Puppy Recall

[Alibear]

We have started at puppy school calling our pups to "come". All pups can do this, but my baby Bear just sits there and looks at me.

I have tried this at home with my husband at one side of our garden and me on the other and tried calling him back and forth. He just sits there, on the odd occasion he comes, but I think it is just because he is bored more then anything.

We take him to a dog park some weekends and if he runs off, I can call him and he comes back right away - even with the distraction of 100's of other dogs.

I also call his name and try to get his attention "him to look at me" then give him a treat (I have been told to do this from my puppy school so he recognises his name and me calling him).

Any ideas / tips on how to get him to come? I know this will take time, just looking for some advice.

[Guest Tess32]

How old is he?

Nat

[KitKat]

Make coming to you the best thing in the world...call him and shake a toy, or squeak a squeaky toy, or have food handy for when he comes to you and give lots of praise. Don't necessarily make it a set thing but while around the house...call his name and if he comes to you give him his treat (food, toy etc) and praise him. Do it while your gardening, when you take the rubbish out, before putting him to bed, when you all get up in the morning etc. But be consistant...you call him, he comes to you and he gets his treat and praise. Once he's reliably doing that around the house start doing it at the park but if he doesn't come when you call...as soon as you get his attention...run away! that will have him coming after you fairly quickly as soon as he gets to you give him a treat and lots of praise etc...then once it's all fairly reliable...start fazing out the treats and stick with verbal praise etc.

Yes...you will most likely get to look like a nutcase in public ;) The other doggy people will understand (we've almsot all done it..lol)...and the non doggy people...well as if that matters ;)

[ninaandted]

just to add to other people's suggestions.

try it indoors to start with and with your puppy very close to you, so they can see and smell the lure you might start with, then gradually increase the distance between you and then take it outside.

if your puppy associates you in the kitchen as a great thing then you could try calling him into the kitchen to be with you. then you change the room and distance and move eventually outside.

the other thing you could try is to start doing it at meal times and then progress from there. he's unlikely to ignore that one!

as everyone has said, eventually you have to wean your puppy off the treat/toy reward and have him coming just because you are always good news!

[PAX]

Always say come when you know he is going to come. When your about to feed him his dinner say "come".

I also like to do what KitKat said and play come/hide and seek. You need to pick the times to do this so he is always sucsessful. When he is in a playful mood call him and hide behind a shrub, when he finds you run. Make it the best fun ever. Don't try and play the "come" game if he is in a sleepy mood. I never call "come" unless i am sure i can make it happen otherwise you will teach him to not listen to you. Evertime you see him coming to you say "come" and reward with something of value. Once this is reliable you can reward with less frequency, but always reward with praise even if your cranky with him.

[Alibear]

Tess - He is nearly 5 months old.

Thanks for your suggestions guys. I have been doing most things already mentioned although I haven't tried the chasing thing yet - that will be the next plan of attack I think.

Looks like I just need to be patient and consistent - as with everything!

[PAX]

Make sure the game is, he chases you - you never chase him.

[Sayreovi]

Make sure the game is, he chases you - you never chase him.

I never really got that, what happens when you have a dog that doesnt care you run the other way? I would rather go get him then wait for hours for my dog to finally come back after sniffing everything which is a reward to him

[PAX]

tollersowned,

I dont know, my dog loves this game. It is hard to hide from him because he is like glue. Maybe yours are smarter than mine ;)

[MonElite]

I never really got that, what happens when you have a dog that doesnt care you run the other way? I would rather go get him then wait for hours for my dog to finally come back after sniffing everything which is a reward to him

Do you mean your dog would never ever chase you? Never look for you? If you got in the car and drove off he wouldnt care?

If thats the case I would look at the relationship you have with your dog. Maybe some NIFIL would help.

[Guest Tess32]

Make sure the game is, he chases you - you never chase him.

Actually I feel if they are really prone to playing keep-away, playing it and putting it on cue can actually keep it under control.

Alibear - reason I asked his age is because so many pups are velcro-dogs when young but they hit puberty and suddenly the outside world becomes amazing.

Just practice practice practice.

Also, I never really phase out the treats totally with 'come' - I want it to ALWAYS be a good thing. I don't treat every single time but I do when I can somehow, even if just a little chase game.

Nat

[pgm]

Alibear, I would put your dog on a lone line and make sure everytime you called you had the line in hand to reinforce the command. To my way of thinking the recall should just be a way of life, a fact of life like gravity. Don't give your dog the option of ignoring you.

[Lablover]

At such a young age I would use food as a lure. Make sure he is hungry.

Have a friend help you. Space yourself apart starting at short distances with no distractions. Praise him like you would if he were to win a recall championship, LOL.

Try your best never to ask for a recall, that you cannot enforce. Use a long lead.

When you start going elsewhere and the distractions are higher, keep the long lead on and follow him in silence when he goes to sniff the roses.

[Sayreovi]

I never really got that, what happens when you have a dog that doesnt care you run the other way? I would rather go get him then wait for hours for my dog to finally come back after sniffing everything which is a reward to him

Do you mean your dog would never ever chase you? Never look for you? If you got in the car and drove off he wouldnt care?

If thats the case I would look at the relationship you have with your dog. Maybe some NIFIL would help.

Yeah he would but AFTER he has finished sniffing, i have tried running the other way but he just kept sniffing and wandered the other way, then comes after me like 30 minutes later

Bit hard to drive off without a car ;)

Whats NIFIL?

ETA: I do not do this in an unsecure area, it is all fenced in. On walks now he is on a very long lead

Edited June 7, 2005 by tollersowned

[espinay2]

One thing to be sure of is that coming to you is a 'fun' thing to do. Things to watch out for are times when you call your dog to you to do something he doesnt like like clipping nails, or for example, if you come home and find a hole or something destroyed and then call him to you to tell him off. A dog will not associate the telling off with the wrongdoing, but with the coming to you and next time may think a bit about the merits of coming when you call.

The other thing to watch is body language. Often you will see people leaning forward towards the dog, making eye contact and calling come in a rather growly voice. A common reaction for the dog may be to put its head down and sniff, avoid eye contact, and if they approach you, approach you slowly and/or in an arc rather than directly to you. This is a natural behaviour designed more or less to diffuse a situation. To approach directly may in their terms be considered to be an agonistic response to body language that is more or less posing a challenge itself. They dont want to be seen as taking up the challenge, so act in a way that they consider non threatening.

for Alibear I too suggest finding something the dog really likes and making it a game. Keep it fun and start inside with things like dinner. Start with the dog close to you and then build up distance. Start with you and your partner sitting only a few feet apart when you call him backwards and forwards between you. dont overdo the game either. Stop before your pup gets bored.

As an aside - Another way to think about it is that coming when called isnt necessarily about the act of coming to you, but the fact that you want them to be at a particular spot, say, sitting in front of you. One way to go about it is to 'back chain' from the spot you want them to end up in. 'Come' (or 'Front' which I use with some dogs) is in effect a particular position and wherever the dog is, they need to get there as quick as possible. Start by teaching it directly in front in position, then slowly build distance until they will return to the position from all directions.

And if all else fails. Teach your dog to sit and stay on command. It can be a very handy backup, particularly with those breeds that are known to be incredibly unreliable ;)

[MonElite]

Whats NIFIL?

ETA: I do not do this in an unsecure area, it is all fenced in. On walks now he is on a very long lead

NIFIL - Nothing iin Life is Free - you can find it on K9Force's website.

I have never done this in a unsecure area, however I have driven off about 3 times in the 5.5 years. Never managed to get out from the carpark.....

I ahve climbed several tree though ;) and watched my dog run around in panic looking for me. They learn fast not to go exploring alone.

30 minutes is waaaaaaaay to long, you have either not run away far enough or your dog completly ignores the fact that you are gone - NILIF would be an answer, well for the beginning.

[haven]

I taught my pup to recall often, against my own advice I did it off lead ;)

However I never actually gave the command until he was coming towards me and commited to it. I'd get his attention, run away, play with a toy or just get down on the ground and be silly. I always had something to pull out of my pocket to reinforce the recall like a treat or a toy. Start fairly close to your pup because the further away you are the less attractive you are compared to something closer say that empty chip packet, pile of leaves well anything really, he's a puppy!

[Guest Tess32]

Actually I don't think that's always true Haven (starting close).

I got *much* better results with training the recall (and this was when it was only in the backyard) when I stopped being so close!

When I took him to kcc park to have a go, he was about 105% better because I could go further, and he would come at me full speed.

So I'm working backwards.

I've also had an "off leash phobia" that I'm getting over well now - and I have noticed that it REALLY does depend on your attitude as well. If you don't think they'll come, they can tell.

I feel that for some dogs, the 'come' is enjoyable because they can run towards you at full speed - whereas if you are 5 metres away, what's the big deal?

Nat

[Sayreovi]

Thanks for the advice, im still working on it a whole 1.5 years work it is becoming ;)

[haven]

Don't worry everything is a work in progress ;)