teaching come and heel

Do y'all have any tips on teaching come and heel? They get it PERFECTLY in the backyard, but taking it to the front yard, the park, the petstore, anywhere else, it's just gone. I have worked with them repeatedly in teh front yard, but they don't seem to get it, and until they get it in the front yard, I really don't want to take them anywhere else. When Snickers runs off, she thinks its a game, and wags her little tail and is all happy when you find her. Ranger knows he is being bad when he runs off. When you catch him, his tail is between his legs and his head is down. When they run out of our electric fence, they have gotten a lot better about coming back, but for some reason, on our street in the front yard, they just don't get it. Is it because they are comfortable on our street, and not scared? Becuase at least Ranger would always rather be near you when in a new place. Any tips would be appreciated!

 

You need to make coming to you extremely rewarding. When you move to the front yard, you have upped the distraction level, perhaps too much.

First go back to the back yard and add more distractions - like a favorite toy lying on the ground, or another person standing somewhere, a child running around, a neighbor's dog - whatever distracts your dogs. Make a list of things your dogs find distracting and then put them in order of least to most. Start adding in the least distracting things and if the dogs still obey, then work up to harder ones. Finally, move back out to the front yard and start all over.

The treats you use to reward this have to be the BEST THING EVER!!! Whether for your dogs that's some sort of really, really yummy food or a special toy that they ONLY get when they obey the "Come" command depends on what your dogs like. If it's food, make it something like bits of cooked chicken or steak or something like that, that they ONLY get when you tell them to come. If it's a toy, hide it away whenever you are not working on the exercise.

 

Alright. Thanks! And I believe our most distracting object, would be the cat. Unfortunately, I don't think there's anything I could do to get her into the backyard, lol.

 

You can also do a thing where you use a different word for emergencies, when you REALLY need them to come RIGHT NOW! Pick a word they will never hear otherwise and that you will be able to remember when you are panicking. A couple times a day for the next week, when you know they will come to you (inside is fine) call out that word and when they get to you, shovel treats into their mouths for a full minute straight. Time it - it's longer than you think!

Repeat this a couple times a day for a week, then once a day for a few days, then once every few days, and then always once every week or two afterward to reinforce it. The dogs should start running to you willy nilly once they realize that word means MEGA-TREATS!

If you have to use it in a real emergency, you won't have all those treats on you. So you "bridge the gap" by telling them what great dogs they are for coming to you in your most excited, silly voice ever while you are walking with them into your house (or wherever you can find treats) and to the kitchen to find something absolutely wonderful to give to them. By keeping up all the "good dog chatter" along the way, they will be associating it with coming back to you.

 

I agree about thebest treat ever, I had problems with Wylie and finally found the best for her was jerkey. The come/here command or whatever you use is a lifelong training tool, I sitll work with Wylie 7 years later.

if she is working good in her backyard but not the front, continue towork with her in the front outside the fence, but take a take a lead or short rope, its good to start out at about 6 feet, make her sit, stay , then show treat, say here (or command) pull rope, Snikcer comes, tell her to stay, then praise her, the release her with a command like "okay" you work this to death, slowly letting get lead get longer between the 2, she gets better, add distractions, like someone walking by, or have yor cat. its very very important that she also learn the stay command once she comes to you until you releae her. This has been a hard one for Wylie because she just wants to go take off again one she comes.

So then once she gets better, give her a little freedom on her lead, give her some distance let her sniff, explore, then say HERE, tug rope, she comes, sits, give treat, stay and praise, then OKAY as release.

good luck