Hey, I have a 7 year old siberian husky named Zuki and she knows most of the basic stuff, but we still have difficulty with coming when called. Is there someone who can give me some tips, keep in mind, she's 7. She may be a bit of a raskle occasionaly, but I love her to pieces.:dogsmile:
little late, but hey
- Thread starter kddisimei
- Start date
tigerlily46514
Honored Member
Ha, that IS one of the hardest things to teach, i think. And it's harder to teach to some dogs than to others.
And it's something that has to be continually re-inforced, in my opinion. My dog was like super dog to come when called, BUT, i sorta quit re-inforcing it, and was lazy, and he got kinda sloppy about whether he'd come to me on 1st time or 2nd time, etc.
so i had to start all over.:msngiggle:
there IS a thread around here on this, teaching this is often called "recall".
With my dog, i started IN the house. I taught him that 'come' means treat. He really thought that is what the word meant..... whenever that lady says "come"---> i get a treat! yippee!:dogbiggrin:
You do NOT want to use the dog's name. He hears that word all day long. Most dogs will come to their name, but, if you are struggling to get a dog who doesn't like to come to come, it's best to use a specific cue that the dog can begin to associate with getting a teeny tiny bit of meat.
And, if you have already sorta worn out the word "come", if your dog ignores this word.....you might wanna consider starting over with a brand new word, like "here", or whistle or something.
How to start. IF YOU DON'T ALREADY USE A CLICKER, consider learning about clickers, everything is way easier for a dog to learn with a clicker.
Also,:dognowink: never ever scold your dog for showing up "late"....confuses the dog. "Did you want me to come over or not!?":dogwacko:
STep 1--
IN the house, STAND NEXT TO YOUR DOG, say "here" and give the dog a treat. AND PRAISE. Keep treats very very small (dogs don't care at all if it is only 1 crumb) and use real meat or hotdog crumbs, if you can.
Do this about three times, then play with your dog. Your goal is to convince the dog, that the word "come" or "here" means: he gets a tiny bit of meat.
First lesson is over.:msngrin:
Repeat this scene 2 or 3 times a day.
On day 2 or day 3, move to another room, say "here" and give dog tiny treat. Repeat about 2 or 3 times, now play with your dog. Always play with your dog after every session, so dog thinks this is fun thing.:dogbiggrin:
Over time, move as far away as you can, still in the house, and giving meat bit each time dog shows up.
NOW try it outside, with no or very low distraction. Be not far away, like really close, and call "here" to your dog when your dog is NOT already obsessed on something, when your dog is calm and focused on you mostly anyway. Once you begin training this outside, you kinda got start all over, with calm dog close to you, say word, and give treat.
If you can, avoid calling to your dog when she is doing a sniff before peeing. Cuz she won't come, and it weakens the word for you--- for the dog to hear it but not obey it. ( i learned this tip from Tx cowgirl) It's reeeeally hard to get any dog to come when they are fixing to pee, when you gotta go, you gotta go.:dogunsure:
Do this 2 or 3 times, say word and give a teeny tiny bit of meat, and now play with your dog. Of course, if you have no fence, you might have to have your dog on long line for safety.
Some folks keep the dog on a long line anyway while training this, and just pull the dog in if he doesn't come, and then treat him when he gets there.
Over time, advance slooowly along, to be able to call to dog when there is mild distraction, or when you are a bit further away, and so on.
Eventually, hopefully, you can advance to be able to call your dog when she is very distracted (hard to do) or you are far away (hard for many dogs).
When recall is pretty darn good---then Begin to phase out treats and replace with just praise, so she get treats only now and then, so dog never knows for sure which times she will get a treat or not. But always always, give treats now and then.
some dogs, if they realize, they are done getting treats for coming, not ever at all, will lose interest.:dogohmy:
If you lose your student, go back to whatever step you were on when she was doing well.
Every day is not too often to work on recall.
somewhere, is a great thread on this very topic, "recall".....but, i can't find it today....
And it's something that has to be continually re-inforced, in my opinion. My dog was like super dog to come when called, BUT, i sorta quit re-inforcing it, and was lazy, and he got kinda sloppy about whether he'd come to me on 1st time or 2nd time, etc.
so i had to start all over.:msngiggle:
there IS a thread around here on this, teaching this is often called "recall".
With my dog, i started IN the house. I taught him that 'come' means treat. He really thought that is what the word meant..... whenever that lady says "come"---> i get a treat! yippee!:dogbiggrin:
You do NOT want to use the dog's name. He hears that word all day long. Most dogs will come to their name, but, if you are struggling to get a dog who doesn't like to come to come, it's best to use a specific cue that the dog can begin to associate with getting a teeny tiny bit of meat.
And, if you have already sorta worn out the word "come", if your dog ignores this word.....you might wanna consider starting over with a brand new word, like "here", or whistle or something.
How to start. IF YOU DON'T ALREADY USE A CLICKER, consider learning about clickers, everything is way easier for a dog to learn with a clicker.
Also,:dognowink: never ever scold your dog for showing up "late"....confuses the dog. "Did you want me to come over or not!?":dogwacko:
STep 1--
IN the house, STAND NEXT TO YOUR DOG, say "here" and give the dog a treat. AND PRAISE. Keep treats very very small (dogs don't care at all if it is only 1 crumb) and use real meat or hotdog crumbs, if you can.
Do this about three times, then play with your dog. Your goal is to convince the dog, that the word "come" or "here" means: he gets a tiny bit of meat.
First lesson is over.:msngrin:
Repeat this scene 2 or 3 times a day.
On day 2 or day 3, move to another room, say "here" and give dog tiny treat. Repeat about 2 or 3 times, now play with your dog. Always play with your dog after every session, so dog thinks this is fun thing.:dogbiggrin:
Over time, move as far away as you can, still in the house, and giving meat bit each time dog shows up.
NOW try it outside, with no or very low distraction. Be not far away, like really close, and call "here" to your dog when your dog is NOT already obsessed on something, when your dog is calm and focused on you mostly anyway. Once you begin training this outside, you kinda got start all over, with calm dog close to you, say word, and give treat.
If you can, avoid calling to your dog when she is doing a sniff before peeing. Cuz she won't come, and it weakens the word for you--- for the dog to hear it but not obey it. ( i learned this tip from Tx cowgirl) It's reeeeally hard to get any dog to come when they are fixing to pee, when you gotta go, you gotta go.:dogunsure:
Do this 2 or 3 times, say word and give a teeny tiny bit of meat, and now play with your dog. Of course, if you have no fence, you might have to have your dog on long line for safety.
Some folks keep the dog on a long line anyway while training this, and just pull the dog in if he doesn't come, and then treat him when he gets there.
Over time, advance slooowly along, to be able to call to dog when there is mild distraction, or when you are a bit further away, and so on.
Eventually, hopefully, you can advance to be able to call your dog when she is very distracted (hard to do) or you are far away (hard for many dogs).
When recall is pretty darn good---then Begin to phase out treats and replace with just praise, so she get treats only now and then, so dog never knows for sure which times she will get a treat or not. But always always, give treats now and then.
some dogs, if they realize, they are done getting treats for coming, not ever at all, will lose interest.:dogohmy:
If you lose your student, go back to whatever step you were on when she was doing well.
Every day is not too often to work on recall.
somewhere, is a great thread on this very topic, "recall".....but, i can't find it today....
alyssadfa
New Member
Something else to add:
If your dog does ignore you, you may want to walk out to the dog, hold it's collar, say come (or here) and walk BACKWARDS to where you called. When you get to the spot that you called from give the treat and praise, praise, praise "good boy. good come".
This helps reinforce coming the first time you call.
If your dog does ignore you, you may want to walk out to the dog, hold it's collar, say come (or here) and walk BACKWARDS to where you called. When you get to the spot that you called from give the treat and praise, praise, praise "good boy. good come".
This helps reinforce coming the first time you call.