Running!

Question
QUESTION: My Yorkie doesn't come to when I call him and runs when I reach for him. He
responds to his name because when I call him it stops and looks up. How do I
get him to come to me and stop running when I reach out for him?

ANSWER: Sean,

In order to answer your question I have to get a few questions answered from you first.  How old is your Yorkie?  When you play with him does it involve chasing him?  When you want him to come to you are you indoors or outside?  When you are trying to get him to come to you is it after he has done something bad?  Can you give me an example situation where he would not come to you and what occurred?  If you can answer these questions I can give you a more specific answer of how to deal with the problem.  I will wait to hear back from you.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: he is 12 weeks old. i dont chase him, but he chases the kids around. and its both
indoors and outdoors when i want him to come. he's smart he never lets me
catch him in the act of doing something bad. if he's loose in the house and i say
him name he looks at me, but when i put my hand down for him to come he
goes the other way. if i reach for him he'll run.

Answer
Sean,

He is still very young and full of mischief. What I would do is get some training treats from your pet store and start teaching him to come when you tell him.  I had a female that would not come in the house when I called her and if I went outside after her she would run all over the yard.  I bought some training treats (in a small bottle) and started using them to get her inside.  It took her a very short time to catch on to the fact that if she came when I called she would get a treat.  All I had to do was open the door and shake the little container of treats and she was right there.

The trick is to teach him to come when you call and over time gradually reduce the amount of treats so that he comes even without them.  You can accomplish this by giving him lots of good dogs when he comes and by lavishing praise on him. When he comes to you give him the praise first and then the treat. Eventually, he will learn to come because of the praise and not the treat.