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Pupforum presents your training questions answered by professional dog trainers.
Lynne has been training dogs since 1985. She has worked as head trainer for two facilities, a studio trainer (print ads, commercials and television) and as a continuing ed and certification rep for what was then the largest dog training company in the US. Lynne is a member of the IACP and keeps her training techniques current by attending various seminars and reading books. She currently competes in the sport of schutzhund, has a registered therapy dog, and has started her young Papillion in agility. Lynne owns and runs Blazing Trails K9 Academy in Santa Clarita/Antelope valley California.
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[Edit]
11/29/2005
What should I do with my year old Jack Russell Terrier who doesn't listen when he is called? The last time he got loose and ran away I chased after him and called his name but he turned around to look at me and just kept running, he almost got ran over. (SweetTrt430, Connecticut)
There are a few rules involved in teaching the come
exercise and some of them you might find helpful.
- NEVER call the dog to you to punish it.
- NEVER call the dog towards a negative (i.e. nail
clipping, bath time etc)
- IN THE BEGINNING STAGES (first few months at
least) never call away from fun without releasing the
dog to go back.
- IN THE BEGINNING STAGES never give the come
command without the ability to enforce it and
reinforce it.
If you've ever told the dog to come and then punished
him for having run away, you've made it so he won't
want to come in the future. If you've ever called the
dog towards a negative, you've weakened his love for
coming to you. If you've in these beginning stages
called the dog away from fun, why should he come to
you? This one is a particular pet peeve of mine. I see
it almost constantly.
The dog is doing something he
finds fun. The owner calls the dog to them, puts the
leash on, and ends the fun. It's like calling a child
in for dinner and never letting him go back out again.
It just makes for slower and slower recalls. INSTEAD,
you could call the dog to you, reward with a tidbit, a
game, or anything else the DOG finds especially
rewarding, and then allow him to go back to his fun.
The fourth rule is one that needs particular
attention in this case. The come needs to be taught on
the leash and there need to be 3-400 successful comes
on the leash before you ever try it witho
ut the leash.
Also there need to be 3-400 comes that elicit a high
value reward before you try it off leash. From now on,
practice the come several times a day, always on a
leash. If you can't enforce the command (ie have a
leash on) DONT say the command in the first place.
Instead go get the dog without saying come, or call
the dog informally (i.e. "here puppy").
You can also try
using "treat cups". Fill a Dixie cup with favorite
treats. Throughout the day, shake the cup and provide
a treat. Soon the sound of the rattling cup should get
the dog over to you. This is NOT a come, but can be
used in an emergency situation.
If you want a solid
come for later, I recommend you let the dog drag a
leash around for the time when he is around you. This
could last a few months or a few weeks depending on
the dog. This way, should you decide you need to call
the dog, and he blows you off, you can quietly go step
on the leash, pick it up, and require him to come to
you. It also makes it so if he were to get out for
whatever reason you at least have a recourse.
Now, let's talk about what to do in the emergency
situation you described. When the dog got out, and you
began to chase him, it automatically became a game for
the dog. ESPECIALLY if the come command has elicit a
game of chase from you before. Getting his attention,
then moving TOWARDS him just made him think his pack
was coming WITH him and probably made him run faster.
INSTEAD what you could have done is said his name and
run AWAY from him excitedly; especially if you thought
to grab your Dixie cup to rattle it first. The Dixie
cup rattle ALWAYS elicits a reward and is probably
more consistent then you are so rattling it would have
drawn him in faster in hopes of a tasty tidbit
(especially if this is a food motivated dog).
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