I have a 4 month old Chesapeake Bay Retriever who is doing amazingly well, thanks to the Leerburg videos. If there is a possibility of food reward or prey reward, she is perfect. We are working through some distractions now.

She's got a lot of spirit and will make a great hunting/family dog. I don't want to start with real corrections yet, but I'm wondering when I should start ending rewards and administering corrections for failure to obey. She's about 20 pounds, but gaining every day.

The dog is 4 months old. Continue with rewards.

If the treats are working, I'd also continue, be nice if we NEVER had to go to using corrections! You can start 'fading' the treats with any command the pup is 100% on .

http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/sample/Sit.html explains this. It's not about adding corrections. It's about gradually having your dog do the behaviour without you having to give a treat each time.

Also called variable reinforcement http://www.clickandtreat.com/ff07.htm

http://www.dogmanners.com/posreinforce.html

Related Question:

I am ready to start correction training with my 6 month old pup.

I have been training him ala Leerburg method since 8 weeks mostly in my house and occasionally out of doors in mild distraction places (park, underground parking lot). I took him to a puppy kindergarten at Petco (eeeekkk) for socialization, but he did surprisingly well in the training amidst the distractions.

Recently, I started to do some training in our backyard which is fenced in and relatively distraction free - except when our crazy fence-barking neighbor dogs are out.

I have always used the backyard as a place to play with him and I have never done training back there. He will not focus and doesn;t care about food rewards when we are back there. He would rather play with the house and run around.

How can I get him to focus here? Is it correction time?

I would try to get him used to "training time" in the backyard before you begin correcting him. Like you said- he isn't used to training in the yard so this it's already a distraction, plus the yappy neighbor dog is distraction #2. His attention span probably goes down to about 3 seconds! Practice basic, easy commands that he is very reliable on (or just lower your criteria) for just short amounts of time in the backyard. As he does better, you just increase the behaviors, difficulty, and time. When he is reliable on behaviors in the backyard and just refuses to do it after you've practiced in the area enough for it not to be a distraction anymore, then I would start to add correction. It always helps to end on a good note too.
When my tracking harness broke, I used my flat collar that I obedience train him in to track that day. He came out on the field heeling and ready to do obedience, instead of slinking with his head down. It looked like he didn't know what to do! lol. He had just gotten equipment trained. It was a laugh. They are sooo keen to consistency.

Thanks - great advice - Why didn't I think of that?

I'll keep extra short and simple for a while and ease him into longer sessions. We always end on a positive note - I never push it with him.

I'd rather not administer corrections either, but eventually she will question authority, correct?

Also, she doesn't realize my wife is Alpha to her yet. That is because my wife hasn't worked much with her. When she does start working with her, and if she doesn't obey as well for my wife, is she more likely to rebel against my wife when corrected?

All in all, I understand if I don't have to use corrections, I shouldn't. But at what age, or size should I use them if the need arises?

I wouldn't say that the reason a dog refuses to obey is purely because of dominance. As a young dog, refusal to obey rarely is because she is challenging your authority as the pack leader. You may see this as early as 9-10 mo. if your dog is dominant, but for now her attention span, distraction, undermotivation, or other things may cause her to refuse a command. A dog missing a few behaviors & making mistakes is how they get trained and learn anyway. She may not be behaving your wife as well as she behaves you because you may train her more so she is used to the consistency of your commands and not yet your wifes. She wouldn't be challenging your wife's position in the pack at 4mo. old. She will improve the more your wife trains her.
There isn't really an age or size to when you should start correcting. It depends on the temperment of the dog and at what stage she is at with each behavior. I think it would be safe to start using the prong, if needed, around 5mo.-6mo. because this is the average age most dogs come to the point where alot of their behaviors are reliable enough to start the correction phase of training. At 4mo. old, your dog is probably just beginning to show show reliable behaviors. If you are completely sure your dog is trained to a command (80%+ reliablity) and you are consistent with your methods, then upon cue if your dog is distracted or undermotivated & doesn't respond, IMO a correction would be necessary. I wouldn't correct on a behavior he is just learning or in a new environment with heavy distraction.
Alison Voore

Thanks Alison. She is a great pup. The one thing I don't want to do is go too hard on her. Right now, finding that balance is confusing.

She responds 99% of the time when treats are involved. I'm amazed at how quick she is to pick everything up. The only training hiccups are with the bigger distractions, which are to be expected, and I don't want to be too hard on her.

Thanks to everyone.