Reliable come trouble.

B

Belladora

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I searched for a thread about this and didn't see one, so bare with me if i am repeating.

I am using clicker training with Bella my four month old, with recently added correction such as "eh eh" or "no maam" cause i have discovered that if there is no correction for "us" its just not going to work. Bella is extrememly inteligent just as most shelties however she seems on the top end of that. She is extremely independent.

I have yet to get a reliable "come" i have cheered, ran, clapped shook toys, apparently i do not have the that "irresistable" personality, i have done all but cartwheels and thats not happening i assure you LOL. and the bottom line is if she don't what to come she is not coming.

We are doing nicely in the house i would say 80% of the time and about 50% outside. Now, she only goes in the back yard to potty without leash and there is where the problem lies. The word "treat" along with clapping was working, however yesterday and today if i walk towards her she does what? of course runs the other way, bows as if to play so i clap and pretend run talk in silly voice and she stares and "mocks" me LOL.. not really but you know that look. She clearly does not want to come in, its beautiful outside. We went on three walks yesterday and 2 so far today.

I really screwed up while ago and i am going to tell on myself, I got mad and yelled at her then i made an attempt to catch her which just made me madder at her and then realized what i was doing and so i was mad at myself so i stormed in the house and slammed the door like a teenager..cooled off went back out with the leash and made her come in..

So.......my fears are that i just created a new game...any help or stories you can share would be awesome.. i have read all the books watched all the videos and sometimes that just does not help as much as hearing others advise through experience or stories.. Sorry so long winded i clearly don't have enough to do today...thanks in advance, Mary and Bella (the turd bucket)
 
lol about the the turd bucket

I think most of us have done the ole chase and then being mad at ourselves once or twice?! I think it is triple M of this forum who does a really good sit for the command come... lol She can tell that story much better than I!!!

Anyhow you are NOT alone!

Until you get reliable comes, no off-leash... I usually always had Toffee on a 'tie out' outside and sometimes still do, or I used to leave long lead on him so that I can step on it, if need be. Therefore not repeating the command.
I ALSO always used cheese, his VERY FAVOURITE treat of ALL times.
Find out what makes Bella crazy for you, this is when bonds form... lots of tug of war, lots of palying... lots of HER chasing YOU, never the other way around. Maybe try running away from her everytime you say 'HERE Bella', make her chase you.. NO Sheltie can resist a chase game!
But keep the long leash on at this stage of the game, above all that way you continue to be in control!:yes:
 
:lol:, OMGsh Mary, I have SOOO been there and done that with my Megan who is now 7 months old. The ONLY thing that worked for her was to not let her go outside w/out her leash! Honestly, she still doesn't have the recall totally down yet :rolleyes2:

Like Bella, Megan is very independant and at this point not too eager to please which makes training a bit more challenging. A lot of others here have had Shelties for years so they know all the tricks or they have eager to please ones and I don't.

For example, I had to resort to using a squirt bottle combined w/positive reinforcement of a treat to get her to stop barking at everything. I have done this today only and am already seeing improvement. I don;t squirt her face, just her back or tail..

Anywho, you're doing great, keep up the good work :wink2:
 
I have to second Toffee's mom's idea. Until she is 100%, no off-leash. Don't let Bella know that coming to you is optional, or she won't do it.

Right now, I never use the word "Come" when Lexi (our 5 mo. old) is off leash.

I like to use the long line and slowly increase distractions. At first, it was just a short leash, and I would say "Lexi, come". If I didn't get an immediate response, give a little tug on the leash and immediately start moving backwards. Also, you want to make sure that you have an AWESOME reward. What you have has to be more interesting than what she is doing.

Slowly add length to the leash, then add distractions. Let her start sniffing something, then "Bella, come!" If she doesn't, slight tug to get her attention, and AS SOON as she even looks your direction, start to praise and move backwards. It's constant "good girl good girl" as you back up and she makes her way to you.
 
thanks

thank you all for your help. I am going to go back to the leash for now, i think thats the best choice. I would not even mind if she stayed out there if it weren't for the fact that she is eating the palm tree and digging at the roots of it. That is the real issue that i forgot to mention in my last post. Any ideas other than keep her leashed and dont go near it?

And i will continue working on the recall also on leash like you suggested. I discovered yesterday after calming down and posting that she does respond quite well to hearing her stufless squeeky squirl "rocky" better than the treats so im gonna give that a try for a bit as reward. Thanks, Mary and Bella
 
Belladora said:
thank you all for your help. I am going to go back to the leash for now, i think thats the best choice. I would not even mind if she stayed out there if it weren't for the fact that she is eating the palm tree and digging at the roots of it. That is the real issue that i forgot to mention in my last post. Any ideas other than keep her leashed and dont go near it?

And i will continue working on the recall also on leash like you suggested. I discovered yesterday after calming down and posting that she does respond quite well to hearing her stufless squeeky squirl "rocky" better than the treats so im gonna give that a try for a bit as reward. Thanks, Mary and Bella
Click to expand...

awesome, maybe squeak and when she comes FLYING towards you, say HERE BELLA... !! So she associates the two, then a rousing game of tug o war or fun squeaky business stuff :) Outside you want to continue with a long leash .

You may want to teach her the 'leave it' command for the palm tree roots!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNAOe1djDyc&feature=related I LOVED this video

lol When I wasn't home for my furniture I ended up using bitter apple spray, it worked great for Toffee thinking wicker chair was a bunch of sticks for his enjoyment... wonder if that would work for your tree??? Anybody here ever done something like that?
 
I copied and pasted this from another post I replied to a while back:
I would train her to do a good reliable come in different locations before allowing her to go out off leash again. Until she will come every time when you call, don't allow her the chance to choose whether she'll come or not.
Of course, to teach come, you will need to teach stay as well (another good command to have). I'd get a long line (flexi will work, or a laundry line), clip it to her, put her in a sit stay or down stay, walk out to the end, and ask her to come. Treat and praise when she does. After you have done this and she is reliably coming when called, try unclipping the line, and doing the same. I would also repeat these steps outdoors, first on the line, then without it, as well. I don't recommend starting outdoors because if she won't come then you might be in some trouble. You may, before finally allowing her to come in on her own, place her in a sit stay/down stay outside on the line, and ask her to come in on the line several times so you are sure she will come in when asked, and isn't just going to do what she's been allowed to do in the past.
The reason to not allow her to go outside off leash until this is complete is that come should always mean COME NOW with no exceptions. You don't want to give the dog the chance to see come doesn't mean they have to come every time you call by allowing them the option of deciding whether to come or not. It should be well ingrained in her by the time you ask her to come in from outside that she MUST always come when called.
 
thanks, ok so if i have her on the lead and i say come and she dont so then i do the whopping and clapping or trying to be interesting and she sits there staring at me do i tug on the lead at that point..do I only alow seconds for all this to take place if she does not come? thanks mary
 
I would start with a short lead first. Get her coming that way before doing the long line (4-6" leash works). Get her attention, run backward a few paces while telling her 'Bella come' and treat her for coming to you. If she fails to respond, give her a light tug, and then praise and treat for coming. Once she understands the game, get more selective about what you treat for... like only coming the first time you ask with no tug, and then only for fast comes. Then proceed to what I previously posted.
 
Belladora said:
thanks, ok so if i have her on the lead and i say come and she dont so then i do the whopping and clapping or trying to be interesting and she sits there staring at me do i tug on the lead at that point..do I only alow seconds for all this to take place if she does not come? thanks mary
Click to expand...

No, not at this point...
What I would try is do the whooping and clapping and running away from her FIRST, and AS she is running towards you say in happy voice, BELLA HERE, right now you want to teach her what HERE even means... baby steps at first. Then she gets the toy and more praise and fun :)
If you are using clicker, then when you run away and she is running towards you, you click! Then after she does this well, add the word COME
 
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