Why does my puppy take things and run when I call him?

Question

My puppy Charlie has started taking things he shouldn't and running away from us like he wants us to chase him. It was a fun game with toys at first but now he is pulling plants out of the yard and picking up things he shouldn't and running way from us wanting us to chase him. He knows the command "come" but ignores it, even when I try to lure him with treats. I've tried being nice and luring him to me and I've tried being authoritative and yelling at him but neither works. What else can I try? Pet's info: Dog | Golden Retriever | Male | neutered | 5 months and 23 days old | 52 lbs

Sara Farmer, DVM · Accepted Answer

I would recommend working on a 'drop' or 'leave it' command with Charlie. You can give him a toy, then offer a treat and when he drops the toy say the command. Once he will do this consistently during training time you can try using the command when he picks something up and wants to chase. It is important that you don't chase after him when he's doing this (unless he has something that will truly hurt him) as even the negative attention can reinforce the behavior. Look away, find a treat, and wait for him to drop the item and reward him. Since he seems to like chase you could also have a special toy that is the only one you use for chase - you could ask him to drop whatever he has and replace it with this toy and then chase him for a bit as a reward.

Why does my puppy take things and run when I call him?

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