How to get my 5-month-old puppy to consistently come when called?

Casper is a very cute pup! It sounds like he need some consistent training to help teach him what you want him to do. Scolding him is not recommended, as this may cause him to be afraid of you and doesn't help him understand what you want - this may be part of the reason that he avoids coming to you when you call for him. To teach him how to come when called, you need to practice first inside the house. Call his name in a happy voice, and give him several treats in a row while praising him excitedly as soon as he comes to you. Once he's good at this, you can practice outside on a leash or long line for safety. It's important to reward every time you call him, so that he knows he will always get something wonderful if he comes when you call. Never call him if you don't have treats handy, and never call him to scold him or do something he doesn't like, since this will only teach him to avoid you. For additional training information, I highly recommend the book "Perfect Puppy in 7 Days" by Dr. Sophia Yin. It's a great resource for puppy owners, and should help guide you in how to train your puppy to do other things as well.

In the beginning, pets come to their owners because they are in a new environment, and the human is their source of food, water, treats, pets, etc. Once they become more comfortable, they notice that there's a whole big world out there, and you are not so unique anymore. So they don't come running just because they're called. As with any othercommand or behavior, they have to be taught to come. Put Ricky on a leash and have him sit. Standin front of him and tell him to stay (this may take some practrice before he'll actually remain in place). Go to the end of the leash, wait a few seconds, and then call "Ricky, come!" (Not "come, Ricky'--there is a difference!) If he starts to come before you've called him, or even finished calling him, say "no" and put him back into a sit. If he waits until you've called and he comes, praise him! If he doesn't move, give a very gentle tug on the leash after you've called and encourage him to come. Once he is very reliable, start running backwards as he's coming towards you, to increase the distance. When you're ready to take the leash off (after he does it right every single time), put him in your smallest bathroom with you and close the door. Do the same thing as above. If he doesn't come or wanders around because he's not ont he leash, you can easily get him and correct him. As he progresses, you can move to larger rooms or the garage. DO not try this outdoors until you are absolutely sure he will come. If he does not, and you cannot correct him because he is out of reach, it will set your training way back. Good luck with this!

That is great that you are working on training! It will not get better, only worse without consistent training. I would highly recommend only calling his name once. I would also use AMAZING treats- like small amounts of baked chicken ONLY when training- to ensure that he takes you seriously when you call his name. I would also consider having a special command - more than just 'come'- that you reserve for emergencies and reward him copiously with treats and attention when you do use the 'code' word. To really make any of this stick you need to work on it everyday for months, and the reinforce often. A trainer can help a lot, if nothing else to make sure you stick to your goals! Good luck and I hope this helps!

Clicker training is an effective way of training your dog to not only come when called, but can be used to teach a variety of tricks and tasks. Have treats on hand that you know she loves, then simply click and treat. She will come to associate the sound with getting a treat. Start putting distance between you so she has to come to you. Call and click and when she comes to you for that treat, treat him and give him lots of praise. Move to hiding somewhere in the house, call and click. When she comes to you reliably inside when you call, click and treat. When this behavior is consistent, move outdoors with a very long leash. Call and click, if she doesn't respond, give a light tug on the leash. If she takes even a single step toward you, click, treat and lots of praise. Keep doing this until she comes eagerly. Next, try him off-leash in a securely fenced area. Call and click. At this point she should be responding well and coming easily to the call and click. If she does not, go back to the last step she performed reliably and work on that again until she responds well. Eventually, you can start not treating him every time, but still praise him. Gradually lessen the frequency of the treats until she comes just to the click and praise. From here, you can move on to teaching her other things, like basic obedience, tricks, etc. Keep training sessions short, ten or fifteen minutes to start, no more than 30 minutes at a time and do it a few times a day. Try not to do it any time she is overly excited so that she can pay attention to you. Always end a training session on a good note, even if it is just getting her to do something she already does well on command. And never, NEVER punish a dog when they come to you, no matter how far they've made you chase them, no matter how frustrated and angry you might be. That teaches your dog that coming to you is a bad thing.

This is a common problem for many dogs! For starters, I would recommend not letting her off-leash until you have worked on her training a bit more - you can use a long line (a long, light-weight leash up to 50 feet long) to give her some freedom at the park while still having her under control. To teach her to come, first practice at home in a very boring environment. Use very tasty treats that she doesn't get any other time - things like chicken, roast beef, or cheese work well for many dogs. Call her name, and say "come!" in an excited voice. In the beginning, you can also show her the treats if you need to. As soon as she comes to you, give her a handful of treats and lots of praise. When she can do this in the house, try it outside in your yard on-leash. Work up to practicing at the park on her long line, always making sure that you have yummy treats to reward her with. Once she's reliable, you can begin letting her off-leash for short periods, as long as she always comes back for her treat when you call her.

That is quite tricky. What you need to do it work on developing a "bullet proof" recall ("come" command) first instead the house, then inside the gate, then outside the gate on a leash, then outside the gate without a leash. At the same time, you need to work on impulse control and general attentiveness, again starting inside and taking it outside. I would highly highly recommend working with a qualified trainer on this, it's possible to do on your own, but will be hard enough with an experienced helper. Good luck!

Ideally, a dog should work for your praise rather than a treat or toy. The fact that she walks away when you try a recall tells me that you are working her off-lead before she has become reliable on-lead. And when you go after her, it turns into a game of "catch me if you can" for her.If possible, enroll her in a basic obedience class. Do all of her training with her on the leash until she performs well every time. Keep practice sessions short--about ten minutes--but always end on a positive note. If you need more info, you can click on the prompt to initiate a consult. By the way . . . I have Suomenpystykorva, FInland's National Dog! Good luck with your training.