Puppy won't come close when called at dog park. Any training tips?

This is a training process that you need to do with her, you need to teach her to stay near you on command, this is usually done based on a reward system (treats) but it can take quite a long time to achieve this, when you are training her she should still be on the lead of course.

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!

This Behavior may be due to the fact that she is more comfortable in her own environment. Being at a dog park, it is sort of an unfamiliar environment and is not where she normally is so she may feel more comfortable and that she can get away with more in your backyard. Also, there may be more distractions in the backyard that she is familiar with. I would recommend keeping her on a leash in the backyard and teaching her commands in the backyard when I'm the leash. Once she respond to those command on the leash reward her with treats to reinforce the positive behavior. I am glad to hear that she is listing to you when outside of the backyard versus the other way around. I would also suggest training her with a dog clicker or whistle to see if this helps more than your own voice. I hope this helps! Please feel free to contact me if you have any other questions or concerns and I will be more than happy to help you further.

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!

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.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! At 14 weeks old, she doesn’t understand commands or her name. I recommend keep working with her but use things like clapping, slapping your leg, jumping up and down to get her attention to come to you. When she does, give her a lot of praise and make It fun. Over the next few months, you can add her name and command words, like “come”, but it will take time for her to understand. I recommend using a leash during training so you can get her attention and so she can follow you and understand what you are asking her. Good luck and kisses to Princess!