my puppy is afraid to "come"?

Question

I noticed my puppy is sometimes afraid to come up to people, including myself and also my boyfriend (we live together and both take care of him). I don't know how to exactly explain his actions. In the monring when i let him out of the crate he stretches and walks right up to me very peaceful, but when he is doing his daily routines or just walking arond the house and i walk towards him or crouch down and say come, he looks nervous and either playfully runs away or sits and stares at me. I tried taking treats and placing them in front of me and directing him to "come" and he quickly comes and eats the treat. is this something I should just give time since hes only 3 motnhs? Also if you read my previous question about treats, i try showing him i have treats in my hand, but he looks ont he floor for it, hence the reason why i have been putting it on the phone for him to come. Please help i want my puppy to be comfortable with us and strangers!

Answer 1

Make sure your tone is more coaxing than demanding and softer than growly. It takes a lot of time to get them to understand exactly what you want. He is only three months and is probably just timid , scared or just too young to understand. Having people (strangers) can be a bit overwhelming if he is not use to it so you have to be patient and give him lots of attention.
As for making him listen you have to set aside some time (about five minutes to start) and teach him what you want. Make sure you are calm and your voice is pleasant and coaxing. To have him come to you coax him with one key word (come) and always use it (not come here), personally I'd put his name with it (if he comes when called), it may be easier for him to understand. When he does what you want praise him lots, give him a treat and try it again. If at anytime he just doesn't get it, gets bored or your becoming angry, stop and try again later. You have to keep it up two or three times a day (so he remembers).
If he is just not getting it try other easy commands/ tricks (sit, lay down), once he's mastered them go back and try it (come)again. Good luck, remember he is just a pup don't be too hard on him just yet, he needs a lot of love and attention first. Once he feels secure and loved he'll do just about anything for you then.

Answer 2

Your dog sounds like he is just nervous. Do not over stimulate your dog with love, as this would not fix this problem, it might make it worse for strangers. I would keep up with the treats training, but try this: Instead of giving your dog food all day or 2-3 times a day, which makes your dog expect to be fed, do not feed him in a bowl for a couple weeks. 3 months is still very young so this should work. Feed your dog by hand, even if it is you holding the bowl while you dog eats, have you boyfriend do the same. Invite people over and have them do it if you can, people the dog doesn't really know, or has met yet. It might take a day or 2 to get your dog to eat out of your hand. What you are doing in this exercise is training your dog to trust you. Once he is comfortable with eating out of your hand, he will trust you and can start trusting humans too. I have done this in the past with nervous puppies and it worked good. My dogs have always been very social with animals and humans.
I do not think that you need to focus on the come command so much until he trusts you. Once the trust is worked out, the commands are easy.

Answer 3

Keep it up with the treats, and when you work on "Come!" you should try to practice in a boring place. That is, there should be no distractions around - nothing that will make him think, "Wellllll, I think I'll go check out this squeaky toy/shoe/etc instead of coming to see what you have. See ya!" You need to be more exciting than the environment to have success, especially if your pup is not so confident. You sound like a good observer - here's a website to help you 'read' your dog better:
http://www.canis.no/rugaas/
This is an excellent informational site with articles and questions. Many times, the avoidance signals that dogs use when they feel nervous make us humans feel frustrated. Have patience and I'm sure your pup will come flying to you before long.
Other treats to use : ask your supermarket deli for extra-thick slices of ham, roast beef, turkey, chicken, or even (ewwww!) liverwurst. Cut these up into cubes and use as treats. I will bake salmon until it flakes and use this as dog treats. Those "goldfish" crackers are okay, and Wellness makes an extra-smelly pet jerky that most dogs seem to love. Lamb lung is good - Merrick sells it, and liver treats also seem to be very motivating for my guys.

Answer 4

Recall is a difficult command for a dog to comprehend, and 3 months is way to early to be concerned with it. You are best off to just make everything a game for the next few months until the puppy develops the cognitive skills to understand training. This happens at about 6 months, and you will be able to tell because the puppy will exhibit a new found sense of independence.

Answer 5

when you use treats for training purposes use a treat that is small, chewy and smelly. this helps them know you have it, they can smell it, it helps for a quick reward, if it's small and prettymuch inhalable, so you can move onto the next command.

so, get some treats that fit the bill. i like liver treats that are little chewy nuggets and tear them into chunks...i think they are called authority or advantage...i get them at petsmart in a shiny purple/pink bag.

now, you need to start with some more basic commands.

focus is a good one and then sit and then down and then stay and then come.

if there's a petsmart in your area, check out their puppy school. we did this with our lab puppy and it was AWESOME! we learned so much and it was only about $100 for 8 weeks.
plus, you and your bf can go together and learn as a family.

have fun!

Answer 6

His breed might have something to do with his actions. Also he is young and everything is a learning process right now. The more relaxed you are (treat in hand) the more at ease he will become. Time, attitude and consistancy are the keys. Good Luck, I bet before long you will be wondering why you were so worried.

Answer 7

i think u should still keep the treats in ur hand, make Sure he eats it from ur hand. make a big show about getting the treat from the box..eventually he will know that when u pick up the box he can expect a treat!

repetition is KEY. if u do not repeat, he will get confused and have no clue what u are thinking or doing. if he doesn't eat the treat in ur hand, show him. put it next to his nose. let him sniff it, and then eat it from ur hand....

i think he is very young still! eventually the sound "come" will be trained into his brain.. u just have to keep showing him what u want. so, when he comes to you, say "good boy" and give him a treat. he will learn that coming to u will earn him a good petting or smile or treat... :) good luck

Answer 8

wee-wee pads are meant to keep the smell of the business so the puppy will go on it again. maybe ur puppy associates the pad with that horrible life at the pet store. Do you get this? I think I didn't make sense.

Answer 9

He's just playing!