my dog won't come back when called?

Question

he's a 1yr. old rescue blk. lab mix. had him 3 wks now.
tried a lotta "tricks" to lure him, but have failed.

Answer 1

Some dogs don't do certain things. Don't make it if it doesnt want to. The dog and you will have a bad time if you do. And i don't think you want to have a bad time with your dog. Do you? I don't mean that you can't teach him, but don't make it do it. Sorry if I'm too kinda ''You know''

Answer 2

Get a bag of really tiny and very tasty but low fat treats, something the dog likes a lot. Put him on a leash, keeping it short at first. Call him and keep calling him until he comes to you. Don't give up - insist on him coming. Then give him the treat. Do this just until he loses interest but no longer than 15 minutes. Do it every day, have patience, it may take a while. Do not compare his progress with other peoples dogs because like kids, they are all different! Let the leash go a bit longer each day, until he is coming to you without the leash. Make sure the treats are something he really likes. You can get doggy pepperoni, or doggy cheese, but you must keep the pieces very small so you can give him a lot of pieces without upsetting his stomach. In the meantime, get a book on training or sign up for some classes. 1 year old is still very young and 3 weeks is not a long time - the dog is still getting used to his new surroundings. Never scold him for not coming to you when he finally does come, because that tells him that he made a mistake in coming to you .

Also, for his own safety, even if he does learn to come when called, dogs are not machines or robots and can be unpredictable and have been known to suddently dart after the odd cat or squirrel in front of a car, so please make sure he is on a leash at all times unless in a designated off leash area or fenced back yard or indoors.
And give him all your love!

Answer 3

Perhaps the dog has not really bonded with you. i would try to spend as much time as possible with the dog, taking him for walks and just playing with him. Talk to the dog and pet him to let him know that you care for him.
To get the dog to come to you - you will need a leach about 20 feet long. Take the dog out to a park or something where there is room to run. DO NOT TAKE THE DOG OFF THE LEASH!!!!
Let the dog run around for a bit. ( you will need to have a bunch of dog biscuits with you out of sight of the dog) Call the dog to you by his name. At the same time pull the leash to you quickly so that the dog has no choice but to come to you. When the dog gets to you reward it with a biscuit and at the same time tell the dog "Good Boy".
Keep this up for about 20 minutes at a time as dogs have fairly short attention spans. Make the dog thinks of this as a game. Hoepfully after several weeks or so he will start to came ot you.
This is not a hard thing to do - but you must be consistent!!!!
Good luck with the training.

Answer 4

Congratulations on your new dog! In my experience, teaching a reliable recall works best in the context of training other manners and commands. First, heel, then sit, stay, stand and down; then introduce the "come" command at about the sixth week of work. Find a trainer in your area who will work with you in a structured way, without tricks 'n treats, to get the most from your dog. You won't be sorry you put in the time. Good luck.

Answer 5

Every dog is different. Some only come for treats and some for love. Find out his favorite "thing" and use it. Just a tip--you could change his name and see if that works. New home and a new name, means a new life for you rescue lab.

Answer 6

Get him on a lead...he will not learn unless on a lead. Teaching him to come is challeging..but it can be done. While on a lead, let him wander around...then say "his name" come" and pull him towards you. Reward him and tell him how good he is. Repeat this many times until you think he had gotten it. It's really wise to always have your dog on a lead because you never know what will come around that give him that urge to run toward and not listen to you. there are so many distractions for a dog and you need to make yourself more desirable than chasing something else. Always keep some treats for him in case he doesn't come. Always reward him for coming to you..even thought it took you a few times to call him. Never punish him if he comes to you. Here are some things you can read on training a dog to come:
Good luck!

Answer 7

Taking a look at Leslie Nelson's _Really Reliable Recall_ booklet will help.
In the meantime - don't let your dog off leash. You're trying to get him to do a PhD level behavior when he's only ready for kindergarten level - like every dog, he needs to start at the easy levels. As Little Red Hen says, you build upon basic behaviors - gradually - to get to the advanced levels. So don't risk his safety and well-being by letting him off leash in an environment that is too distracting.
http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=DTB813

Answer 8

You have only had him 3 weeks, give it time. You don't know what his life was like before you. As you try, go for the treat if he comes routine. Find out what he really likes and let that be the treat. Also show him plenty of love, you need to let him realize that he is in his forever home. This could take months.

Answer 9

You need to learn "who" the dog is...bond with him.....give him a reason to want to come to you, to be with you...then train!

The trouble with rescues......often not much known of their history. Most have probably lacked all the socialization and training most important in their most formative stages. Inadvertantly they have been "trained" to be independent by not being trained!

Be patient, it will take time

Answer 10

your not giving it enough attention of comes back teach it to obay commands nad think abot getting an invisble fense (shocks dog when leaves area and gives a warning to the dog to make it back away) you can set it to low or high