How do I get my dog (chihuhua) to come when I call her to "come here"?

Question

She's blind in one eye.

Answer 1

You will need to start easy first and then have the 'game' get harder as she gets better. A few important things to know first is 1.)never punish your dog for coming to you slowly...the fact is they still came...better reward for a better performance. She should still be praised and given a small reward like a peice of her own kibble ect. but give her something really yummy when she does a better job. 2.)only practice the recall when you can enforce it..ie. she is on a leash. 3.) she shouldnt be asked to 'come' specifically if you arent 95% sure she will actually come. The more times she is told to 'come' and she doesnt have to, the weaker her response is going to be. Maybe you mean it, maybe you dont...4.) until she is 100% reliable on leash, the practice should always be on a regular or long leash. When you start to work on her off leash at first,she should be in a quiet area like your backyard...fenced in of course. 5.) never repeat yourself...let her know that her command is 'come'..not 'come, come, come, COME! call her name, say come (cheerful but firm) and encourage her to move it along with HURRY, HURRY, HURRY,HURRY or FASTER FASTER FASTER FASTER! Ok, now for the practice....start out with her on a 6 foot leash (If you can have someone help it will make it easier but it isnt needed) back up a little, and start with her name 'Susie, COME' and start to back up while saying ' hurry, hurry,hurry' or 'faster, faster, faster'. Dogs like the game of chase even if they are not the ones chasing. This helps start her off on the right 'paw'. Always stay excited, if she starts to get distracted, amp it up. You must be more exciting than anything else. Then start having someone help hold her further back and repeat. The better she gets the more distance you can add. You will also want to try it standing still...remember easy first..close distance and then move back. Just because she will be able to go far when you are backing up she may not be able to translate that come means the same thing when you arent moving. Play 'hide and seek' in the house with her...easy first then harder....call her name when 2 feet away. When she gets to you, make a fuss and reward her. As she gets better start hiding more...behind a couch, in the other room ect. If she has trouble between levels, it is too much of a leap. Find a middle difficulty level. If you need any additional help please feel free to contact. She still has one good eye right? She may have altered depth perception but she isnt blind.

Answer 2

How old is she? The older the dog, the longer it will take to train her. This is called "the recall" by trainers and is one of the hardest things to teach. It's best done when they're young puppies. Set up a situation in which the dog has no choice but to come when you call it. Use a long leash and gently make her come when you call. NEVER use an angry voice when calling because why would she want to come to you when you're angry? Use her name and a HAPPY voice when you call and reward and praise her every time she complies. Reward her EVERY time you call and she comes, even you have to enforce the command with the leash. Make it so that, when she comes when called, GREAT things happen!
You can start using the command without the leash once she's coming to you on her own on leash every time you call. Start the off-leash training in a place where there are as few distractions (other people, kids playing, other animals or anything that gets her revved up). Unfortunately, dog training takes work! Going to a class is good, but you don't end up with a permanently trained dog. Training needs to be ongoing because they WILL forget. Just remember, every time she gets what she wants by doing something you don't want her to do, it reinforces that BAD behavior. For example, if she jumps up at you and you really don't like it but you or anyone else pats her when she jumps, you've just reinforced in HER mind that jumping is good! It gets her a reward that she wants! Good luck and be patient.
P. S. You may want to consider clicker training. It's 100% positive.

Answer 3

Take your time with her she has special problems. Try a Little treat when you call her. She is a tiny dog make the treat tiny to fit her little mouth. Each time you call her give her a treat, a bit of bacon, a tiny bite of meat or chicken, a little cookie crumb. Be very consistent for a couple months each time you call her have a treat for her. after a couple months have treat every other time, them cut down to part of the time them once in a while.

NEVER call you dog to you them punish it. Go to the dog. I have 3 chihuahuas and 3 miniature daschunds, 2 Shizus and a Boston Terrier. WE are huge and scary to these tiny dogs. If you call one to you then yell at it or punish it in any way you can totally undo the teaching of getting them to come to you.

AND I would never advise anyone to stop feeding their dog to train them. Particularly these small breeds. Most of the time people are feeding the little dogs food that is meant for a larger dog and too large for their mouths that is part of the reason you see so many underweight Chihuahuas. The other reason is people tend to feed the tiny breeds way too little and keep them half starved!

Treats in your pockets not the daily ration of food. You dog will learn. Dog are like children gentle treatment and patience! Not torture and abuse.

Answer 4

The best way to train any dog, is by reading "Mother Knows Best: The Natural Way to Train Your Dog" The author tells you have to train a dog as if you were the dog's actual mother. Interesting read and has some great tips!

Answer 5

You can utilize noise accompanied with a nice treat any time she does come to you on her own. Always make sure she hears the command as she approaches you then immediately praise and reward. She will catch on to the reward and begin responding to your call. Be patient, be loving and free with praise. I suggest using a clicker that you can find in pet stores and her favorite treats.

Answer 6

Instead of giving her a bowl of food in the morning and then wondering why she doesn't do anything you ask, try puttting that food in your pocket and giving her a piece every time she comes and does what you want. You'll be amazed at how well the dog can see and hear.

Answer 7

It was very hard for me to teach my dog. I just pointed at him and said his name. he kept forgetting so it took a while.