[mOchii]

I am having some trouble teaching Mochi how to "come" in general. She never comes on command and I am afraid if I train her with treats she will only "come" when I grab them. Any tips?

 

[iheartbisou]

I trained with treats at first and once they get the hang of it, in my experience, they will come whether or not there are treats available.

 

[almitra]

Yep, you treat while teaching, then gradually fade the lure after she's got it down pat. She'll eventually come for the praise she gets alone. Only associate "come" with positive stuff, never calling her to you when you're upset about something she's done. As much as you may not care for the idea, keep her on a leash even in the house, and when you call her to you reel her in if she doesn't immediately obey. This will reinforce that "come" means to stop whatever she's doing and go to you directly for treats/praise/etc. Won't take long if you are consistent with this. Let us know how it goes.

 

[jmm]

A lure means you show the dog the treat to "pull" there body where you want.
A bribe means you show the dog a treat as a precursor to a behavior.
A reward is something that FOLLOWS a behavior as a reinforcer. It comes at the end. You do not need to display a reward prior to asking for a behavior. The dog does the behavior in hopes a reward will follow.
Here's an article for you:
Dog Training: How to Teach your Dog Sit, Down, Come and more

And here's something to check out. This is different from your daily-use recall, but a very valuable tool
Welcome to Dogwise.com

 

[missie]

Any ideas if the dog could care less about the treats? Olly will gladly accept the treat, but not instead of doing something he wants to do. If he wants to come, he comes. If not, the treat does not matter to him at all!

 

[Harley & Dakotas Mum]

Any ideas if the dog could care less about the treats? Olly will gladly accept the treat, but not instead of doing something he wants to do. If he wants to come, he comes. If not, the treat does not matter to him at all!

It doesnt have to be a food treat, it could be a toy, or it could even be you! I make crazy happy sounds to get mine to pay attention to me sometimes, or I will pick up a squeaky toy & carry on like a fool - it usually gets their attention & gets them to come to me

 

[almitra]

True dat! A treat can be a favorite toy only taken out for training purposes, etc...or a game your dog loves to play. Figure out what your pup's currency is and utilize it. Some aren't motivated much by snacks, you're right. Many are, but if yours isn't, find what they do respond to and use that. I used treats to lure Pepper and Luigi when I taught "come" and "crawl", or to jump thru a hoop, etc. Then gradually phased them out. But I used treats every time to teach: down, shake hands, bye-bye, and high-five (or others like those). Then I just use them once in awhile after the behavior is learned, so the dog does what I ask each time, hoping he will get the treat.

 

[jmm]

A reward is something that is valuable to the dog, not what you think should be valuable. Sometimes its a little work to figure out what is valuable to your dog. I suggest making a list of things, highest value to lowest. So for Soda Pop, his special agility toy is high value, a chunk of Stella and Chewies is high value, an apply is really high value, most other food items moderate value, praise moderate, toys lower. I have a list for each dog of 25+ things. A recall is a very important so I use a HIGH value reward.