# How to Stop Keep Away Game?



## Gable (Jun 26, 2011)

I have taught Gable "Leave it" with pretty good success. I can say it and he will not touch the forbidden item, or if he already has it drop it or let me take it without resistance. He also does it somewhat regularly for my kids. When he doesn't drop the item for them, he has usually tried to initiate a tug-o-war game with them. Then they scream for me.  Last night Gable picked up a piece of laundry and my 13 year old (who is actually has the least authority with him) told him to leave it. This time he suddenly launched into a game of keep away, with the play bows, turns on a dime and frantic running around the house. This continued until I came into the room, used a very stern tone (hiding my giggles at my "helpless" daughter who was beside herself!) and he laid down and I took the item. 

This morning on our walk he "left" several unappetizing items when I told him to and everything seemed fine. After we were in our yard and off leash, he suddenly dove for the little plastic yard service sign and started the game with me. I tried "leave it" and "sit" and tried to get him a couple times, with no success. Finally I turned away and went in the house. He immediately dropped it and came in. While this ended OK, I sense big trouble! There was no way I was going to catch him or convince him to drop the sign on my own.

What is the best reaction to this behavior? I want to nip this in the bud!


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## Serawyn (May 23, 2011)

I think what you're doing (telling him to "leave it" and walking away) is great! I would just continue with it and see if he stops. It sounds like he thinks it is a game since you are chasing him. 

It's hard for me not to giggle at times with my puppy too. She likes to bring me a toy, nudge, run away and looks back at me to see if I'm chasing her. It was incredibly cute until our dog behaviorist told us she is controlling the game and if we continue to let her do that, we'll be so tired out. I guess the humans are the ones who determine when play time is, not the puppy. It's still so darn cute though!


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## DreamingGold (Mar 16, 2011)

My pup has just started this 'game' too... although he is not quite as good as your pup at Leave It, so it's a little more challenging for us!  Very interested to hear what others have to say. I have been doing the same as you- using leave it and trying to ignore him, but any tips on how I should be handling it when it's something of value? Last night I tried to ignore him and he ended up shredding my daughter's artwork...  A couple times I've ended up chasing him down (keys and the phone) and while it was necessary, I fear that it's contributing to the game in the short term.


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## Bentley's Mom (May 19, 2011)

We have the same issue here. If he tries to play keep away with something of value, I trade him for a treat. If it's his toys I also walk away and leave him there. I'm not sure if this is the best solution but the "drop it, trade me" concept has been working so far. I'll be interested to hear what others suggest because we can use all the help we can get.


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## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

Have a stronger recall. Come means come regardless. However, you have to be CONSISTENT!!!! You can't laugh and play the game sometimes, and then be frustrated when he does not come the next. That does not mean he can't be a puppy, just don't be involved when he is. 

Gabby is 10 months old now. I knew when I got her I was going to do hunt tests with her. In my opinion, the obedience required for hunt tests is off the wall. You are asking a dog to go off leash to a HIGH intensity activity that means absolutely everything to them because it was what they were bred to do. So as they say in the hunt world, sit means sit and here means here. There are NO options. I trained Gabby from day one with that understanding. It has been key to her 'keep away' games. She puts EVERYTHING in her mouth, and takes off running (if she is off leash) I call out a 'come' command, and she comes and sits in front of me. I examine what is in her mouth and either take it out and say "leave it" or give it back and release her to continue to play. If I don't care what it is. If I say her name and come you best be sure she is coming straight to me no questions asked. That is what a recall should be. 

Today I had Quinn and Gabby loose at the park. They took off like bullets. Gabby has an annoying habit of chasing and biting Quinn. Quinn does not like it, Quinn is a bit faster so she just runs faster. I called Gabby to come, she turned the moment I said it and ran straight to me. Come means come.


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## Serawyn (May 23, 2011)

MaxsMom, I have to be blunt here, but it sounds like you think our puppies behaviors are due to their lack of training. I think we're all trying to train our dog to be excellent with recalls.

For example, if I want Ellie to sit or stay, I will say it and expect her to do so. Of course I want her to do as I say. However, she does not do it all the time. Yes, I am consistent and yes, I try to make her obey. Does she do it all the time? No. 

It sounds like your dog is doing great with the recall. Will you please share how you get your dog to do it all the time? Did it happen easily or did you run into problems and had to use other strategies? I would love to know what you did so that I can be this way with my dog because telling her to come doesn't always make her come no matter how much I "mean" it.


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## Gable (Jun 26, 2011)

Thanks everyone! I agree with Maxs Mom and Serawyn both. I DO need a stronger recall, but I'm not sure how to get it! I have about a 90% recall if I call for him excitedly. I have about a 99.99% recall if I shake his treat container. But, I don't always have his treat container. I want him to come on "Come". But the recall with the treat container just kind of happened. I would shake it to get his attention when I called and now he responds to that. Do I untrain this, or add to this, or what? I want a very strong recall where treats are not required.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Practice comes on leash or long line - all the time. Do not ask your dog to come if you are not completely sure he's going to come. <- And with puppies offleash, I wouldn't ask until they are already halfway to you.

Where Max's Mom (Ann) says consistency - it means always practicing comes the same way and never asking twice. If the puppy doesn't come running, then you are reeling them in on the long line and dropping down to reward and play with that puppy.

If a dog comes to you or in your space for any reason, you NEVER correct them. Your space is a "good thing" for you dog to be in. You want them to know that standing or sitting near your hands and feet means food, toys, kisses, and play. 

And again, you are NEVER asking your dog to come if he's focused on something else or you know he won't come. That's setting your dog up for failure + teaching him to ignore you when you call him. 

Most people use toys as rewards for enthusiastic comes. If your dog comes to you - you are always going to drop down to the ground and play like a crazy person. 

If your dog is playing the evasive maneuvers game (keep away), DO NOT PLAY THEIR GAME. You never chase after the puppy. You tell them, "Come on, let's go trade!" And lead the way to the kitchen where you keep bread or something high value that your puppy dreams about. Not kibble. 

^^^^ If a dog doesn't come or runs away, it is always a training issue. I'm saying this as somebody who has owned a few goldens and gone through 10+ years of dog training. It gets easier. 

Keep training.

Keep going to dog classes - pay attention to the methods to teach, train, and proof important things like come, stay, etc...

Have fun. 

When your dogs are 3 or 4 years old, you will find yourselves marveling at how well-behaved and wonderful your adult dogs are. And you will completely forget all of this puppy stuff.


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## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

Serawyn;1493993
It sounds like your dog is doing great with the recall. Will you please share how you get your dog to do it all the time? Did it happen easily or did you run into problems and had to use other strategies? I would love to know what you did so that I can be this way with my dog because telling her to come doesn't always make her come no matter how much I "mean" it.[/QUOTE said:


> Set your self up for success when they are young. Make sure they can complete the task. This is true for all early training. For recall, have them on a leash call them to come, have the sit, give them a treat. When they understand that, take them for a walk. I did not make my dog walk with structure until they got to be "older" I let her wander (on leash) looking at the world. When she was distracted I called her to come and sit, gave a treat. As we progressed I worked off leash in controlled environments first without distraction, then adding distractions. I would go to parks on a long leash so I could enforce if the dog is not doing as told. To me COME is the most important command. I use treats a LOT early on because I want my pup to know I am GOOD thing. I phase out to praise and pets but start with treats.
> 
> The keep away game is a perfect opportunity for 'distraction work'. If you are enjoying letting your pup run and play that is fine, but if you want the pup to come in, or stop the come and sit command (with a reward bigger than the keep away object) is necessary. Gabby had a phase where she would not come in from outside. We could not go get her either, she would run off. So I would stand in the door, and call her. If she started in my direction, I would be encouraging. If she changed direction, I would say no and call again. When she came in and sat, I gave her a treat AFTER the door was closed and let her know she is good. It took a week to stop that behavior.
> 
> ...


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## Bentley's Mom (May 19, 2011)

Thank you all so much for these training techniques. When you do work up to the long leash, how long should it be? 

*Gable- I'm sorry for hijcaking your thread with my question.


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## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

Bentley's Mom said:


> Thank you all so much for these training techniques. When you do work up to the long leash, how long should it be?
> 
> *Gable- I'm sorry for hijcaking your thread with my question.


We have a 25' and a 50'. The nice thing is you have control if your dog is not listening.


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## Gable (Jun 26, 2011)

Bentley's Mom said:


> Thank you all so much for these training techniques. When you do work up to the long leash, how long should it be?
> 
> *Gable- I'm sorry for hijcaking your thread with my question.


Hijack away - I am learning a lot!


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## jackbower6864 (Jul 5, 2014)

*get you dog to drop it*

This is a quick simple exercise to teach you dog to "drop it" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y4VBTm4v3U


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## Kelli M (Jul 12, 2014)

My Toby (4 and 1/2 months) plays this game with my two young boys (7&4) and no matter how hard I try I can't seem to get my boys to understand NOT chasing him or playing tug of war. I take the oldest with me to puppy lessons to help give him guidance in how to act around Toby and the boys aren't ever 'alone' with him but they play fetch with him while I work in the yard. Toby is mostly good with me, no tug of war, no keep away...and I don't want bossing my boys around either as he gets older. We play training games as a family but I'm not sure how to curb this behavior...plus 3 days a week our babysitter is with the boys and that means inconsistency. Ugh... Help anyone?


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

Gable said:


> I have taught Gable "Leave it" with pretty good success. I can say it and he will not touch the forbidden item, or if he already has it drop it or let me take it without resistance. He also does it somewhat regularly for my kids. When he doesn't drop the item for them, he has usually tried to initiate a tug-o-war game with them. Then they scream for me.  Last night Gable picked up a piece of laundry and my 13 year old (who is actually has the least authority with him) told him to leave it. This time he suddenly launched into a game of keep away, with the play bows, turns on a dime and frantic running around the house. This continued until I came into the room, used a very stern tone (hiding my giggles at my "helpless" daughter who was beside herself!) and he laid down and I took the item.
> 
> This morning on our walk he "left" several unappetizing items when I told him to and everything seemed fine. After we were in our yard and off leash, he suddenly dove for the little plastic yard service sign and started the game with me. I tried "leave it" and "sit" and tried to get him a couple times, with no success. Finally I turned away and went in the house. He immediately dropped it and came in. While this ended OK, I sense big trouble! There was no way I was going to catch him or convince him to drop the sign on my own.
> 
> What is the best reaction to this behavior? I want to nip this in the bud!


I won't sugarcoat it, You're expecting too much from a puppy at too early an age. 

You need to have some tool of reinforcement ready in case the pup ignors a command. That means a leash and/or long line. The pup is well on its way to respecting your authority. That's because you've done most if the training. But remember that as pups mature, they will tend to test the boundaries you've set to make sure "the rules" still apply. The kids have done less of the obedience training and the pup holds less respect for them as a result.

Put the pup back on a long line so you can enforce the rules consistently. Here means here every time you give the command. Use the long line to reel him in if you have to. 

Set up some basic heeling pattern drills in the yard. Teach the patterns to the pup so he is proficient with you on the drills. Then teach the kids to run the dog through the drills and have them work the dog on a regular basis. This will help to elevate them in the dogs eyes to a position of leadership. 

Pattern drills are much more important than just learning what heel means. They are the foundation that helps to build communication between dog and handler. 

You get out of the relationship what you put into it, and practice makes perfect.


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## ktkins7 (Jul 20, 2013)

I didn't read through the other responses, but if he doesn't leave it or drop it I would not pay attention to him. Giving him attention trying to get the item from him and chasing him is rewarding. It's a game. So if you don't participate like he wants he isn't rewarded. 

Hope this makes sense because I've only had 6 hours of sleep the last 72 hours. 

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## thorbreafortuna (Jun 9, 2013)

I have experienced exactly what previous poster describes. When I learned not to try to get things from Thor he would just come back with the item and abandons it when he realized I wasn't going to chase him. Mind you, if the item is potentially hazardous I do take if from him as nonchalantly as possible, but speedily. This hardly ever happens because step one in this fight is to remove such items from reach, easier said than done if you have young kids, I totally get it!


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## ktkins7 (Jul 20, 2013)

I forgot to mention the part thorbreafortuna said about the dangerous item. That would be the exception. But in that case I attempt to trade rather than chase. Just have to make sure I have something of high enough value. 

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## jaina8851 (Apr 19, 2014)

Kelli M said:


> My Toby (4 and 1/2 months) plays this game with my two young boys (7&4) and no matter how hard I try I can't seem to get my boys to understand NOT chasing him or playing tug of war. I take the oldest with me to puppy lessons to help give him guidance in how to act around Toby and the boys aren't ever 'alone' with him but they play fetch with him while I work in the yard. Toby is mostly good with me, no tug of war, no keep away...and I don't want bossing my boys around either as he gets older. We play training games as a family but I'm not sure how to curb this behavior...plus 3 days a week our babysitter is with the boys and that means inconsistency. Ugh... Help anyone?


No advice, but I have a 4.5 month old Toby too!!! His birthday is 3/15


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## Rkaymay (May 12, 2014)

Don't don't don't chase him. That's praise because he wants to play, and by chasing him he thinks you're playing and you're inadvertently rewarding the behavior. Your best bet is to turn and walk away. Don't tell him to leave it if he won't listen - just say, "well, I'll see you later" and walk away. His attempt at a game thwarted, he'll most likely follow you. INSTANTLY praise this behavior, as it's what you want!


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