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Positive Trainers: What Would You Do?


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when dog ignores "come" command...  

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  1. 1. if your dogs ignores your "come" command you:

    • go and physically take the dog
      6
    • repeat the command until the dog comes
      0
    • wait for the dog without repeating the command
      1
    • run in opposite direction to the dog
      14
    • else (please explain)
      6


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Bit hard to answer those choices ! Providing the dog totally understands the "come" command, I would go and physically GET him for not coming..........but if he was in the learning or training phase, I would do everything in my power to encourage him to come.........excited voice, food, toy...and I would even lay on the ground.....anything to make him come to me and as soon as he did......I would lavish him with heaps of praise.

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Depends on the situation, the dog etc.

If the dog is close and not running away full pelt - but didn't adhere to my command - i'll collect them and put them right back on lead.

If my dog knows the criteria (ie: not running up to other dogs etc) and *almost* break it - I will verbally correct them "Aah"!

If I know my dog is safe and there isn't much fun to be had, I will hide behind a tree/ run the other way.

No matter what - *if* the dog disobeys the command - we go right back to the start doing lots of short recalls, less freedom and reminding them what a *good* thing it is to come when I call them (come and they get food/ toys thrown/ pats etc)..... usually the reason for me and my dogs not coming, is that i've made the reward drop a little too much :).

Having said that - Kinta is a great one for looking at me and if she deems i'm not paying attention - bolt off before you can blink! But... if you call - the little twerp will come charging back with the teeniest bit of an evil glint in her eye.... :cry:

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I've found that tone of voice is really important with the "come" command.

I've had a problem with Faxon ignoring the recall in trials. The problem wasn't occurring when we practised so I was a bit perplexed. At a recent trial in Cooma both the Judge and someone who was watching made the same comment - when I gave the "come" command it was quite harsh. The second time I called him it was with a much friendlier tone and he came immediately. Since then I try to use a friendly tone of voice when calling him. Seems to be working so far. Unfortunately haven't had a chance to try in the ring yet.

I have also used running in the opposite direction. However this was at Lure Coursing where he was obsessed with the lure and running away was the best way of getting his attention.

Disclaimer - I am talking about an Afghan Hound here. :cry:

Bear.

edited to fix typo.

Edited by FaxonandBear
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If I am in a situation were I don't think there is a hope in hell of the dog coming then I don't use the come command. It just weakens the command. Like at bath times :cry: .

I will either go get them or will do something like run away. If they are about to get into danger and are not coming then I would do the running away thing. Have borders though so this appeals to their nature.

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hmm... deferz depends.

if they are not reliable yet - I would perhaps run the other way for a few to get them keen - but I would not do this AFTER they didnt come... I would do it as I said COME - so the chasey game reward is for leaving their stay... do NOT want to reward the wrong thing :D

with a trained dog - I might wait... if they heard the call... but more likely would give a second call and go work on it with better treats or the running away thing to get them coming on the first again. if they didnt hear the call then I dont very well want to wait for the to break a stay when they thought there was no command ... would repeat it :)

ooh... just worked out we are not talking recalls :cry:

with distractions - if they dont come back, it means we havnt trained to that level of distraction. Thus whatever I do is not a training thing - it would be just to get them back with the knowledge that I need to build up to that sort of distraction in a less distracting enviro. Lana is not overly reliable with distractions of running dogs etc. Running the other way only works if I am more rewarding than they are - and usually it is not the case :) - she will listen when I am closer - so I tend to walk over then call her off - I dont like to do this and put her on lead all the time - often if she comes back OK (ie not perfect - but does come back) I like to touch her collar and tell her "OK" so her reward is to go run again - hoping she will be more likely to come back to me since it is not a definite end to her game :rofl: - seems to work alright

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A tip with running away - try not to fall over. I did this in class in front of a stack of people. I was sooooooo embarrassed. :cry:

But I bet the dog came! If my young Borzoi won't come I lie down or pretend to be interested in something on the ground, she can't stand it and has to come see what I'm doing. But she is still a youngster and hasn't had much training, if she is actually interested in something else she responds far quicker to the recall than if we are just mooching along, when she seems to think she can take it on notice and get back to me.

For the more general question, the answer depends too much on the situation and the dog for me to tick one of the answers, it's not a one size fits all situation. I don't consider myself purely postive either, I find I use P- and R- as well, although very little P+.

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it is a bit hard with those answers and i would use most in different situations

No 1: go & phsically take the dog

I do do this with young pups in the back yard who i know do not understand the come command...

No 2: repeat the command till dog comes

never

No 3: wait with out repeating command..

sometimes in certain situations in the back yard but only for a short period or if in training and dog is on a long line.. give them the choice to come if they do throw a huge party lots of praise and rewards...if they don't within a reasonable amount of time reel them in with the lead...

No 4: Run in opp direction

i use this if at Agility training with a bit more older dog.. if they run off to visit another dog or person i take off in the opp direction usually towards the dark end of the field or towards trees so i can hide...

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No 2: repeat the command till dog comes

never

I ended up doing this by accident. If Faxon didn't come on the first "Come" in the recall the Judge would ask me to call him again, which I did. Doh! He very quickly learned that in the trial ring he would get a second chance so didn't need to come the first time I called him. This took some significant re-training to fix. Now he mostly comes on the first call - unless I get my voice wrong - and if he doesn't I simply return to him and put his lead on - no praise. Some judges have found this strange but it has helped our recall.

Bear

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If I am in a situation were I don't think there is a hope in hell of the dog coming then I don't use the come command. It just weakens the command. Like at bath times :p .

I will either go get them or will do something like run away. If they are about to get into danger and are not coming then I would do the running away thing. Have borders though so this appeals to their nature.

Jules - I do this too. My B/C is only 4mo so most of the time he wont come to me, especially if he realises I dont have food. But if I run the other way, most of the time, he just watches me run off. He wont chase a ball either. He lays down and watches the ball roll past his face. Is this because he's just a pup and eventually he will get the urge to run after me and play ball? I think the reason he's not chasing me is because either whatever he is doing (like digging) is way more fun than chasing me round the yard or he's just not looking at me run away and doesnt notice that's what I'm doing.

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If I am in a situation were I don't think there is a hope in hell of the dog coming then I don't use the come command. It just weakens the command. Like at bath times :coffee: .

I will either go get them or will do something like run away. If they are about to get into danger and are not coming then I would do the running away thing. Have borders though so this appeals to their nature.

Jules - I do this too. My B/C is only 4mo so most of the time he wont come to me, especially if he realises I dont have food. But if I run the other way, most of the time, he just watches me run off. He wont chase a ball either. He lays down and watches the ball roll past his face. Is this because he's just a pup and eventually he will get the urge to run after me and play ball? I think the reason he's not chasing me is because either whatever he is doing (like digging) is way more fun than chasing me round the yard or he's just not looking at me run away and doesnt notice that's what I'm doing.

i don't think he will eventually figure it out if yoiu don't work on it... with my young pups i get them to first chase my hand... i sit on the ground with the pup on lead if neccesary and start a bit of a game lightly rough housing the pup .. once they are switched on i then encourage them to chase my hand.. play session is usually about 3 -5 minutes... once i have them turned on and chasing my hand i stop whilst they want more... when it takes little time to turn them on.. i then stand up and play the game until i have it so that the will chase me once they catch me i offer my hand for a rough house game shove them away and run the other direction... it is at this point i will introduce a tug toy and rather than target my hand get them to target the tug toy... same procedure i then build this until i have their focus on the tug toy and then i toss the toy about 1 foot infront of them to chase and retrieve... my 4 mth old BC will happily chase a toy and bring it back for more....

ETA: i still play the chase me game with my adult dogs they love it

Edited by bordacollies4me
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