Come Command Options

[Autumn]

I've never had a more goofy difficult to train pup than Ranger. This morning the dork was so excited about breakfast that he hopped up and knocked the dish out of my hand and his food went everywhere.

He will sit, he will down, but he will not come. Not correctly anyway. All of them know where the treats are and when I open that pantry door they all come running, because it's either food or cookies! He gets so excited when I have treats in my hand that I can not get him to sit far enough from me to call him to come and reward him for it. If I don't have treats he's not interested in me when I say come, he just stares at me like I'm nuts and then walks away!

[fuzzypuppies]

I have had (am having) some of the same difficulties with "come".

Our details are a bit different, but we have the same basic issues.

Food "happiness": They got nothing, and I mean nothing until they were calmly seated (or laying down) on opposite sides of the kitchen. Sometimes hopping up occured as I would set the bowls down. In that case, the bowl went back on the counter. Repeat as many times as necessary. It onlt took a few days for them to learn this.

The pantry door: Several times a day, just open the door and then close it. Nothing comes out of the cabinet. Don't look at them as they come into the kitchen to investigate. Don't even say anything. Soon it will be just another sound. You could also try keeping the treats in different spots.

The "come" command: I gave up using treats. I would say the word, and then turn and move away in an excited fashion, like skipping. They both wanted to see what was going to be so much fun that they followed. They got lots of loving and excited praise. After two or three successful trips, then they had to sit and be calmed, and THEN they got a treat.

I'm certainly no dog trainer, but this got results for us. Good luck!

[fuzzypuppies]

This is from the "frequently asked questions" section:

(Thank you Doris, you're awesome!)

You give a command only once because you are teaching the dog that he should be paying attention and obey what you say right away. It really does no good to train a dog without following through and making sure the command is obeyed. Especially with a breed like a Malamute, who is an independant thinker anyway. They need to be taught that they MUST obey.

This can be easily achieved with positive training. You begin teaching a command by saying the word and placing or guiding the dog followed by praise or a treat. After a few repetitions, you give the command, wait a second, and if they don't obey or at least make a move in the right direction, you don't say No, you once again physically position them or guide them and then praise/treat.

Training should begin in a place with no distractions and you should be working in close proximity to your dog. You don't show him how to sit a couple times and then command a sit from halfway across the yard. The idea is to slowly lengthen the space between you and the dog as he masters each command. You want to set the dog up to succeed so that training is fun and he understands what you are asking of him.

The biggest mistake people make is calling a dog to come when the dog is not reliable on recall and the owner has no way to back up the command. The owner says Come a few times (usually with their voice getting louder and more frustrated), then the owner either resorts to bribes ("Want a cookie?") or begins to verbally punish the dog by telling them they are bad, etc. I tell owners to save the come command for when they can make sure the dog will obey. If the dog is in the back yard and you want to call him in, use "Here", "Inside", "To me", etc. That way, if he chooses to ignore you, you can get him inside however works and you don't ruin the come command which you need for when you are in public places, if the dog gets out of the house/yard, obedience trails, etc.

love the last paragraph...

[Jen]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) You're just not making it interesting enough for him to come. You probably have to get pretty excited (and mean it) when you call him. When he does, happy praise and hugs. My dogs know the command pretty well but in class we run backward patting our legs and talking excitedly and most of the dogs come immediately. Some of my twerps wait out in the yard until they are personally called into the house (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

[dogdad]

This is also my new challenge as Tino has decided that although he was taught come, he
likes to stay inside rather than come outside or to me. My instructor at AKC basic always
said Come was one of the hardest commands as the owners tended to get frustrated and
that is passed on to the dogs. He always said it must be more of a happy friendly tone so
the dog doesn't think he is walking over to be punished. But as with Doris and Jen, commands
are to be given once. I now give Tino a friendly come, and about 50% of the time he comes
nicely for which he gets praised. The other 50% his stubborn side kicks in and he not only does
not come he goes down. I keep my voice pleasant walk over with a leash attach it to the collar
and repeat come and pull gently. That is all is takes and I praise him then.
My questions is should I not praise him if I have to give him a gentle pull. He has always complied.
No pulling back or pancaking.
I know with all my dogs this is one of the commands that my instructor indicated would need reinforced
and worked on the most.

Thanks Jen for the info

[Jen]

When he complies and comes to you, praise. Even though it wasn't exactly what you were going for, he still did it. It's sort of like with weight pulling. If a dog goes out and it's because they were being obstinate, I do not pull them through because if I do then I need to treat them when they get back to the crate because they did put the effort in. If mine don't come the first time I start walking toward them and at that point they usually realize they better get moving toward me or I'm going to make them comply. In the yard if mine don't come I walk up and drag their furry butts up to the house without saying anything so they have learned that they have two options: come when called and receive praise or get moved back to the house and get ignored for a while. And just because they're coming along doesn't mean I let go, they get brought all the way up and into the house because if you let go and they complete the trek to the house I think you have to praise them.

[Bloss]

When we picked up Deejai from the breeder, he told us if she doesnt come to us when called...just crouch down then call her,.....and wow it does work for her. She has excaped from here a few times now, but when we see her we just crouch down and call her....and she always comes to us. The last time she excaped cause the gate was left open ( i think was son's girlfriend), she saw us looking for her and she came to us from down the road without any fuss, I know she loves us loves us now LOL.

Chery

[Brenda]

Would putting him on a long lead work? Like the 15' ones? Make him stay at the end of the lead say come and then if he doesn't respond you at least have means to back up your command.

[dogdad]

Brenda,
That is how we started comes in AKC basic. It works for them to get the concept, but they
still need come to be said in a voice that does not sound like you are going to punish them,
and belive me with myself frustration in your voice carries to your dogs very quickly. We
went from 15 ft. leads to regular leashes to offleash. I am using Jen's suggestion with Tino
now. One command and I take him out by the collar. A few days ago, when I would repeat
the command (I knew better), I would have Keeta and McKenzie sitting in front of me with
their ears back. Obviously they heard the frustration, where as Fuzz head sat there with
his big old Mal smile and his tongue hanging out. But he does heel nicely and sits and even
shakes. Woo hoo. Still trying to use NILIF.

[Lirahs]

I have add my 2 cents ...this morning i was going to venture out to walk both the dog's at the same time..I haven't for ages...learned the hard way...going down steps or wearing Keds results in landing on butt...or anything less than hiking boots in the snow and your on your knees. Also, never walk 2 dogs when you got to pee or ...well..I leave this one at TMI.

Well.I headed out the back gate...with hiking boots and a new coupler for the leashes...opened the gate and ...stupid me forgot to hook up Shelby...she was gone in a flash~

Caught up to her...said ""Come"" and she runs...several times...Finally, said "bye" and turned to walk away and she was right there. Crazy dog !!!

But I have to say..this coupler thing and Shelby harnessed works awesome...she can lead the walk...and Zeke holds her back from totally pulling my arm out of socket ...lol . We got 2 miles in and Zeke decided he was pooped and laid down and there we sat...lol. But it was a great walk.

But I guess i need to work on the "come" command outside better. Everywhere else she is great...less her chance at freedom .

[Autumn]

The very excited slapping on the knees thing seems to be working, he's coming when I call him!
Now I need to get him to the vet again and make sure he's not sick. We're having some peeing issues. Not marking, just not holding his bladder. He peed on the floor around 3 am this morning and then didn't hold it long enough to get out the back door, peed right in front of the back door around 5 am!

[LupineSpirit]

I learned a long time ago that "command" wouldn't be in my malamute vocabulary. It's more of an "invite" and it seems to work well for us.
If a dog gets used to you having ulterior motives for calling, they tend to get selective about when they come, depending on what's in your hands and your body language.
Solution? Invite the dog to you for treats, praise, affection, fun stuff, and then let it go. If you have to do something negative to the dog best bet is to just go get him/her.

[Jeff K & Granite]

I learned a long time ago that "command" wouldn't be in my malamute vocabulary. It's more of an "invite" . . .

Isn't that the truth!! LOL.