# Why won't she "come" when you call her? By name or by command?



## kimsdamom (Dec 27, 2012)

*Hi All, My GSP, Jasmine who is almost 9 mos old now still will not come when you call her by name or by comand, unless she feels like it. It's like she's being defiant. Because she'll look at you and then walk the opposite direction, unless she is in the mood, which is very rare. I just can't figure out how to get this one down. She sits/lays down/stays is potty trained so she isn't stupid, she just doesn't want to do this, or lets just say I am doing something wrong and she's not understanding what I want from her. Any helpful ideas on this one? Thanks in advance.  :help:*


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Put her on a long line and give her a pull if she doesn't come.
Do not use the command unless you can guarantee 100% compliance.


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## AngelaA6 (Jan 20, 2013)

Sunflowers said:


> Put her on a long line and give her a pull if she doesn't come.
> Do not use the command unless you can guarantee 100% compliance.


This and also when pulling her tell her "Good come" or "Good here" depending on your call word. Consistency is a good thing and be sure to praise and reward when they reach you as you would as a puppy. Be sure to reward intermittently though as she starts to get it so she listens to you even without treats.


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## kimsdamom (Dec 27, 2012)

Makes perfect sense. I'll try that, thanks to you both. I'm sure that will do the trick.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

think about this: "what is she going to get if she comes to you?" Is it worth her while? You have to make it worth it for her to come to you..Is she food motivated? Always carry food on you, treat her when she comes..

You (general you) have to make yourself more interesting than whatever she's doing And yes, keep her on a long line, to give her that nudge that will end up making her want to come to you..


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

You need to go back to step one (or zero) in teaching your recall -- because you haven't taught one yet (you've taught coming is optional).

As others have suggested, the longline is key, but I actually think you aren't ready for it yet. Start with a regular _leash_ from tiny distances for a few days, and build up to the long line. I really like to play a "mama-papa" game with a new dog learning a recall. We put TWO long lines on the dog and separate in the back yard, and we've each got a stuffed treat pouch full of yummie goodness. The we get the dog practicing recalls back and forth between us. 

DH says come, dog runs to him, effusive praise and treats. I saw it next, dog runs to me, more of same. We do this until the dog starts anticipating and running before we say the word -- no treat, but the other one of us will then use the command to get it running the opposite way, and it gets the reward.  This game is super fun, as long as we've laid the foundation for it first. We try to keep it fast paced and super-upbeat so from the dog's perspective, we're playing. 

Train yourself that while you are training your dog, you will never, ever, ever use the "come" command if there isn't a line on the dog to ensure it has to follow-through and obey. If you use the command when it's optional, you will teach the dog (again) that it can decide whether to come to you or not. You want it to be so automatic that the dog doesn't even think of not doing it by the time you use the command without a line.


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## David Taggart (Nov 25, 2012)

> think about this: "what is she going to get if she comes to you?" Is it worth her while? You have to make it worth it for her to come to you..Is she food motivated? Always carry food on you, treat her when she comes..


Absolutely. Dogs posess a great sense of reason.
Then, you say, she is 9 months old 


> *She sits/lays down/stays is potty trained *


Some GSDs are finishing their obedience course at six months... They are intelligent dogs and need daily physical and intellectual load, especially when young. How much your dog want to be with you?


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

start a thread and give some examples of this great sense of reason.



David Taggart said:


> Absolutely.
> 
> >>>>> Dogs posess a great sense of reason.<<<<<
> Then, you say, she is 9 months old
> ...


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## Rbeckett (Jun 19, 2013)

I agree with DoggieDad, A thread would be great. My 23 Month girl has been doing the same thing lately and the long lead solution seems to be working so far. She still plays keep away from the human a good bit, but it is mostly because she wants to play ball or do something she considers more fun. Getting the dog to decide you are more fun is the key. I use an intermittent hot dog treat to help cement the recall command when I give it. I don't give her a treat every time, but in the beginning I did very frequently to boost her interest.

Wheelchair Bob


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## W.Oliver (Aug 26, 2007)

JakodaCD OA said:


> think about this: "what is she going to get if she comes to you?" Is it worth her while? You have to make it worth it for her to come to you..Is she food motivated? Always carry food on you, treat her when she comes..
> 
> You (general you) have to make yourself more interesting than whatever she's doing And yes, keep her on a long line, to give her that nudge that will end up making her want to come to you..


Thank you for such a good post......


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## David Taggart (Nov 25, 2012)

> Getting the dog to decide you are more fun is the key.


Here's your sense of reason, I don't have to go very far. If you recall your dog just for the sake of it when there's nothing for her - don't expect much response from untrained dog. Why should she come to you? And why do you recall her?
I trained one lazy sod recently, couldn't get much of him until discovered that he likes me whistling a melody. Using a metal whistle proved helpful for distance recalls. Every time he's coming back I repeat one and the same - I do few steps backwards as he runs, ask him to sit, he receives his treat and plays a short play with me.
Maybe you'd like to do the same? Use a whistle, it would be something new, fresh for her, and play with her when she comes, keep in your pocket something she really likes, her treats or her ball.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

you haven't shown a dog has a sense of reason. you're talking about
an untrained dog. when the dog is trained can you call him or her
to you wihout treating or petting? if a dog could reason i don't
think they would run into the street and get hit by a car, if a dog 
could reason i don't think they would eat poison, if a dog could reason i don't
think they would try to bite a horse on the ankle, if a dog could reason
i don't think they would chase cars, motorcyles, etc.



David Taggart said:


> Here's your sense of reason, I don't have to go very far. If you recall your dog just for the sake of it when there's nothing for her -
> 
> >>>>> don't expect much response from untrained dog.<<<<<
> 
> ...


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

I've always given the Hooligans treats every so often when I call them and they always come ... they never know if/when they'll get a treat. Even when their attention is 100% focused on a loose dog sniffing at our fence they come when called. That's all I can ask of them ... do what I want when I want them to do it.


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## Merciel (Apr 25, 2013)

My recall training progression usually goes something like this:

(1) indoor recalls from short distance away
(2) indoor recalls from out-of-sight
(3) outdoor recalls in boring environments on a long line
(4) outdoor recalls in more interesting environments on a long line
(5) outdoor recalls in fenced areas
(6) outdoor recalls in open but visually/psychologically "confined" areas (like hiking trails in dense forests)
(7) outdoor recalls in completely open areas
(8) outdoor recalls in completely open areas with high distraction

I'm oversimplifying, of course, and in real life it's rarely such a neat escalating line -- there's a lot of zigzagging back and forth based on what I see from the dogs' responses in each environment -- but that's roughly how it goes. I try very hard not to move up to the next level until the previous one feels solid. I use a lot of recall games, too: tag/chase, hide and seek, stay and seek, throwing a treat in one direction and then running away quickly in the other, etc.

Something like this clip, which we did at Sanford Farm earlier this week (new and unfamiliar environment to explore, wide-open field with no visual confinements, bunnies and novel dogs around to play with), would be near the highest level of difficulty for my crew. It doesn't _look_ like much -- there's nothing hugely dramatic in frame -- but there are actually a lot of other things competing for Dog Mob's interest, and one of the things I do to reward them is immediately give them a cue to go back and explore some more (that's what the "Go Play!" is after Pongu recalls).






The reason I do these "pop quizzes" is to reinforce recalls in novel environments. As other people said earlier, it's important not to use a recall until you think it's going to be reliable -- but once you do have an acceptable success rate, practice is crucial. I make a point of recalling the dogs occasionally on off-leash walks, because when I really _need_ to call them off a deer or a rabbit, I want them to respond reflexively. It's a fine line between doing it so often that it starts to annoy your dog and devalue your reinforcers, vs. doing it often enough to get in the necessary practice, but if you know your dog, you'll know where to draw that line.

It might also be worth noting that Crookytail is about two and a half years old now, and this is the first trip where I've had any real confidence in his recall. It was a _disaster_ on our last vacation, and I spent about six months working on it before this one. Practice is super super important in getting a reliable recall. Be patient, and it will come -- but it's not abnormal for a 9-month-old puppy to be a little less than 100% in reliability here.

Just be patient, and keep working at it.


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## GSDLover2000 (Jul 9, 2013)

Have a treat in hand. And make sure she sees it, then call her. When she comes running, reward her with pets, praise, and a treat. Do it again. Then do it without the treat. If she comes then repeat the first step. Then do it without the treat one more time. And she should be used to coming on command. By doing that, she knows that when she comes she gets praise. I have had 5 dogs in the past and did this. It worked for all of them. And got them coming on command before they were 8 months. Good Luck


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## Frid (Aug 23, 2013)

Sunflowers said:


> Put her on a long line and give her a pull if she doesn't come.
> Do not use the command unless you can guarantee 100% compliance.


This.

When you give a command to you dog, make sure you go through with it. If you tell your dog to "sit", "stay", "down" all the time and they don't want to listen or half ass it, then they will get that mentality in their head that oh, I can do whatever I want when they say for me to do this. Takes time and patience.


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## MadLab (Jan 7, 2013)

To the op, does the dog come running when it hears it's food bowl hit the ground. Or when you open the fridge. If so why?

If you jerk a dog into recalling with a leash won't the dog actually get an opposition reflex to go away from you. I think the long leash should only be used to stop the dog escaping. 

Here's one way to teach a recall. Get a friend to hold the dog by the collar with one hand. Have them hold the long leash in the other. You go to the dog and waft some nice food in their face and when the dog shows an interest run away about 20 - 30 paces. Give your recall command, and have the helper release the dog at the same time.

Practice this again and again so the dog realizes the command equates to running to you for the reward. You need to vary the reward to keep it interesting for the dog. You can use kibble or hot dogs or raw meat. Best to keep the dog guessing. If the dog loves tug and ball play or frisbee then you can use these as a reward for recalling also.


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

all dogs are different what is exciting to them. some dogs respond to Praise and high pitched voices and a "marker word such as "Yes" when they respond to a command. Some dogs like my Sam respond to a favorite toy, his tug. we go out in a huge field i put him in a down stay, walk away from him then call him to me. he knows he gets a big reward with Tug when he comes. at this point because i have rehersed it millions of times in different places he will come in a flash, without a tug reward. i think the majority of dogs will respond nicely to food starting a small distances and working up to large distance recalls. But, i would always used a high value treat, something different and REAL yummie that they never get, only when training, like chicken, liver, etc.
another option if you have a real stubborn dog is if they are not responding to your call turn and walk away in the other direction, this teaches them to pay more attention to youy and what your doing. you might have to do this on a lunge line first. hook him up and take a walk in a big field, keep changing directions as you walk. then reward when the dog follows. you can add come to that once your get into it.


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## debbiebrown (Apr 13, 2002)

with all my puppies i have always made a game out of come, making it exciting to come to me. there are alot of game you can play with them. two people can stand 20 feet or so from each other, one person hold the dog the other call the dog with alot of excitment and a treat/ or toy. then when the dog comes to one person praise, and play etc, then do the same thing back and forth with the other person calling, playing and rewarding. then increase the distance and add distractions etc.


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## Ronin864 (Dec 3, 2012)

Totally off topic...Just wanted to say HI!!!:greet:
Jasmine and my boy Jango are brothers and sisters. Its crazy that they look so different. 








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Here is Jango


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## Springbrz (Aug 13, 2013)

Glad I decided to read this thread. The advise has been helpful to me. My pup had good recall during basic puppy class and after. Then she went through teething and decided to act like she hadn't ever had a day of training, ever. We started private BO 4 weeks ago and things are coming along and our trainer is going to work recall our last two lessons. So hopefully with the advise here and our trainer I might get somewhere with recall soon. Thanks for the advise


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