# Getting my dog to come, or stop.



## Lily_08 (Jan 7, 2009)

I'm trying to train my 7 mo old, Lily, to come when she is called. This was one of the very first commands that I started practicing, basically since she has been 8 weeks old. She will obey sometimes, but not all of the time. If I'm training her with treats, then she will come, because she knows she's going to get something. Other times, she'll just stare at me, and sometimes come.

Lily has gotten away from me twice while I've had her on the leash. Both times I've chased her yelling,"Lily come!" or simply just yelling her name. But, she just kept running, then eventually stoped. I want to be able to call her and have her come to me EVERY time, everywhere. Be it in the house, out in the park, or out for a walk. I live off of a busy street, and the last thing I want is her darting out into the street and getting killed. I love her dearly and I don't know what I'd do if that were to happen. Is it possible to train her like this, and if so, how to I go about training her correctly. It seems like I have been doing a not so good job at this.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

get a trainer amd keep her leashed.


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## GunnerJones (Jul 30, 2005)

you need to start at the very beginning of dog obedience training. the first thing you should teach is there name, by that I meen you say it, they stop what ever they are doing and look directly at you. Find a local trainer and let them know what your goals are, avoid Petsmart and other cookie pushers


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## Lily_08 (Jan 7, 2009)

The very first thing I taught her was her name. She definitely knows it, she just doesn't always come when I call her. I'd like to eventually be able to get her off leash.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i taught my dog to come and his name at the same time.

my GF would hold our puppy while having him face me. i would move back two steps or so. i would call my dog by name. i would say "Loki". at the same time i said Loki my GF would release him. he comes over, i treat him and make a big fuss (praise) and pet him. now i hold him and turn him towards my GF. She says "Loki". i release him. when he goes to her she treats and praises him. we did this untill he started coming everytime we called him. we also increased the distance between us when we were calling him. so, now he's coming. now we start to hide from him and call him. again only a short distance away. we would hide behind a tree, step beside a building (just turn the corner so our dog couldn't see us). one of us is still holding the puppy at this point. we trained indoors and outdoors. we used short training sessions. we trained 4 to 6 times a day. each session was only 5 or 10 minutes long. we always ended on a positive note.

our dog is now coming when we call him by name only. now we incorporate "come". we use the same training method but now when we call we say "Loki come". also when were teaching our dog to come we used the hand signal to come. we used the hand signal everytime we called him. now i use the hand signal or verbal commands.

i think you should get a trainer. if you're going to train your dog start all over. find a method you trust and like and start usuing it. be consistant in your training.


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## zyppi (Jun 2, 2006)

> Originally Posted By: Lily_08times I've chased her yelling,"Lily come!" or simply just yelling her name. But, she just kept running


Yep - you've learned a valuable lesson.. chace dog and dog will run away.

Put your pup on a long line and give the command. If she doesn't come give a little leash correction and reel her in. It's ok to give a treat at first, but when you know she understands, start giving the treats less and less.

Repeat until she understands that "come" means come and there is no choice.

Then, in a controlled area -- fenced, no busy street -- drop the line (keep it under your foot) and gradually proof without the line.

The idea is to teach her in a 'no fail' way.


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## IliamnasQuest (Aug 24, 2005)

If you look down the list of topics to "Long Line Training" (I think that's the name of it) we've been talking a bit about teaching a dog to come. I use a lot of games to build enthusiasm and make it exciting for the dog to race to me.

You've hit an age with your dog where the world is starting to become more fascinating (hormonally-wise as well as just overall). If your dog develops a habit of running from you when called, you're going to have much more difficult time getting a reliable recall.

It's not unusual to have to go to some sort of correction or aversive consequence to make a recall reliable under distractions. It can be as simple as "NO" (my girl, Trick, needed very little correction to become reliable even around wildlife) or it may need to be something more persuasive. But you can do an amazing amount of great training before that becomes necessary.

Good luck!

Melanie and the gang in Alaska


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## Lily_08 (Jan 7, 2009)

It's funny, because when we're at the dog park, Lily will run ahead a little, then stop, then turn around to make sure I'm coming, then continue to run ahead a little. She'll run ahead, but she still wants to make sure I'm there. That's what confuses me.


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## gmcenroe (Oct 23, 2007)

Maybe Lily thinks she is the pack leader and is calling you. My dog does this too when we are walkin on trails in the woods she wants to push ahead, but always looks back to make sure I'm still there. Last three poster from zyp on gave good advice. Also Lily is being a bit of a rebellious teenager. My wife started thinking it was fun to play the chase game with Juli in the house and I told her please don't teach her to run away by chasing her. It made it much more difficult to train her to come. She is still not reliable so I keep her on a long line and continue training. In the house she is great but outside she wants to be testy.


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