He just wont listen!

[Krystal_00]

when i take my dog outside in the morning to use the bathroom...or at night before bed..he just wont listen to me! when i tell him to come(which he hardly does any other time) he just runs away....when i try and catch him he runs away. He'll grab something in his mouth and want me to chase him. How do I make him see that when we are out there at night or in the morning its business time, not play time?

[cricket36580]

Is he getting adequate play time for him?  Is he getting out any other time?  Is there a dog park you can take him to so he can have time off leash and play until he drops?  Have you been through obedience or trying to work obedience yourself?  Have you considered a long line?

[Imani's Mom]

Have you actually worked with him on the command "come"?  Dogs don't just automatically know what you want them to do, or what the English language means.  If he is not coming to you at least 80% of the time when given the command, he does not *KNOW* how to come when you call him.  If you need some help to teach him this, PM me and I will help you.  In the meantime, do not chase him- that makes it a fun game for him, and he will continue to run.  Also, never ever punish him when he does come to you, no matter how badly he has been behaving, as that will make it much less likely he will EVER correctly respond when you call him.  If he won't come to you when you want him to, try walking backward away from him, and going in the house (hide inside the door and wait for him to come to the door).  This usually will work, as its no fun to run from somebody who isn't playing along.

[Krystal_00]

We have worked on come...and it seems he comes to me most of hte time if i crouch down...then he comes along, but any other time...its play time he figures.  He hasnt been getting alot of walks or any play time outside of the yard lately because theres a parvo outbreak here in town and he doesnt get his shots till the 28th so I want to be safe rather than sorry!!  I try giving him treats when he actally does come to me...but (i know this is wierd) he doesnt like treats! Ive bought bags and bags of them and all of them he will only eat if he doesnt feel like walking to his bowl and gettin something to eat. I need him ot start comming when i tell him to especailly at night when i take him out, because we dont live in the best neighbourhood and i have to take him out all by myself...so when i tell him to come, i mean it!!

Im thinking about putting him in puppy junior high...but it doesnt start till middle of sept.

[MagicM3]

It sounds to me like he doesn't know what come means yet.
You should always make going out for potty a postitive thing,or you could end up with problems housebreaking.

Puppies are a challenge.But that is what makes them so much fun .

I would at least for now put a long lead on him,and when you take him out to do his business he can have the freedom to take care of his business without getting the freedom to play the *catch me * game,

It does sound like he needs more excersise,and if you find that he gets to the end of the lead and won't come,or grabs it and wants to play tug of war or something, walk to him using the lead,and once you get to him either with the lead very short or use his collar and walk back into the house.

Yelling or talking at this point isn't going to help much.
He doesn't understand english,and your calm body language will say more than you can imagine.

Arent' puppies great teachers

Good luck
Tricia and the fur kids

[NoDogNow]

A long lead is a really good reinforcer for "come", too.  You can gently bring the pup to you as you repeat the command.  Get down to lure him in the beginning, if that's when he'll come to you, rather than using a treat. Once he's reliably coming, you taper off your bending down as lure.

[Krystal_00]

well i tried something new....to get him to come and its looking promising!! Mack usually doesnt get people food...so i cooked a ham the other night and cut it up into little pieces. i bring a little bag of it with me in my pocket when we go out. We just went out for the morning pee....I showed him that i had it...he went out went pee and pooped in the yard and then i called him and he came running to me, so i gave him some ham. then we went around to the front yard and he stayed beside me instead of running off to find something/someone/some cat to play with!! so he got another piece, and another one when he came in the door and went down the stairs with me only having to ask him once!!

so ill be ok so as long as this ham holds out....lol

[PennyK]

Food is a wonderful thing when training a Saint!  LOL!  Teddy will do almost anything for food (even if its a piece of his kibble - but hand fed - LOL!).

My suggestion is to keep the food coming out with you for a few weeks and then you can start tapering off to just occasionally.

Good luck!

[cricket36580]

Keep cooking hams!!!  LOL  Glad it's working for you!