I have a 6 month old golden retriever puppy who has mastered most of the basic commands. He is a soft dog, very compliant, like most Goldens, does not have a dominant or agressive bone in his body, and is very easy to train.
When it comes to rabbits and squirrels, however, his prey drive kicks into high gear. When a small critter runs he chases. During this type of distraction he will not respond to the come command. During other times of minor distractions he might delay but then responds to the come command and returns.
Any recommendations on how to solve this behaviour problem? Thanks.

I don't classify that as a behavior problem, it's a sign that your training is incomplete.


How have you trained the come command up to now?

Almost exclusivley using positive reinforcement. (food and praise). He has been corrected verbally a few times for not coming while being taken back to the location he was supposed to come to by the scruff of his neck.

The recall is a command that I don't play around with.

Without question I would use a correction collar on a long line, or an e-collar, to institute a correction phase in your training.


Don't stop the positive reinforcement, in fact go overboard on it. Better treats, more rewards.


I'd start by taking a few steps back in training and work little distractions with mega food rewards and corrections. Build up from there.

Thanks. I agree. The reason I posted the question is because the pup will run out into the street when he is after small animals. (needless to say, he does not "look both ways")

Keep him 100% controlled until you're 1000000% sure he will come when you call him even if there are hundreds of 3-legged squirrels beckoning him for a chase. VanCamp is right, keep the pup on a leash of some sort or an ecollar! All it takes is one wrong run in the street for disaster to strike.. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Does your dog have one favorite toy or treat that he'll go absolutely nuts over? If so, save it only for when he comes on command, and heap the treats on him, play with him for awhile, and eventually he'll realize that he only gets these things when he comes to you. Don't be so quick to remove the leash, either. If you want to test his obedience, put him on a long line. If he doesn't come when called, you'll still have a chance to enforce it AND you'll be able to ensure his safety. Bottom line, you don't want your dog to think that "come" is optional.

I actually prefer a good, solid down command if the dog takes off after an critter, etc. To me, it's the command with ABSOLUTE control.

Dog: Takes off across street after critter.
Me: (before the dog gets to the street) "PLATZ!!!"
Dog: Performs a solid, immediate down (in motion, basically)
Me: "Good boy! Heir!"
Dog: Recalls to me (much like training or a trial)

To me, trying to recall the dog when he is crittering is something (a scenario) the dog hasn't really trained for. A down in motion is something he HAS trained for. You can even train for it with critters by throwing a ball/toy, etc for the dog. Before he gets to it, DOWN!!! him. Recall him, then release him to go find his toy. The point being, that it demonstrates and proofs control in your dog.

There are many ways to do it, I suppose. This is just how I look at it.

I always used no in these situations. I say no and all my dogs since puppies know that means that something bad is going to happen to them. I find it is the interruption that I need to get them back to paying attention to me. I have been using no with my Mal to mean that it was incorrect and that we have to do the exercise over. But, I don't take him for walks either.

In the past NO always meant that whatever you are doing had better stop or it is gonna hurt. I think with pet dogs that is still a good plan. This was started almost right away.

I agree with the others that your pup should be kept on leash at ALL times until you're 100% sure he'll respond to your commands.

You need to make the COME a fun command, by involving it with lots of toys and treats. Call your dog to you, have him sit, and then praise/release with something he loves. Toss a tennis ball or offer his favorite treat. Maybe have him chase you as you call him towards you...whatever you can think of to entice him into coming to you.

You'll want to build up on the distractions. I wouldn't start by using the COME when he sees a squirrel...in that case, practice on attention (he'll be on leash, which means you can walk him in the opposite direction). Don't issue the command if you know its going to be impossible to get him to go to you...otherwise you'll be teaching him that he can ignore you when he wishes.

Keep working on distractions (have someone else roll a ball or a stuffed toy...or, if thats too much at first, just have someone tossing a ball in the air...use easy distractions at first until he's reliable around those. Then up the distractions until you have real, live distractions like squirrels...)