Getting puppy to come

Question
Our puppy is 3 1/2 months old and has become a very good friend. He does well with walking with us on a leash but when we let him out in our yard (we live in the country) he seem to ignore us. We are worried about leaving him out un-escorted because of the prescense of large raptors in the area and the chance that he might go to the nearby road. We have been using "Easy Cheese" as a treat for his house breaking and he is doing very well considering the cold weather we have been having.  Any suggestions that might help would be greatly appreciated.    Thanks   Gil

Answer
Hello Gil,
I have a couple of suggestions that might interest you for your puppy.  The first is don't ever tell him to Come anymore unless you have a leash on him and can make him come.  Instead, use the word "Cookies" and encourage him to come to you with a tidbit.  Use something good like a piece of string cheese (easy to work with) or Hot Dog (cooked until crispy in Microwave).  Start off in your house because you can get him to come to you easier.  Say his name and Cookies and wait.  If he comes to you, great and give him a treat and praise.  If he doesn't come to you, walk to him, show him the treat and lead him back to where you called.  This will help him learn to come to you (and if he does he gets a treat).  Everytime you say Cookies, expect him to come to you and make him do it if he doesn't.  Only trust him outside when he is coming to you EVERYTIME you say Cookies inside.  
Teach him to come by putting the leash on him and saying the word Come.  Have him come to you, using your leash to guide him to you, and praise and give a treat.
If you teach him to come with the leash first, and he ever gets away from you, you can use the come command when he is off leash.  Just make sure that he comes to you or that you make him come to you.  You might try using the come command in the house, a small area, or area that is fenced before doing it outside where he doesn't have to listen to you.  With using the Come command, you have to be sure that the dog understands that he has to come to you EVERY TIME you use the command.  If he thinks that he doesn't have to come to you because he isn't on a leash, then he will never fully learn the come command.  

You might also consider getting an Invisible fence to help keep him contained.  You bury a wire and the dog wears a special collar.  When your dog gets near the buried wire he receives a warning sound from the collar.  If he gets closer to the wire, he gets a shock.  You have to teach your dog the boundary line by walking him around the parameter and showing him what happens when he gets close to the wire.  You can put up flags that act as a visual aid so he can see where the boundaries are which will help him some.  
Here is the Website for Invisible Fence:
http://www.invisiblefence.com/

I hope this helps you and your puppy some.  If you have other questions, please feel free to ask.  

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim