# 'Come' command



## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

I think most of it is how young your pup is. Chloe is seven months and it is a tough one for her also. Once they get their nose to the ground they have no ears. Keep working and remember we are building a foundation for the future. Chloe isn't allowed anywhere except the fenced back yard without a leash.


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## _Paul (Jan 15, 2014)

Thank you for the reassurance. We will continue what we are doing and hopefully he will gradually get better.


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## Anon-2130948gsoni (Apr 12, 2014)

Some quick suggestions...

1. Start with fewer distractions by practicing indoors. Play puppy pingpong...first one person calls and treats, then the other person does the same. Start in the same room, then gradually increase the distance, move to separate floors, etc. Griffey LOVED this game at that age.

2. If the "come" command is truly corrupted, start over with another command and make sure everyone uses it consistently.

3. Find the best treats in the world in his eyes and use them only for practicing recalls.

4. Griffey spent most of his first three months on a leash with one or the other of us, indoors and out. He became habituated to being close to us...some days to an excessive degree, like when I'm in the shower...but it's been helpful.

5. Start associating the command word for positive things that happen when he's sitting in front of you with full attention. Meals, treats, toys...he doesn't need to understand the English language concept of running a distance to be there, he just needs to have the understanding that great things happen when he hears that sound and he's right there with you...he'll figure out how to get there quickly over time.

6. Set your expectations low  and be conscious of the fact that this is not a linear process. Griffey's recalls at five months were stellar. Then his teen stuff kicked in and apparently much of his blood supply has been redirected from his brain to...lower areas. So we're backing up a few steps. I honestly don't expect to have a totally reliable recall with him for a couple of years.

You'll get there, I'm sure.


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## Charliethree (Jul 18, 2010)

Understand that if he cannot pay attention to you, he is in an environment that is too distracting for him. There is a lot of 'world' out there for a young dog to discover.
Consider whether he attends to the 'come' cue at home, in a familiar non distracting environment. Consider what the consequences are when he does 'come'. Does he get a quick pat on the head(which some dogs don't like) and a bit of praise, or are you throwing a 'party' ? Lots of meaningful praise, a few very high value treats, perhaps a 'jackpot' (several treats fed one at a time in rapid succession) on occasion - letting him know he has done a fantastic job!!Once he is responding reliably to the cue 'at home', in a minimally distracting environment, then practice outside the yard, starting up close, just a few feet away, gradually increasing the length of the long line, let him get a few feet away, say his name, then give the come cue, when he does 'come' have an all out 'party'. Resist the urge to 'reel' him in, 'make' him come, the goal is to encourage and reward him for choosing to be with you.
Teaching and highly rewarding for 'name attention' -looking to you when you say his name and 'eye contact' with you both cued ('Watch')or 'offered' (voluntary-no cue is given) can really help to encourage and reinforce your pup for paying attention to you. Keeping in mind if he is not paying attention (looking at you) to you, he is 'able' to respond to a cue - his mind is somewhere else. Once he is understands what you want, and that looking to you results in good things to come, it will be easier to get his attention when he is distracted by something else.


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## quilter (Sep 12, 2011)

Casper loved the recall game. You need two people and they sit on the ground a few feet apart. Have good treats and a hungry puppy. Then the people take turns calling the puppy and giving him a treat. As soon as the puppy gets the treat, the other person calls the puppy. Soon, the puppy will be flying back and forth between the people. At this point, make sure you are using the recall word as the puppy is flying between you, so that he makes the association between the word and the action. As the recall improves, the people can move farther apart. We've played this game with Casper on a long line, and in addition to the training, he gets a few minutes good workout.

Another recall game is the restrained recall. Have one person hold the dog by the collar while the other person walks away. Many dogs don't like being restrained away from their owners. Then you call the dog and the other person lets go at the same time. The pup gets a huge treat when he shows up.

These are how we trained Casper, and he comes back so fast you have to make sure he doesn't hit you in the knees. Note we use really, really good treats for training. I'm not saying he's 100% though. In dog class, where there are lots of distractions, he has gone visiting halfway across the room on many occasions. But outside, he's great.


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## Leslie B (Mar 17, 2011)

Noreaster has some great advise!!!

Remember that dogs are creatures of habit. That is what training is all about for basic dog training - habit. We set the habit by saying sit, and then making the dog's butt hit the ground. Enought repetions and soon the dogs does it before we make him. Most people are really good at teaching sit, down, kennel, and other commands when they are inside the house. There are low levels of distraction and there is almost no way for the dog to escape the command. After all, if the dog bolts to the back of the house instead of sitting, you will simply go and get him and bring him back to resume your training of the command sit.

On to training recall outside. with lots of distractions of sights, smells, and distance aways from you. You have increased the hard factor by 10 but that is okay because your dog is at the perfect age to learn that coming back to you when you call is REQUIRED. It is not an option and the command is NOT a request. This means that all those lovely smells and interesting things must be ignored and the command must be heard and obeyed. So gather back up that long line and go back outside to the park with the interesting smells. Start out giving your dog only about half of the line, 15 feet or so, and wander with your dog until he shows interest in anything other than you. This should take about 2 seconds with a typical golden. Give the dog the command in a firm but happy voice (!Buffy COME!) and then reel that long line in as fast as you can. Do not wait. Do not gently tug - PULL - and trust me he will come a running. Do your best to prevent there from being any slack in the leash at all during the first few times you do this. The leash will be in the air so the dog will not be tangled. It is extremely important that when the dog gets to you have a party. You are going to praise the heck of the dog and give him a treat, give him a bunch of treats. Yes, he will look a little confused at first about the abrupt recall about it but he will not be hurt. He will love the treats and quickly go back to sniffing. 

Repeat, Repeat, Repeat gradually let more leash out. ALWAYS be very happy when the dog gets to you and have praise and happy treats for his outstanding recall. Move to a new park. Repeat, Repeat. Get a longer line. Repeat Don't forget the party when he returns to you EVER.

Being reeled in is not fun for him, just as having his hind end pushed to the floor is not fun, or being pushed into a crate is not fun, or not being allowed to jump on the counch is not fun. Soon he will hear his name and the command to come and dash to you quicker than you can reel in the long line. It is the same as when you were teaching sit and suddenly one day he started to put his butt on the floor before you could push it down. One day you will call him and he will turn and run to you with a great recall if you keep working on it.

Good Luck.


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## BuddyinFrance (May 20, 2015)

Not wanting to hijack Paul's thread here but quick question (sorry Paul!). With Buddy the recall command is his name which we call in quite a high pitch. I have never thought about it until reading this but should we have used/start to use a word other than his name such as "come". So far his recall is a little hit and miss but is getting much better with age.


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## quilter (Sep 12, 2011)

BuddyinFrance said:


> Not wanting to hijack Paul's thread here but quick question (sorry Paul!). With Buddy the recall command is his name which we call in quite a high pitch. I have never thought about it until reading this but should we have used/start to use a word other than his name such as "come". So far his recall is a little hit and miss but is getting much better with age.


You can use any word you want, but you don't want to use one word to mean two things. So if Buddy is the recall word, then you need another work to mean LookAtMe. I've spent too much time thinking of Casper as an operant machine to believe he has any concept of his name. "Casper" means LookAtMe. It's just not very well enforced.  Funny thing was when the dog instructor was talking in class, used Casper's name, and Casper's head flew around to look at the instructor.


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## quilter (Sep 12, 2011)

You can use any word you want, but you don't want to use one word to mean two things. So if Buddy is the recall word, then you need another work to mean LookAtMe. I've spent too much time thinking of Casper as an operant machine to believe he has any concept of "name". "Casper" means LookAtMe. It's just not very well enforced.  Funny thing was when the dog instructor was talking in class, used Casper's name, and Casper's head flew around to look at the instructor.


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## BuddyinFrance (May 20, 2015)

quilter said:


> You can use any word you want, but you don't want to use one word to mean two things. So if Buddy is the recall word, then you need another work to mean LookAtMe. I've spent too much time thinking of Casper as an operant machine to believe he has any concept of his name. "Casper" means LookAtMe. It's just not very well enforced.  Funny thing was when the dog instructor was talking in class, used Casper's name, and Casper's head flew around to look at the instructor.


Thanks Quilter, I am going to start a new thread on this as you have now raised more questions for me but as I said don't want to hijack Pauls original question.

Good luck Paul


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