Category: Puppy Stuff, Common Problems ¤
  Author: Yvonne in Merritt, BC ¤
   Title: Coming When Called ¤

Helix Fairweather wrote:
> 
> Since we need some good questions here, I'll ask one. <snip>
>She would like to know how to
> teach her puppy to come when called. I haven't really done this from the
> very beginning and so am throwing the question out here.

Carry clicker and treats while doing housework or yardwork or just
hanging out around the house.  (This still works without the clicker but
will, of course, be slower without the ability to mark exact behaviors.)

Whenever the dog comes to you, CLICK and treat.

(if dog doesn't voluntarily come all the way to you, you'll have to
shape it to do so... ie. C&T for looking at you, then C&T for one step
toward you, then .... and so on)

Then, some of the time when the dog comes to you, C&T.

When the dog is *essentially* underfoot all the time, it "gets' the
idea... now it's time to add the cue.

The problem, by now, may be that the dog never goes away from you! 
(wo.  Tough problem.) So get creative about creating distances between
you and dog.

So, YOU go away from dog... as soon as dog starts to follow, give the
cue.  Get TWO people.  Let one hold the dog, while other (with Clicker
and treats) walks away, cnd gives cue... holder lets go.  Throw a toy
away form you... when dog turns to come back (with or without toy) give
cue.  Two people, both with Clickers and treats - do the
"pig-in-the'Middle game, with dog ging from one handler to the next and
being reinforced for responding to cue, ignored when dog offers behavior
without cue.

Move on to more and more distracting environments.

Make sure it's always a good thing when dog comes to you... or at least,
*never* a bad thing!

Yvonne 
in Merritt,BC