We didn't let Noah sleep out of his crate until 11 months old, I would have never trusted him at 4 months old not to get into things during the night.

Not sure what to recommend for the dog park question.

 

I started puppy class with our 12-week-old Duster last week, and we're working on the "come" command. We did this with all our previous dogs, but I'd forgotten! Anyway, since it's fresh in my mind, I'll pass on to you what our trainer has told us this week.

Part of our homework this week is to do 50 practise recalls. We've been instructed never to use the "come" command unless we are 100% sure the dog will obey. That means the dog has to be on a leash or line, so that, if he ignores us, we can reel him in. If we're not sure he'll come back (e.g. in the yard at home), we have to go and get him, without giving a command. The idea is that he learns from the outset that the "come" command is non-negotiable and cannot be ignored. We've also been instructed not to let them off leash in public places.

The trainer has told us we'll be repeating this every week throughout this course and the next one, until the dogs will reliably come to us in pretty much any situation.

I remember, with my last golden, walking her on leash until she would come back on command every time (it took several months and was very frustrating because we have access to lots of off-leash trails), and I can remember drilling recalls with my daughter's poodle too, when he was a pup. The golden had a very reliable recall in the end; the poodle is "fairly" reliable!!

Honestly, I think this is mainly a question of practice and enforcement. It's not going to go away on its own. But the good news is that practice does pay off, in this as in most things. If you drill it enough, he'll come back when you call him.

Best of luck with this. It's extremely frustrating when a dog ignores us and I admire you for staying upbeat and positive!!

 

I think what Ceegee said is absolutely correct for the "come" command, I have nothing to add to that.

However, the crate situation I do. Duke is our 5 month old Golden. At 3.5 months old my significant other(Zack) would fall asleep accidentally for 4 hours and Duke was in the room, made no mess, tore up nothing, and was asleep when he woke up. To us that proved Duke was able to sleep by himself outside of his crate. It depends on the dog and your level of trust for the age they are at. Duke has also never been one to chew up furniture, he prefers his toys thankfully!

 

It could be the 'teen' dog thing people have mentioned here. How often do you call your dog to come when it isn't time to go home? I am working on an almost 5 month old pup, who is very independent. She definitely doesn't have reliable recall, but to get 100 percent, when I do have her off leash, I call her, (training to my whistle actually), and start to turn the other way, run if I have to, so she will come back to me. Been practicing at a local ball field with her on a 20 ft. training lead. Then I give her a treat and let her run off again, throw a toy for her. I will do it about 5-10 times, before I call her when I need to leash her. If your dog isn't that treat oriented, use a ball or favorite toy perhaps to get his attention. And the couple of times she has refused to come, I have used a suggestion from a book I read. I put my hands on my hips and wordlessly track her down. Just walking. Then I lead her to the spot I said Come, or whistled, and say, Good Come, and give a treat.

 

Thank you!!

Just to be clear... you're doing the 50 drills with treats, correct? And you just do it randomly/where ever?

 

Yes, absolutely, with treats. I'm doing this mostly at home: we've had serial ice storms and everywhere outdoors is like a skating rink. If I could go elsewhere safely to practise, I would. But for now, we're on leash, in the kitchen or corridor, and I call him at random times. He gets a treat when he comes immediately of his own accord. If he thinks about it for even a second, I reel him in gently with the leash and praise him as though he'd just won the Superbowl. If I have to reel him, he doesn't get a treat.

He seems to understand but I'm curious to see what will happen tomorrow in puppy class, with all the distractions! And I remember from past experience that it's going to take a while to get 100% success.

 

Part of the problem may be that your treats aren't good enough. What are you using now? "Come" is one of those commands that is so important that I wouldn't hesitate to break out the good stuff. HVT (high value treats) for us are typically human foods: hotdog, cheese, meatball, etc. Even if he's going through a teenage phase, if you make it worth his while enough he will follow through. Do you have any idea what he really likes? It may be that he's more of a toy driven boy. Whatever works! The dog park is probably the worst place to practice. It's hard enough to get good recall to begin with, let alone when there are other dogs around. That's a really hard one! The smells alone, I can only imagine...

He's still quite young. Like others have said, you only want to give the command when you're reasonably sure he'll come. This also means getting his attention before you give him the command. You may need to start on a (long) lead in your yard. If you don't have a yard or it isn't fenced, places like tennis courts that are enclosed work well. This is going to sound stupid and counterproductive, but sometimes it helps if you move away from the dog. By that I mean take some steps backwards once you have his attention and have called. Dogs like movement. It may not be helping to have the command in a high pitch, either. In my experience it depends on the dog. Some need a distinct difference in tone for it to click that you're talking to them. That doesn't mean it has to be in a mean voice or anything, just confident. When you tell him to sit, for example, is it in a high pitch? I'm guessing not. You can also try pointing at the ground next to you when say the command in case he's a visual dog.

When he does come to you, you want to throw a little 'party' for him. Give him his good treats, and then use that excited and high pitched voice to tell him he's the best puppy ever, and whatever else you can think of. If he likes ear scratches or being pet in a certain place, throw that in too. Sometimes I'll even clap. Depending on his arousal level you may need to take it down a notch if he gets too excited. Another thing is to consider how many treats you're giving him. If you put five treats in your hand, the vast majority of dogs will gulp them all down without thinking. If you give a dog one treat at a time, five times in a row, it makes more of an impression. (That isn't to say there isn't a time and a place for a big 'jackpot,' but consider the situation.)

In terms of the barking, it sounds like he's just getting too excited. Impulse control at that age leaves something to be desired. Next time he does that, I would put him back on his leash and pull him off to the side (that's a figure of speech-- don't physically pull him ), then have him lay down and settle. After a couple of minutes of him staying with you and not actively trying to get back out there, you can let him go back and try again. If that doesn't work, it may just be that he's reached his limit and it's time to leave.