# Training the dog to "come here"



## thegoldenjoyride (Dec 18, 2005)

My GR ran away from me twice. She was playing with an older dog in this nice grassland when two little girls came prancing along with their bikes screaming "lookit that cute puppy!" and my GR got frightened and ran away into this path that leads towards a busy street. I ran after her and I kept calling her to come and she had to stop looking in both directions whether to come to me or to leave. She came. Another time, we were out on the field (I live beside an elementary school with an open field) where she could clearly see the house and she ran for home. Instead of crossing the street, she ran AROUND the cul de sac and waited for me outside the door.

She follows commands very well inside the house, but when outside (and unleashed to play) - she's a different dog. I guess I'm not much help, but we did, however, practiced recalls at Beginner's using long lines and heavenly delicious treats waiting for them at the end.


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## jim n (Nov 12, 2005)

What worked for us was to get a very long piece of rope, something like a clothes line. Attach one end to her collar and let her walk off a short distance. Give her the come command, if she doesn't immediately return to you gently pull her to you giving the come command as you do so. Once she is back at your side praise her and give her a treat. Be patient and consistent. Until she stops bolting I would keep her on a leash when you are walking her to the car or anywhere else.


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## molmotta (May 22, 2005)

First thing first - Never chase your pup. It only thinks that you are playing chase with it. That's why she waits for you to get close and takes off again.

As a pup the idea of running free is FUN. So you have to make it more FUN for her to return to you. You can try bringing her to a secure area and let her off leash. When she stops and looks at you, run in the opposite direction calling her excitedly to follow. When she comes to you, pretend to fall down and have a great time with her. She will learn that Dad is more fun!!  

Since Maggie is 5 months old, have you thought of bringing her to obedience classes? And I do agree with Jim, until she learns to stop bolting, always have her on a leash - for her own safety.


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## Goldndust (Jul 30, 2005)

The best way I know of to teach this is to use something they really like, if using a toy only use it for this training. I used both, toy at times and small pieces of hot dog when I headed him up in a safe area on the hill, or at the water. Its never failed me and i've trained 3 goldens by this method. Another thing is when they do come in when the command is used, always give the treat or whatever you use and then tell them too go play again. What your showing them is fun won't end if they come in on command.

Until they are 100 percent reliable, never have them off leash unless in a safe area as already mentioned above. 

Bianka, Telly up till I lost him, and Kody all load in the car at the point of a finger when off leash up in the field and the command Load up after the command Here is used to bring them in. I used the method above on all 3 to teach Here/Come, then just added in the load up.


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## Maggie's Dad (Dec 20, 2005)

Thanks for all the help. I will try these methods. The theme for all of the threads is the same. Maggie is such a social butterfly that when she gets out she bolts to visit and make new friends. She is so smart. She is working on adding "rolling over" and when I tell her "time for bed" she runs to her cage. We have a really good fenced in Doggie park. I will call her over for a treat and then let her go back and play. The only way to get her out of the park is with a treat and not until she has sniffed, greeted, and rolled over on her back to insure every other dog (and owner) in the park that she is not a threat.


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

I agree that the "come" command is the most frustrating yet MOST important command to teach. I started day one with little Oakly. He, at 4 months, is only about a quarter of the way there. Today I had him off lead in the local cemetary he was doing great on our first lap around but as when we got within 300 feet of the our truck he ran to it and sat down. I planned on one more lap but he was tired and I gave the "come" command and he just sat down. I was always taught that you should only give the command once (no exceptions) So I waited the stubborn little bugger out. It took about 10 minutes but when I saw he was FINALY coming to me I repeated the "come" command and rewarded him enthusiastially. (even though I was frustrated with him) We did continue to walk off lead but we cut the second lap a little shorter. 

Just try to remember to never give a COMMAND you can't inforce. Use another word such as his name or "here" when you can't inforce the real command "come". I try my best to use it only when he is already running towards me full tilt.

Good luck!!


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## Chloe's Mum (Jan 1, 2006)

I took Chloe puppy training as soon as she was able, in fact, it was as soon as she could go out and about. She was hopeless in class! All she wanted to do was play with her new friends, however we practised when we returned home and at the end of the course Chloe got the star dog award!

Anyway, we were taught not to run after our pups and I must say Chloe is now 14 months and she comes back to me as soon as I say 'Chloe come'. My dog trainer simply said - she's a puppy so she will run off but its your responsibility to make sure she is safe when she does! Very true words which I still remember today!


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## dionne (Dec 28, 2005)

We've had max (7 months) a week now. He is very well housetrained, great with the children, fetches, waits for his food and sits. (almost perfect) ......but in the park he just wants to play with the other dogs and will take no notice of my calling him. I have to go over to max and the other dog and put him back on the lead. I'm just not as exciting as another doggy!!


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## RickGibbs (Dec 16, 2005)

dionne said:


> I'm just not as exciting as another doggy!!


lol....I know exactly how you feel. Try being less exciting that a piece of bark or a branch....

As well as Samson learns other tricks, I guess we really need to work on "Come" a little more.

Rick


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## Paul B (Jan 2, 2006)

rwgibbs said:


> Try being less exciting that a piece of bark or a branch....



I've been told I'm 'boring' in the past, but even I could find that one tricky!


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## timberwolfe (Apr 15, 2005)

A bit late responding, but thought I would put in my 2 cents worth, but some people may say it's not worth that much.  
Some good points already mentioned. Never chase the dog, it turns it into a game. Start from day 1 with recall training.
One method that has worked when the dog won't come back, drop to the ground and roll around making happy noises. The pup often sees this as different and fun and will come to you.
NEVER scold a dog when he does finally come. Even if he has been running from you for 20 minutes, do NOT make coming to you a negative experience, ever.
From day 1 we used a hallway and 2 people, one on either end loaded with treats. One person holds the dog, the other makes happy come here noises without using the command. The puppy gets excited and comes running. Treats and praises are given. Then the other person does the same, and the pup goes running down the hallway and again gets treats and praises. We often fed supper as rewards instead of giving unhealthy treats. Once the pup gets the idea you can use the come command. 
If by myself I would put the pup into a sit/stay, then back away down the hall about 10 - 15 feet. Then I would slap my thighs and say here or Clancy and once he was heading towards me I would say Come. Never give the command if you can't enforce it.
Once he is fairly reliable I add in distractions, then I take him outside and start easy, close to me and no distractions. If he doesn't respond right away I find that by backing away from him often gets him moving towards me.
We clicker trained which I found very good at getting him to learn quickly. We would work on remote sit stays with the clicker, and then recall.


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## lola'smommy (Dec 19, 2005)

I'm glad I am not the only one. When I call Lola, I feel like I have to put on my clown shoes to get her to come. She just sits there and stares at me like I'm nuts. If I start clapping my hands on my lap, it's almost a sure bet she comes running to me. They are some nutty dogs. Lola does the bob and weave running from me. But, we do it in the backyard and as play. Maybe I shouldn't play that with it. It could be encouraging her to run from me when the time arrives that I do want her to come.


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## timberwolfe (Apr 15, 2005)

lola'smommy said:


> Lola does the bob and weave running from me. But, we do it in the backyard and as play. Maybe I shouldn't play that with it. It could be encouraging her to run from me when the time arrives that I do want her to come.


Unless you have a reliable recall, I wouldn't play that game.


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## lola'smommy (Dec 19, 2005)

:lol:  Yea, it's funny how we become insightful after the fact. Oh well, at least she is only 12 weeks and mommy has stopped the game. Maybe I can undo the bad behavior a little bit easier. GR are just a lot of fun to play with. Not interacting is near impossible.


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## timberwolfe (Apr 15, 2005)

Plus they can be really stubborn, even as puppies. You need a lot of patience training a Golden Pup.

Only 12 weeks? I think you will be OK. But be careful it isn't you being trained.


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## Allie and the Gang =) (Apr 21, 2005)

For some reason we have never had an issue with COME (YET) But that may be because our Goldens have free run of 100 acres....However, what we train them to do as early as possible is we teach "COME" and when they do we PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE and give them a lamb and rice treat! This has worked wonders so far, and our recalls on our Goldens is top notch! Good Luck!


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## monomer (Apr 21, 2005)

I think there is the rare young dog who never has problems with the 'come' command but I personally have never witnessed one. From my experiences with dogs (not just retrievers) they all seem to pick-up on the 'come' command as young puppies, no problem there... its when they reach adolescence that the problem first surfaces. This can be anywhere from 4-months to 9-months of age depending upon the breed and individual dog... but every young dog I've ever seen goes through this stage. You can see it coming... it's starts with the dog stopping to think about coming... looking at you, looking at where s/he would rather go... and even though s/he picks you at first, eventually s/he thinks for longer periods and then one day chooses to NOT to go to you... now you have a problem because this quickly becomes the normal response to 'come'. Now 'come' is no longer a command but a choice that's at the option of the dog... as someone already pointed out, this is the single most important command for any dog... it can very well save his life one day (the drop/stay is the other important command but also very hard to teach reliably). Your dog needs to be 100% reliable with the 'come' command... this is one of the hardest commands to teach with that kind of reliability. Most older dogs (say over 4years old) seem to be much better about coming when called... the real challenge often comes from the younger dogs.
I have a couple of methods to help train a reliable 'come', however one method might prove to be quite controversial on this forum, so I will only write about the 'acceptable' method here. First practice playing hide-n-seek games with your Golden both inside the house and outside. Put your dog on a sit/stay or have someone hold him, then hide somewhere (make it easy in the beginning by letting him see where you are hiding) then call to him just once "Fido, come!"... when he arrives praise him, be happy and give him a treat. It won't take him long to get the hang of it. Next increase the level of difficulty slowly and play this game at every opportunity. Also if your dog is in a open area off-leash, keep walking in straight lines and change direction whenever your dog is not paying attention to you... if you get far enough away without him noticing, then quickly hide behind a bush or tree, etc. and call "Fido, come!" He should immediately respond to it as more hide-n-seek fun to be had. You will soon see him keeping a eye on you more often and trying to stay within easy sight of you... this is a good thing. Finally, add to this some leash training. Hopefully you are walking your dog every single day for at least 20-minutes (in addition to other more exhausting doggie activities). Use a really long 'flexi-lead' (18-feet or more) as you walk suddenly say "Fido, come!" just once... wait no more than 2 seconds and jerk the lead and reel him in at a fast pace. You must be quick and a bit forceful. Praise and give the 'okay' command and continue walking. Do this at least 20-times during your walk... every time you walk. Soon your dog will anticipate a jerk unless he immediately responds to the 'come' command and move quickly to you... you will find yourself having to enforce the 'come' command fewer and fewer times. Gradually start picking times when your dog is showing great interest in something other than you... a stinking smell, big stick, running squirrel, piece of garbage, etc. Just think about it, in one month you will have 'practiced' this instant recall over 600 times!!!! Repetition...That's a pretty powerful reinforcer. What you are trying to accomplish here is to make coming to you a 'knee-jerk' reaction... you are eliminating any thought process. You don't want the dog to ever think about "should I come or not"... it must be a totally reflexive response to ever be completely reliable. Take a 4-month old dog, by the time this dog is 9-months old he should have over 3000 repetitions of automatic recall reactions built-up under a myriad of exciting circumstances... he WILL have a reliable recall off-leash! Give it a try, you gotta walk your dog everyday anyway, right? just add this little bit of training to each and every walk and soon you'll see it begin to pay off.
Good Luck...


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