# WHEN will a puppy obey the command "COME"?



## Leika 11 (Mar 1, 2008)

Hello,

I picked up my little "bundle of joy" Gina last March 11, 2008. She is just 7 weeks young and it seems to me that she really behaves the way babies do. 

To my surprise, on her third full day in our home, she almost always obeys the command "sit" and sometimes the call for "down" whereas she totally ignores the "come" command.

My question now is the following: WHEN will little Gina start to run to-
wards me if I call her?

I don't want to ask for too much.

Thanks in advance for your replies.


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## rlwolf (Feb 18, 2008)

It really depends on the individual dog/puppy, but if I remember correctly, Freyja would come when I called her, after just a few days of having her. However it was FAR from reliable. I'd say a reliable come when I called her was about 4 months, maybe a little earlier.

ESPECIALLY when they are puppies, you ALWAYS want to make sure that coming when called is a great experience. Treats, toys, and lots and lots of praise. Never never call your puppy to scold them! I personally always reserved the command for when I KNEW she would come, and for the other times, it was more encouragement. 

good luck


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## Kayla's Dad (Jul 2, 2007)

You could try using association with the command word. Whenever your puppy is running toward insert the word come as she is running toward you. Playing with toys like a ball. When you toss it and she runs to get it-if she turns and start coming back toward you say the work come and make sure you're excited and happy.

Do the same thing when when she looks at you. Whatever work you plan to use for her to focus on you - watch me, focus, etc. Whenever she looks at you - good focus, good watch and/or reward with a treat. 

When you take her out to potty are you associating a word with the act? If not you want to start doing that ("get busy", pot pot). Before long you will be able to entice her going to the bathroom by using the command.

Everything should be fun with your puppy. Try to avoid using your command words when you can not enforce them. And at this stage it is not so much enforcing the commands as getting her to learn them - using association should get you the foundation for later.

Good luck and remember to make it fun.


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## Achielles UD (May 26, 2001)

Congratulations on your puppy! Puppies are a lot of fun and generally want to be near you. The "come" at this time is usually fairly easy to start.

I teach my dogs that their name is a great thing and is always followed with food or play. It is simple to do, say her name and then feed or play a game of tug that she likes. Their name becomes my primary form of calling a dog to come. I also teach the word come by never calling her to me if I do not have a way of enforcing it. That means only saying "come" if I have a leash on to make sure she does come. Many dogs fail to learn to come just because the owner uses the word without enforcing it so the dog learns to ignore the command.

My three rules of come are: 1. Always reward after saying their name and/or come (great food/play). 2. NEVER punish (never call your dog and then do something they do not like ie; bath, nails, crate, scold etc). 3. Never call your dog unless you can enforce it, ie; have a leash on.

As a young puppy she should respond very quickly. The problems really start when she gets into her teenage years and starts testing whether you really mean the command and will enforce it or not. when they learn that you will enforce it every single time you use it, you will have a dog that starts seeing the command as non-negotiable and will respond accordingly.

Always make it fun and never call her if you cant enforce it. As for when she will obey the command, that depends on how much you work with her and her personality. the come command is something I work with my dogs a TON when they are young and practice as often as possible when they are older among many different distractions and locations.

Good luck!


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## Bridget (Apr 5, 2004)

I have found that puppies learn "come" pretty early. But you don't want to count on it for a long time, as when they start to become a teenager (anytime from 6 mos. to over a year), they forget the come command and have to be retrained on it (or more probably they just decide not to listen.


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## Bellababy (Mar 15, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: Achielles CDX
> Always make it fun and never call her if you cant enforce it.


That's good to remember. We're working on that right now, and it's hit or miss because I am not enforcing it enough.


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

Also, puppies/dogs are more likely to run toward you if you're running away from them. Standing still, or worse, standing crouched over, or much worse, moving toward the dog, is less likely to get your dog to come to you. 

First thing to keep in mind, mark the behavior of "come." So don't tell her "come" when she's just standing there (because then she'll think "come" means "stand here."). Instead, wait til she's moving toward you, then tell her "come! Good come!" And reward the heck out of it. Praise. Treats. Petting. More praise. 

To get her to move, start running away from her. That will almost guarantee that she'll want to chase you. Then, as you're trotting, shout out your "come, good come!" as above. Practice all of this with a long line if she's not instinctively chasing you, so you can give her a tug to get her moving in your direction. And practice it a lot.

Even at two years old, I still reward my GSD when he responds to a "come" command, at the minimum with praise and a bit of petting. If he was doing something really interesting (playing in his kiddie pool, rolling on the grass, wrestling with my other dog), I'll usually hand over a small snack as well. This way, he knows that coming to me is always going to be worth the trip, no matter what else he has going on. 

Actually, my 15 year old dog usually scores a snack at those times too, even when she was just sunbathing.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

I don't even use the word 'come' when my puppies are young. 

Instead I'm a fan of getting them to learn and think their name is FABULOUS! And so when I say 'Elsa' and run away............ she comes. Or say Elsa and when she looks I wiggle and squeak her favorite toy.................... she comes. Or say Elsa and when she looks turn like I'm leaving and when she gets to me give her a piece of cheese/chicken/liver................

If I can get my dogs to learn and love their names, so they look at me for what's up and always know it fun fun or food food....... they will 'come' and I never have to use the word until I start up real training way down the line.

Key to all this is to NEVER call your puppy or have them run willingly to you and then have it be for a punishment thing. So if you find a chewed favorite shoe, and call the pup over to punish, then you have a HUGE problem. Instead, calmly go and GET the puppy if you need to.


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## Leika 11 (Mar 1, 2008)

Hi,

Thanks to all of you for responding to my post.

As a person who is new to this wonderful hobby I really appreciate your willingness to share with me your experience and practical knowledge. 

Once again, this forum is indeed a VERY NICE PLACE TO BE!!


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## Brightelf (Sep 5, 2001)

Also-- puppies are BIG readers of energy and feelings! Without words, they talk, they truly listen. Pups send and recieve energy-- they 'feel' your moods easily. When she comes, send all the happy energy you can! Fun! "Wheeee!Here you are, special darling Baby Waggy-Butt!" (pet pet pet snuggle) Squeaky toys, treats, etc-- all help here.. but don't forget to beam out to her how incredibly HAPPY and WONDERFUL it is to you when she COMES.







She will feel it, and try to join in the party.


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## kutzro357 (Jan 15, 2002)

"WHEN will a puppy obey the command "COME"?"

When it`s more fun, more interesting and exciting than anything else.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

7 weeks is really young. i got my boy at 9 weeks. the first thing i was concerned with was house training. i always spoke to my boy by name. if was coming towards me i would say come and give him a treat. he likes chicken, beef and pork. i would have my GF whole him a few feet from me and i would sat "Loki, come", i would have the treat in my hand. my hand was reaching towards him to entice him. then i would hold him him and my GF would call him. he caught on rather quickly. then my GF would hold him and i would go into the kitchen, bedroom, further down the hallway, hide behind doors and call him and he would come. then we would go outside and again i would move a few feet away and call him and have the treat ready. also while calling him i would wave my arm towards me. so now he comes if i call him or wave my arm towards me. we did this alot. we only did it for short periods of time. when he came to me i would hold him and my GF would call him. once he went to both of us that would be it for that session. sometimes we would do it two times to me two times to her and that would be it for that session but we would do it four or five times a day with alot of time in between sessions. that's my method for teaching anything. short sessions but alot. we always end the session on a positive note. we always train indoors and out. i find training in front of the super market is great because of the distractions. we everywhere, inside, outside, in the woods, before we go into the dog park for play(i train along the fence, it's tough for him because all of the dogs come to the fence but it's good practice. once he does whatever it is i'm training then we go inside to play.) good luck. one thing at a time, be consistent, everybody involved train the same way, short sessions, end on a positive note. good luck.


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## krispifsu (Dec 23, 2007)

I'm far from experienced as I just got my first pup 2 months ago, but...

When she was a baby puppy, she followed me every step of the way so when she would run after me I would call "Lily! Come Lily!" and then praise her when she reached me. 

As she has gotten older and more adventurous, I would start calling her name and saying "Lily, come here, Lily!" and I would be playing with one of her toys and acting life I was having the best time in the world and wanted her to join me. She was always so interested in what I was doing with HER toy that she would scamper over and I would praise her like she had just won the lottery. I started slow, just in the house. Now she is fairly reliable that if we are out she'll come when I call even if she is playing. Even now I praise her like crazy when she comes so she knows she is doing what I want and she gets fun out of doing what I want her to do. 

I think the biggest thing that has worked with me is projecting all of my energy and thoughts into her. I find that if I am focused on her (and not all of the 101 other things i have to do that day) and take the time to REALLY enjoy our play/training that she is so much more responsive than when I am calling her because I am tired and want to leave or frsutrated or it's just a half-hearted attempt. 

Good luck!


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## CertainlySpoiled (Dec 2, 2007)

Emma was around the same age as Gina when we got her, and it took a couple of week for her to really trust me to come to me when I called her, but now at 8 months, she has no problem running to me when I call for her. I think time and patiance is the big key. Also I've learned if they are just not listening, if I make an awkward sound it gets their attention and they will come running to see what's going on! Good luck!!!


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## Leika 11 (Mar 1, 2008)

Hi Brightelf, Kutzro357, doggiedad, Krispifsu & Jenniferky,

I want to thank you, too for giving me valuable advice.

I really enjoy to have my "little girl" Gina and do hope that she feels how much I love her.

Good luck to you all and I'm sorry for not answering you earlier.


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