Off topic: 1st post here. What a resource this forum/website is!!!!! My word!!!!

On topic: I'm very confident that my 1yr old lab knows what "come" means. I've been marker training various behaviors, including the recall, per the DVD. I've only just begun to layer some correction in. He is 100% on very short recalls with minimal distractions. His main distractions are 1. Environmental smells 2. new dogs/people. He will always come back to me eventually. For example, 400 yards down a beach with other dogs. (I know should've controlled that) I played the ignore and walk the other way card, he came bolting back.

My questions are: Is it fair to the dog to start prong corrections on a long line at this point? Are labs generally mature enough for that at this age (just turned 1)? I run into people all the time that brush his distracted behavior off as "oh he'll grow out of it."

Thank you in advance for any input.

PS: I'm also considering an e collar. I would love nothing more than for my dog to be off leash most of the time.

You state that he is good on short recalls with MINIMAL distractions. If that is the case, what makes you think that the dog will be even remotely reliable from greater GREATER distances with HEAVY distractions?!!!

I would not have the dog off a long line unitl all recalls with heavy distractions from short & long distances are reliable. Level of distractions need to be worked up to over time. By having this dog off line you are just reinforcing the fact that HE can CHOOSE to listen or not. It should NOT be his choice to come when called, he should come. PERIOD. If he is on a long line with you at the other end he has no option....you can reel him in to you. Your dog should think that you are the greatest thing in the world & that all good things, better then any other, come from you.

Why are people always in such a rush to have their untrained dogs off leash. 1 year old is still pretty much of a baby...at least mentally. The dog has his whole life to be off leash when he is trained.

ETA....I personally would not yet be adding corections. I would just control with the long line.

Thank you. Sound advice. No hurry here, simply an ultimate goal. The beach incident I described was handler error

Welcome, Aron!

 Quote: Anne Jones

You state that he is good on short recalls with MINIMAL distractions. If that is the case, what makes you think that the dog will be even remotely reliable from greater GREATER distances with HEAVY distractions? ... The dog has his whole life to be off leash when he is trained. ... ETA....I personally would not yet be adding corections. I would just control with the long line.

I gotta say that I agree with this 100%.

The recall is one of my favorite commands to teach. I don't introduce corrections until I have a wonderfully reliable recall under heavy distraction. A long line to reel the dog in if necessary is plenty of backup for now, I think.

Have you seen any of the detailed recall threads here? I could dig some up later.

Thank you Connie. I've done some searches and found some good general info. I'm not sure that I've come across any greatly detailed ones yet, but I'm still searching and reading. Thanks in advance for any links you could provide.

I'm getting the feeling that my dog is too young to introduce corrections.

 Quote: aron demosthenes

... I'm getting the feeling that my dog is too young to introduce corrections.

No no. That's not what I meant, anyway. I meant that corrections for me are for after I have trained the command very well and then gradually introduced changes of venue as well as distractions.

I can't "correct" what I have not taught. And teaching is much more than "come when I call you in our own back yard as long as there is no other dog around and no bikes going by the fence and no awesome smells."

I'll dig up some detailed threads tonight, and there are lots of very experienced recall folks here who will see the thread too.

OK. Things are becoming clearer. We're in the front yard, and up and down the street. He's about 70% on 30ft line recalls under those conditions. Obviously his mistakes are under heavier distractions (joggers, bikers ect..).

Thank you very much for the help.

If anyone is following this topic for info, I found the Recall Q&A. There are some opinions there.

http://leerburg.com/qarecall.htm#recall

Hi Aron, Welcome to Leerburg! A one year old lab is still a young dog; the wonderful yellow lab I had years ago was slowwww to mature, but the sweetest, most loving dog.

One of the main things I've learned since coming to Leerburg is the necessity to train in stages. I used to think if my dog knew "sit" - that meant he understood sit in every situation. Now I've learned that sit in the kitchen is different than sit out front, and very, very different from sit in the public park! Who knew?

I have the best success when I train quietly, then once the command is mastered, add light distractions, then perfect that, then go to heavier distractions, etc...

I'm a big fan of marker training - have you read about that yet?

Aron, check out the free video section on the website, especially Restrained Recall videos. It's a lot of fun and dogs love it.

When you are approaching the correction phase (if you haven't done this before) it is always good to have somebody who knows what they are doing to help you and make sure you don't over- or under-correct the dog. Sometimes it's difficult to read the dog when you are concentrating hard on the task at hand.