[Yellow]

soon to be 9 months old. He has always been slightly independent. Example..ME:..come with a happy voice..HE:..let me think about it...well maybe....I don't think so, even if you have a juicy treat. ME: please, it will be fun and i promise you will like to be next to me HE: maybe later....HE; I think you want to do something I do not want to do.......this is what I sometimes deal with. Other times he is so cuddley, I don't know what to think. Is is just independent and will in time say " oh I would love to come to you' any suggestions

 

[PeggyTheParti]

Is it just recall you’re struggling with? Or does he generally prefer to be on his own rather than investigating and following along with what the humans are doing?

Recall won’t improve with time, because every time he ignores you, he’s learning that “come” doesn’t mean a whole lot. You’ll need to go back to basics, ideally with a new word like “here.”

 

[Dianaleez]

There are items that he wants that you control. Find out what they are. a ball? poached chicken? his favorite toy? Use them as a lure.

Normie's an adolescent - he decided a few weeks ago that he wasn't going to come for 'second rate' treats when called. So I would call him, show him the treat, he'd stare at me, then I'd return it to the jar. After returns on two days, he gave up and started coming again.

 

[Yellow]

thank you, both suggestions make sence....Peggy, I can be on the floor and he is 5 feet from me and I say come with happy voice and I feel he is thinking she is going to get me and make me do something I do not want to do. All I want is to give him love. Yes, he follows us around and wants to be involved. i will try hear and have excellent treats when i ask him to come instead of having nothing. And then give lots of praise.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

When I say “Come!” or “Here!” I want my dog to race to me, automatically assuming I’ve got literally the best thing in the world AND she’s going to get to keep having fun (or, better yet, have even more fun).

That takes repetition and trust, which I build primarily through training games.

Have you looked into puppy classes or an online course like SpiritDog?

 

[Raindrops]

Minis are very intelligent but motivated by fun. Mine is very velcro but still struggled with recall. The reason is they are smart enough to know that recall often means the leash goes on, and even of you practice without that, they can tell when leash is on your mind. 9 months is very young. At that age mine was wonderful about staying near me but was always cautious about staying out of reach if he thought it was time to go home. I worked on this by eliminating his ability to blow me off. I had him drag a biothane line constantly. Even in the house. After a while he stopped trying to get out of my reach. I worked constantly on rewarding him being by my side. Any time they come to you, give small rewards whether you asked for it or not. Try not to ask for a recall if you will just put a leash on. That makes a bad association. I always attracted with other ways if I needed to leash. Over the process of many months, you should see improvement. Maturity and training brings more biddability and less fooling around. My dog now comes to me and stays by me when he feels it is time to go home... usually. I also frequently attach his leash for a moment then unattach and release. Don't expect immediate results from anything. Think about improvement over 6 months of working on it.

Lastly, I strongly suggest a whistle conditioned with a very high value treat like a large chunk of roast chicken. Use chicken for the whistle for at least a month before phasing out slowly to normal treat rewards. Whistles are more easily heard by distracted dogs and the sound carries further. A mini titanium whistle is ideal. Train a verbal recall as well, but I like the whistle for the success it brings.

 

[Yellow]

Minis are very intelligent but motivated by fun. Mine is very velcro but still struggled with recall. The reason is they are smart enough to know that recall often means the leash goes on, and even of you practice without that, they can tell when leash is on your mind. 9 months is very young. At that age mine was wonderful about staying near me but was always cautious about staying out of reach if he thought it was time to go home. I worked on this by eliminating his ability to blow me off. I had him drag a biothane line constantly. Even in the house. After a while he stopped trying to get out of my reach. I worked constantly on rewarding him being by my side. Any time they come to you, give small rewards whether you asked for it or not. Try not to ask for a recall if you will just put a leash on. That makes a bad association. I always attracted with other ways if I needed to leash. Over the process of many months, you should see improvement. Maturity and training brings more biddability and less fooling around. My dog now comes to me and stays by me when he feels it is time to go home... usually. I also frequently attach his leash for a moment then unattach and release. Don't expect immediate results from anything. Think about improvement over 6 months of working on it.

Lastly, I strongly suggest a whistle conditioned with a very high value treat like a large chunk of roast chicken. Use chicken for the whistle for at least a month before phasing out slowly to normal treat rewards. Whistles are more easily heard by distracted dogs and the sound carries further. A mini titanium whistle is ideal. Train a verbal recall as well, but I like the whistle for the success it brings.

I CAN WHISTLE SO DO THAT OFTEN AND HE WILL COME. YOU ARE SPOT ON WITH THE LEASH. HE GETS CAR SICK AND KNOWS THE LEASH, MEANS CAR RIDE. HUSBAND AND I TOOK TO A FENCED IN AREA AT A SCHOOL AND HAVE TO SAY HE DID PRETTY GOOD ON RECALL EVEN WHEN ANOTHER DOG ON THE OTHER SIDE OF FENCE WALKING WITH OWNER. I PLAY A LOT OF HIDE AND SEEK AND DID TODAY AND REWARD WHEN HE FOUND ME. KINDA KEEPS CLOSE AND HE GETS WORRIED WHEN HE CAN'T SEE ME. HAVE DONE CLASSES AND WILL SIGN UP FOR MORE. I UNDERSTAND BUILDING TRUST. TREATS ARE ROTATED SO VARIETY. TODAY WAS A GOOD DAY. THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL THE GREAT SUGGESTIONS. KEEP THEM COMING