Larry - "Come" is foreign word

kam237

kam237

New member
Sit, Stay (sort of), Larry, Potty are all words he knows and of course "NO". He sits on his own ALL THE TIME and on command.

Two things can happen when we say come. Either he sits and/or lays down (and then looks at us with the cutest face ever), or he runs the opposite direction (if he is in the yard) OR if we are getting out of the car after a drive he gets the farthest away from us and lays down. He was 15 weeks December 9th. Any ideas??? We have tried saying it with authority (not yelling) and also while acting like we are going to have a party for him (mixed signals??). Treats??

Down is also a challenge, he just kind of cocks his head over and looks like he doesnt even understand.
All ideas appreciated. We will be starting Basic Training in January.

Thanks all !!!
 
ardeagold

ardeagold

New member
Get a long lead (30' - 50' check cord), put it on him, take him out, let him wander off and then say, come. If he doesn't....reel him in, and give him a little fingernail sized treat (like pieces of kibble or some training treats) and act like he did something wonderful. Tell him "GOOOOOOOD Come".

Do it over and over. Pretty soon he'll get the message that come means treat.

Never chase him if he runs from you. Always run the other way acting like you're having oh so much fun!! They always (usually) have to come and see what's going on.

Also...never ever yell at him if he doesn't come. If you do, when he hears the word come, he'll never come. Always praise him highly for coming, even if it takes him 5 minutes and you're fuming!! Whenever he comes, it's GOOD!

If you want to teach him a special word....for an emergency.... you can say "treat" or "chicken" or "hot dog" or whatever. When he comes for that word, give him a very extra special treat....something he REALLY likes.

Only train that word with the special treats. Train "come" with regular treats. Do it in different sessions......

Also make the training sessions about 10 minutes long right now, about 3x a day. You can do it inside too, in bad weather.
 
Nasus

Nasus

New member
Awwww he's a baby.. he's not going to get commands right all the time but.. and here is the big BUT, Keep working with him. Go to puppy kindergarten to get him socialized as well as some training tips. As far as the "come" command, to me it is the MOST important command there is. Get a long training leed and let him play awhile.. then use your Come command.. if he ignores you pull him in (gently) and reward with praise..every so often u can give a treat but not all the time.. u don't want him to think he gets treats for doing what is expected.. work on Come as often as u can.. u can even do it in the house. At some point and it might be down the road work with the come off leed in a safe place.. repetition is the key.. u also what to make it happen when he does not want to listen. The idea is for him to get used to coming on command and at some point he will know u will make it happen.. they get conditioned to when the leash is off they don't realize it. Of course there will come a time when u will have to start again.. teenage time.. around 5 to 9 months some a little later.. like any human teen.. they are a handful but that is another story LOL.
Where in Washington are you ?
 
ardeagold

ardeagold

New member
:lol: NO! Okay...soon......

I disagree about the not treating all the time. At first you do treat every single time you say the word "come"....and you always do when you say the "emergency" word.

After a while, when they get used to getting a treat every time, then you start staggering your treats. Sometimes they get one, other times they don't. Eventually you phase them out.......except for the "emergency" word. ALWAYS give one when training that word.

You might want to get the Monks of New Skete training book or audio casettes or both:

The Art of Raising a Puppy

http://www.newsketemonks.com/catalogue.htm
 
Brinks' Mom

Brinks' Mom

New member
Yeah....Brinks has selective language hearing when it comes to that "COME" word too!!! He'll do everything else we ask on command and has even figured out when we spell certain words out like "dog park". I know he understands when I say "COME" but he either lays down or takes his sweet a&* time getting his cute butt back inside.

He will stick his head half in the doorway and leave his body outside until he knows I have a treat in my hand otherwise he IS NOT coming in!! I've done the long leash training and all....the jumping up and down praise....the acting like theres a party going on without him.....you name it...I did it. Oh and the treats are selective too.......it's gotta be something good to put a little pep in his step or its slow motion moving all the way back.:icon_stupid:
 
Brody the Newf

Brody the Newf

New member
I keep dry cat food in my coat pocket and I feed Brody one tiny piece each and every time he comes to me. He's almost 20 months old and we still pratice the command every day. The only thing he'll ignore me over is if there is another dog around.
 
TerriW

TerriW

Active member
I'm with Carmela - they want to see the treat, sniff the treat, THEN come in. Ben used to try to take the treat and turn around and go eat it back outside.

That boy was a handful! :!rolling:
 
Abbey

Abbey

Active member
I know EXACTLY how you feel. not only is "Come" a foreign word, but "DOWN" seems to be another word for "jump as high as you can". Abbey loves to fly through the air to greet you. Last week she was able to plant muddy paw prints right in the center of my 6 foot tall husband's chest. Can you imagine a 150 pound dog doing that? :oops: :run:
 
Brinks' Mom

Brinks' Mom

New member
TerriW said:
I'm with Carmela - they want to see the treat, sniff the treat, THEN come in. Ben used to try to take the treat and turn around and go eat it back outside.

That boy was a handful! :!rolling:
Click to expand...

Oh yeah....I forgot to mention that part!! Been there...done that!!

Let's take today for example....I needed to leave the house...Brinks senses that I'm getting ready to leave and suddenly needs to go outside...I let him go and get his cold air "fix" for a good 20 minutes and now I try to get him in....."Come Brinks....Momma has a cookie"......He comes....sticks his big ole head in the doorway leaving the rest of him outside....he sees the cookie in my hand...(one of those sweet potato and fish something or other) gives me a look and turns around and goes and sits back out in the yard further away this time. I give him another five minutes and try the old Cheerios lure........it worked! Thank goodness he LOVES Cheerios!!!
 
kam237

kam237

New member
RE: Larry

Thanks all for the input. Great advice. We will definitley try the 50' lead with the treats. What do you consider and "extra special" treat for the emergency command. He really hasnt eaten anything but his kibble and some "wellness" brand treats. No other food is allowed so far. (hubby also abides by this rule!!!)

The wanting to be chased sounds so familiar. Abbey, down is also a command for jumping as high as he can!!!

or (ha ha) maybe we will just go with the cute approach and do no training (NOT)

I realize we are in for the long haul, persistence, persistence !!! He is such a wonderful dog. We knew we would love the newfie breed, but I cant tell you how much joy he has brought us! (you guys know)

Great stories from everyone, they all sound familiar (even thinking back to our dogs that are no longer with us). Its been over 10 years since we had a "true Puppy" but at that time we had a 4 yo dog that I guess we took for granted how much she trained the pup.


oh yeah, we live in the semi-ravaged by flood/rain Kitsap County ! We live in town, but many people I know did not fair so well. Larry is happy to report that his lake property is very much intact and ready for spring!!
 
ardeagold

ardeagold

New member
The "emergency" treat is something like little pieces of hot dog (take a hot dog, slice it up, put it in the microwave on a paper towel, take out, pat dry, put in fridge. This makes them crisp and not gooey greasy. Easier for you to handle...and small. :lol:

It's a treat that's "better" than the others in his opinion. Something that he gets only when you holler that special word.

Don't train for that word right now. Get him used to "come" and regular treats. In a couple of weeks, start using the emergency word and the special treat. Have special sessions just for that word. It can be any word you want.......but when you say it, he knows he'll get the special treat.
 
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