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Comment by Jane on April 19, 2013 at 7:50pm

I would highly recommend an obedience class. It will teach you how to train him correctly, and help him learn the commands easier. I would also google NILF (nothing in life is free) and implement that if you haven't yet. Basically you make him work for everything. No food, no treats, no going outside, etc until he completes a command for you.

Comment by Linda on April 18, 2013 at 11:21pm

Not much I can add to the already good info here.  I used the quick stepping back with more than one of my dogs in getting them to come, calling them once with a happy voice (recall)..use just a light tug on the leash.  And the others said...never chase your dog.  He thinks it's a game and could prove to be dangerous to him.  I've used the sit down and "hide" my face in my hands while still being able to see him...this usually stops them and they want to know what is going on with you so they come back.  I did have one dog that didn't work for tho.  He was a rott/shep mix and the most stubborn dog I have ever had.

Comment by Nina & Nellie on April 18, 2013 at 8:43pm

The way I've been training attention (NOT recall, but is similar and also useful) is to make yourself exciting. Make high pitched noises. Run (slowly) AWAY from your dog. Soon he should find you so exciting he'll come running to you. If he's not, keep trying. When he does run to you, praise him lots and get super excited and pet him and give him a good treat (one that he likes, he might be weird and not like cheese). If he doesn't like petting, just give him the treat and a nice touch on the chin/chest.

Also, if you find that he's not doing tricks for treats, mix up your treats. Use kibble, chicken, steak, commercial dog treats, hot dogs. When he starts doing commands reliably, don't treat him every time. Reward with a toy, a game of tug, or a walk outside. Changing the reward up makes it unpredictable to your puppy and he'll be more likely to do the command because he doesn't know if he'll get a good thing or his FAVORITE thing.

Also, everything rae said is also correct. Never chase your puppy, and don't repeat commands. It just teaches them to ignore you, or learn that "Charlie, come" 5 times means come.

Comment by Bev Levy on April 18, 2013 at 8:19pm

Never play the chasing game. It teaches the wrong things and can be very dangerous! Put a long leash or rope on him and when he is not paying attention say "Charlie come" in your happiest, party voice and immediately bring him to you and after you touch his collar give him a treat. Do this several times in a row every day. Never call him when he is unleashed until he starts coming to you. It will take some patience and repetition but he will learn to come when called. I use sit before putting the food down. If he doesn't sit after one command, hold the bowl down in front of him and lift it a little, hopefully he will sit. If not I would put your hand behind his back legs and sweep them in so he is sitting. If you are consistent he will learn that you expect to be obeyed. Puppies take alot of consistent and positive training. He is at the age where he is testing a little :)

Comment by Tami Martinez on April 18, 2013 at 8:11pm

I have heard....never tried with my two. That you can run backwards...so facing your puppy. Say come and start moving backwards. This is gets them interested and coming toward you.

Comment by rae on April 18, 2013 at 7:34pm

here's a good FAQ thread on recall, too:

http://mycorgi.com/forum/topics/my-corgi-wont-come-when-called

Comment by rae on April 18, 2013 at 7:31pm

first off, DO NOT CHASE your puppy. ever. don't do it. you're reinforcing the idea that it's ok, even fun and awesome and enjoyable for him to run away from you.  

also, you should not repeat commands. you need to say a command, like "come" or "sit" once. maybe with a hand signal if you're working on those, and then if the puppy does not exhibit the behavior you are commanding, correct the dog's position. remember, you are correcting the behavior, not the puppy.

right now, all he knows is there's some cheese and its' boring because you keep saying unknown things over and over. by repeating yourself, you're not helping the puppy correlate the command with a behavior.  you may need to start from scratch.  leash the puppy, get a treat he values in very, very small pieces.  say "charlie, come" ONCE. back up a few steps and lure him with your treat.  he should come.  if he does not, get him to do it with the leash, and say "good come!". put him in the position you want.  eventually you'll be able to repeat and get him to start coming towards you while you back up (all while leashed).  praise the puppy a lot, and reward heavily when he does not require you to correct his behavior.

if you incorporate hand signals — and dogs tend to respond more to visual cues — you can repeat the signal, but NOT the command.  if you keep saying "come, come, come" over and over again...if and when he finally does it, he has no idea that it's because of the command but just that you were making a bunch of noises and then a reward happened for some reason but oh well.

maybe try a puppy obedience class if there's one there?  a lot of what i'm writing here is from notes from class. but one thing our breeder told us that has resonated so deeply is "you permit what you promote." that is so true, with puppies. they take their cues from us, they learn from us, and we have to make sure we're setting up the puppies for success.

if he insists on chasing games, turn around (in the house or where he's safely leashed) and ignore the puppy for a count to 10 or so.  make YOUR ATTENTION be a commodity and reward.  there's an attention game that our trainer had us play with puppies, but essentially you're rewarding your dog for paying attention to you, acknowledging YOUR utterance of his name, and showing YOU that he understands you're in charge.

there's also probably tons of info in the FAQ, but also google "nothing in life is free" and "reliable recall".

you'll really want to focus on the recall as it can save your dog's life some day.

also, adolescent puppies can be a handful, so you know...fun times! good luck