It’s not a mystery! Dogs don’t come when they’re called because humans who call them don’t make ‘coming when called’ rewarding to the dog.
Worse yet, some humans make ‘coming when called’ punishing to the dog.
It often starts out innocently, especially with puppies. Humans are so easily smitten. We coo lovingly, get down on the floor to cuddle. We giggle gently at the puppy’s every action. The puppy is so cute!
We pick a name. We’re so excited. We repeat the name endlessly, encouraging the pup to respond, with whatever works—soft hand clapping, stepping backwards, happy faces, happy voices. The pup walks to us, maybe gets a treat? We’re sure that we are “training” the puppy “to know its name.”
Do we believe that the puppy “understands” what his name “means”? Have we “trained” him that his name “means” to come? When did we do that?! The pup responds to his name: he perks up, looks for what’s on offer, and in a second, it’s over. One second of “acknowledgement”—we can almost imagine him thinking, “Yeah, that’s my name, don’t wear it out.” The honeymoon is over.
For some humans, sadly, it’s at this point that resentment kicks in, ridiculously. “The puppy is ignoring me!” Some humans get mad. Their anger is expressed at the puppy, hardly fairly. It’s a puppy and it has not been “trained” that its name means to come when called. (These angry humans may have similar “relationship” issues with other humans, including their families, over behavior they seem to feel reflects badly on them.) “The pup should come when she’s called because that’s what I told her to do. She DEFIED me!” What’s happened to the loving voice the pup once listened for?
I tried to duplicate below the nasty tone of voice I heard when a neighbor called a pup who’d just escaped from the yard. It hurt my throat—a growly, angry voice, screaming the pup’s lovely springy name:
“DAFFODIL!”
It’s a very ugly word when one screeches it with venom.
To the pup, who’s heading away, it’s a warning: Not Safe.
Photo by Jessica Stinson Hudson
What’s the difference between a command and a cue?
Command: (noun) an authoritative order
Cue: (noun) a signal to a performer to begin a specific action
What’s the neighbor’s mistake? He seems to think he doesn’t make mistakes. It’s the pup’s fault, he’s certain. Daffodil should come to him when she’s called—she knows that, he’s sure. She is defying him.
The neighbor is missing that what he’s doing isn’t working. He wants the pup to come to him when he calls her. She doesn’t. She runs in the opposite direction. He’s blind to the obvious.
The pup’s behavior is entirely up to him.
Does he think he’s issuing a command? He’s inadvertently taught her a cue. The pup’s name, screamed angrily, now means to her, “Run, Daffodil, RUN!”
The human could change the situation by taking responsibility for being the cause. He could change his own behavior by removing the venom from his relationship with the dog. His situation is a simple example of how a human can “poison a cue,” confusing a dog by communicating poorly.
To turn the situation around, the human could:
▪ Stop using the pup’s name to call her to come.
▪ Pick a new word that means, “Run straight to me immediately.”
(There is no magic in the word “Come!” It’s far too easy to say that word gruffly or forcefully so that it sounds intimidating, so that it becomes a warning of possible punishment—“or else!”)
▪ Make a plan to teach the new cue over time.
▪ Adjust the plan as needed during that time.
▪ Enlist the aid of a trainer or behavior counselor—experienced, ethical, positive, and kind—to guide the humans in the family and the pup as they work the plan together. Remember that it could take just as long to turn the situation around as it did to create it!
▪ Encourage all the humans involved in working the plan.
▪ Model appropriate “cues” and rewards for the puppy.
▪ Rethink “commands” that have not been successful so far.
▪ Understand that anger at the animal is never appropriate.
Here are links to articles, written by highly respected trainers, on the subject of poisoned cues. We thank them for sharing their thoughts on this topic with us!
American Kennel Club—Expert Advice | Sassafras Lowrey, CTDI
Poisoned Cues: What They Are and What They Do
Stale Cheerios | Mary Hunter
A Few Thoughts About Poisoned Cues
Whole Dog Journal | Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
Beware Of The Poisoned Dog Cue
Karen Pryor Clicker Training | Rebecca Lynch
Poisoned Cues: The Case of the Stubborn Dog
Eileen And Dogs | Eileen Anderson
Replacing and Retraining Poisoned Cues
