ideas. Haven't started the come command for Zoe, as we are still working on potty training, biting, ish (like leave it) but when it comes time to use come, I will remember this! Never thought they might associate come with no more play!

 

[jdeitelb]

When training, I was wondering what you guys did in wide open areas/yards? My house has a large lot that is not fenced in, houses do surround us and there is a street at the bottom of the lot. For the first two/three weeks, my girl was quite reserved, she would "fetch" and come back to me or at least stay within the bounds that I saw, but now she is very adventurous and is starting to run around when I call her to come, or here.

She is also 13 weeks and is becoming quite curious.

Anyhow, what are peoples suggestions for playing outside, long leashes or is everyone within fenced in yards? I'll definitely keep more treats on me and another toy at all times as they do peak her interest.

 

[TwoDogs]

A light cotton or nylon long line is perfect for giving the dog some "freedom" while maintaining the safety of a leash.

 

[Lizzie]

A light cotton or nylon long line is perfect for giving the dog some "freedom" while maintaining the safety of a leash.

This is a great idea and I used this when training Monty to come. It worked really well and when he finally got it, he had the best recall - but then was was a Mummy's boy :D