# Help.... my 10 month old Malt wont come when called.



## MylittleMolly (Jan 31, 2011)

My little Molly is an angel in the home, she follows me around all day and is practically glued to me whilst at home, she will sit, beg, roll over, give high five, high tens etc, she will come when called in from the garden, she will go to the toilet almost immediately when told to, but she totally ignores me when I let her off her lead over the park. We have only let her off a few times so far and she played happily with other dogs, often coming back and hiding behind me if they were too boistrous, but wont actually come back if called, but we have managed to get her back on the lead, whilst she is running close by and she hasnt attempted to run away. but today I decided to let her off and there were no obvious distractions i.e: no other dogs, only a lone power walker who Molly kept running after and totally ignored my calling her. She is not very responsive to food treats at any time. Please help me, I really want her to enjoy being a normal dog enjoying off the lead walks.


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## Katkoota (Feb 18, 2006)

I would say, Training, time and patience blended with fun sessions  

if i were u, i would not let her off leash yet. I will first teach the recall command - comes back when called. With that, i would start with a long leash attached to her and reward her with something she really loves when she gets to u when called. and repeat. A 10 min training session is good. Not to keep them long. Maybe she is toy driven? My snowy is, so a tennis ball will do juat fine as a reward in training sessions. Crystal is more food motivated. 

Molly sounds like a very good girl :wub: i am sure she will get it. 

I was lucky with Crystal as she is natural at the recall command. She is this type of pup who is glued to u not only at home but everywhere else. Whereas snowy on the other hand, meeded lota of training to "come" but we got better by time. That said, i only leave them off leash in placea where they are aafe. I am sure u do the same 

All the best

Kat


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## TheCozyPet (May 5, 2011)

More training. I would usually walk Bingo and Bambi on the park with a leash. If I let them go play off leash and they don't come, I always take time to catch them and tell "BAD DOGGIE". I would then put them back onleash and go back home so that thy will know what they did was wrong.


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## Bailey&Me (Mar 8, 2010)

I have the same issue with my dog so I'm not much help. He doesn't respond to me asking him to come...but he does respond to the word "treat." So all I have to say is, "Bailey, TREAAAT" and he comes running. That's probably the wrong approach...I wish I had trained him better with the "come" command and it's something I will work on with him...but for now, I know if I really need him to come back to me if we're out in the yard or a dog park, I can make it happen. 

Like others have said, maybe work on her recall a bit more (in newer environments, not just your house or yard) with really high value treats.


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## MylittleMolly (Jan 31, 2011)

Katkoota said:


> I would say, Training, time and patience blended with fun sessions
> 
> if i were u, i would not let her off leash yet. I will first teach the recall command - comes back when called. With that, i would start with a long leash attached to her and reward her with something she really loves when she gets to u when called. and repeat. A 10 min training session is good. Not to keep them long. Maybe she is toy driven? My snowy is, so a tennis ball will do juat fine as a reward in training sessions. Crystal is more food motivated.
> 
> ...


Thank you for your quick reply Kat. I think I need to go back to basics and take it from there. The only problem is Molly doesnt appear to be motivated by anything. Im not sure if its connected or not, but she recently finished her 1st heat and seems uninterested with anything including her daily meals, even water doesnt appeal, whereas before her season she played fetch every day with me, played with toys indoors and out. I contacted the breeder about her lack of interest in food, water and she just said she will eat/drink when she wants to and that Maltese can be like that and not to worry. I have tried loads of different food brands, different treats and she shows no real interest in any. She is very lively tho, very alert, always excited about going for a walk, being brushed etc so I dont have any concerns health wise as such. I just dont know what I can use as a reward with her, maybe I should take her grooming brush with me and get her to come to me that way lol - it would probably work as she gets really excited about it lol.


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## MylittleMolly (Jan 31, 2011)

TheCozyPet said:


> More training. I would usually walk Bingo and Bambi on the park with a leash. If I let them go play off leash and they don't come, I always take time to catch them and tell "BAD DOGGIE". I would then put them back onleash and go back home so that thy will know what they did was wrong.


Hi, I actually did that with Molly today because I was annoyed with her for not coming back and took her straight home, but I dont think I could risk letting her off again until she is good at recall as it scared me too much, Im glad that it seems to work for you tho. Many thanks for your help xx


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## MylittleMolly (Jan 31, 2011)

Bailey&Me said:


> I have the same issue with my dog so I'm not much help. He doesn't respond to me asking him to come...but he does respond to the word "treat." So all I have to say is, "Bailey, TREAAAT" and he comes running. That's probably the wrong approach...I wish I had trained him better with the "come" command and it's something I will work on with him...but for now, I know if I really need him to come back to me if we're out in the yard or a dog park, I can make it happen.
> 
> Like others have said, maybe work on her recall a bit more (in newer environments, not just your house or yard) with really high value treats.


Hi Nida,

Im so glad Bailey responds to you, does it really matter which word is used, if it works then surely that is the right word, I really wish Molly was food orientated as I think it would be so much easier to train her. I might end up buying the whole petstore's treat supply and see what I can get her attention with otherwise it is going to be a very long job of training her. Thank you for taking the time to respond. xxx


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## Snowbody (Jan 3, 2009)

Hi Terri - that's way Tyler and I are in obedience class right now (tonight in fact) because I wanted a very strong Come and Drop it response from him in order to keep him safe. He's great at other things but we've had to work on this. Tyler was never treat driven until I got him Kona's Chicken Jerky. I swear by it - made and sourced in USA and I call it crack for dogs He loves it and will do anything for it. For training I take a scissor and cut them into very small bits he can eat quickly. We are working on the come command on leash - from very small start. When you say come if Molly turns her head, treat, then if she comes towards you, treat, etc small baby steps getting closer. Then we put a treat down and run away to the back of them and call come and Tyler bounds after me. It's a fun game. We've also worked on "Touch" where I put out my index and middle finger and if he comes to touch it with his nose, treat. My trainer says some dogs come better to that then to Come. Whatever you do lots of treats and praise and it takes time. Later build to some distractions (maybe a friend with a treat in his/her hand) and you call molly to come to you and again start small and build up.
I love the obedience course and look forward to it every monday night


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## MylittleMolly (Jan 31, 2011)

Snowbody said:


> Hi Terri - that's way Tyler and I are in obedience class right now (tonight in fact) because I wanted a very strong Come and Drop it response from him in order to keep him safe. He's great at other things but we've had to work on this. Tyler was never treat driven until I got him Kona's Chicken Jerky. I swear by it - made and sourced in USA and I call it crack for dogs He loves it and will do anything for it. For training I take a scissor and cut them into very small bits he can eat quickly. We are working on the come command on leash - from very small start. When you say come if Molly turns her head, treat, then if she comes towards you, treat, etc small baby steps getting closer. Then we put a treat down and run away to the back of them and call come and Tyler bounds after me. It's a fun game. We've also worked on "Touch" where I put out my index and middle finger and if he comes to touch it with his nose, treat. My trainer says some dogs come better to that then to Come. Whatever you do lots of treats and praise and it takes time. Later build to some distractions (maybe a friend with a treat in his/her hand) and you call molly to come to you and again start small and build up.
> I love the obedience course and look forward to it every monday night


 Hi Susan

Thank you for responding. Unfortunately i am in the UK so the treat you mentioned i doubt is available here, but I have just bought some chicken strips which I think are similar, I havent offered her any of these yet, so I may cut them into pieces and try what you said. I will give it a go tomorrow. As I said to Kat earlier, I think it is prob a case of going back to basics again but keep reinforcing things, so I will give your approach a go, wish me luck.

Thanks again

Terri xx


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## Snowbody (Jan 3, 2009)

Terri - I didn't know where you were. I get Kona shipped to me. Don't know if they ship elsewhere in the world but they do have free samples that they send if you go to their site. Dog Jerky, Jerky Dog Treats, Chicken Jerky Dog Treats, made in the USA - Home | Kona's Chips Hope whatever you're using works.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

I recommend Really Reliable Recall from dogwise.com

Never correct the dog when you do get them. That only discourages them from coming next time


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## MylittleMolly (Jan 31, 2011)

THank you all for your comments, some are very helpful. I finally found out that chicken was Mollys chocolate and spent a couple of days making progress with recall. Unfortunately Molly's tummy did not agree. She was really sick with vomiting and diarrhea for ten days and had to visit the vet. She is slowing getting over it but I have decided NO more chicken. So now what. The one food she went mad over she cant have. I must say the veterinary food for gastrointestinal disorders she was given - she absolutely loves it, I have never seen her eat with such enthusiasm but its not a food that can be fed long term . I will have to experiment with new treats and see if I can find something she is interested in.


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