In the yard, under mild distraction, when she DOES come right away, is she still being rewarded?

At this level, I would still be rewarding pretty well, I think.

Even after moving to random tangible rewards, I'd still be praising for the compliance.

I really love to end up with a dog who hears me calling and whose head perks up and swivels around, and who runs to me, happy to be called ....

I do everything I can with motivation and a long line on the flat collar for reeling the dog in on each non-compliance occasion before I do any corrections with the recall. It's just me, I realize, and not everyone agrees, but if I can get that reliable recall with no corrections, that's the way I want to go. (I do use corrections, and you will get varying ideas on this; the recall is just something I personally like to train with 100% motivation if I possible can.)

As Alex said, there are loads of in-the-yard distractions to try, including someone from the house walking around, then walking around with food or another dog on lead, then doing something fun (like playing with a ball).....

And BTW, yes, I would transfer the training to the woods when it was reliable under distraction in the enclosed yard, again on the long line at first. The woods -- still a pretty distracting place, even in full view of the handler and even attached to a long line. :>

I have read with great intrest the opinions given, some are fantastic ideas. I would like to add that you may concider the way you feed and play with the dog as a problem. I believe you will find success in starting over and teaching the dog through play that you are its everything. You must feed it, while feeding the dog have it sit, walk away 10 ft or so and teach it "here" maybe you will have to start with less footage, ? when your playing with it you must teach it that you are the "game", the collar can help, but your dog does not see you as its everything and until you teach this there will always be a distraction that you havent worked with and you will be second. We as a club are taught to teach this dog from puppy hood that the world revolves around you, I believe ed talks about this concepy dealing with who can pet his puppy. Any ways until the dog has been taught this concept your recall will never be reliable.....hope this helps....

I personally, like Connie, like to train the recall with motivation, not compulsion. If you want to use a prong collar to get the dog's attention fine, if you know how to use it. However, after the pop, when the dog comes to you or is coming to you, lots of praise, and reward whe the dog gets to you. Keep the reward high, high, high when starting working through distractions. It is tough to be more interesting than a squirrel

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The last time we were out she wanted to go down into a little stream and I called her to me and she didn't pay me any attention, so I went over to her and firmly grabbed her by the collar and scolded her the whole way back to where I was standing, clipped on her leash and then I led her slowly back over to where she was and showed her that she could go in and play, but by my terms.

Big no no IMO. Never scold your dog like that when working the recall. At best the dog should come to you because it wants to, sometimes it will learn it must come to you even when it doesn't want to but do not scold that way. If your dog is not playing "keep away" now, it will soon if you keep that up. It will want to avoid the scolding from you.

Instead I would have ASKED the dog to "come". I MIGHT have TOLD the dog to "come", then I would have clamly walked over to the dog, taken it by the collar and said "come" in a nice voice, led the dog back to where I called it form and said "good come" and treated the dog. Because you are just training this and looking for success, I would have tried to wait until I thought I could get the dog's attention before I said "come". NOTE: If you need to recall your dog to keep him/her out of DANGER, they should not be off leash and in that situation.

So, by this my dog learns, coming to my mom will always be met with praise. If the my dog does not come first time, he knows I will just go and get him and he will have to come anyways, so he just comes. He does not play keep away because I never grab his collar and then scold him. If I did, he would jump back away from me the next time I went to take him by the collar. You can use the flat coller and long line for "reeling" the dog in, instead of going to get the dog, while reeling in you say "come" and praise and reward the dog upon arrival.

To keep my recall snappy in the woods, I do occasionally still bring a treat or two, or reward the recall with a toy. This makes the recall faster/happier than if he was just slinking back to me because he has to. Intermitant rewards come later though. Now reward all the time for success

Gotta run,

Jennifer

Man oh man, you know you get one trainer or book that says to scold for not coming and now I hear that wasn't such a great thing to do. I do reward with treats constantly when she comes back to me, and with the ones she loves the best. So how in the heck do I train her that I am the best thing in her life since a slice of bread? I would love to never have to correct her, she is sooooooo sensitive. Just tell me how and I certainly would go back to step 1. I have read so many different things and I do think my recall is good, but like I said before that's if she thinks she wants to. What do you mean by feed her and then tell her to sit and go 10 feet away? I am not understanding that part..When she does come, I praise her all the way back while I'm fishing for some juicy treats. So I know she knows she will be praised for coming...I just want the coming to be 100% reliable.Thanks guys,I really appreciate your advice....dc

Have you checked out Ed's Q&A on recall problems: ? http://www.leerburg.com/qarecall.htm#come

Particularly check out the second question, "I have a serious problem with my dog coming when called." Be sure to concentrate on the "novice trainers forget to praise after a correction" bit.

Good luck!

Yes, actually, I spent a whole day reading everything I could on this site, and I see that this is exactly where I got the idea that you needed to correct the whole way back to your original spot where you first called your dog. So now I don't feel nearly as bad as I did when you all were saying that I shouldn't have done that. I do understand where praise and treats are worth their weight in gold, but there must be consequenses for not coming when called. That's where I am having difficulty...dc

For me, "Knowing the dog understands the command" (in the part about when corrections become appropriate) means knowing that the dog understands the command in different locations, under distraction, under various circumstances.......

In my view the who;e point is to get the dog to understand that you are the sorce of everything...The game, The food, the praise, her very life. I make all my dogs sit, then I put the foof down and let them wait..... Not a long time but long enough they understand they dont eat until I allow it. I do not allow my dogs to lay around chewing on balls and toys, etc. I have the ball and they know that the game starts from me and with me. It makes the game special. It also make the suite special. (the dogs are taught not to bite because their mad, they bite because its a game and thats the reward. Its all based on the "GAME" and the "REWARD". I have had some success using this mentallity. We tend to all want to make our dogs human, me included. They are not. If you give your kids every thing then nothing is sacred. Dogs are no different.
The 10 ft thing, it was just another exercise..... If the dog knows sit, when feeding him bring the food out, have the dog sit, walk a few feet away, turn while holding the food call the dog. If the dog stays siting and comes when you call him then feed him, if not start over only dont walk so far, maybe its only a half a step, maybe youll have to have the dog sit and hold the dog with one hand and the food in the other. The point is to get your dog to understand it gets to eat because you allow it and only when you say. the same thing gos with the game, and game "fetch" sitting and then receiving a reward, the dog learns that you are "everything" to it. You have to be consistant or you are wasting your time. After awhile the dog will learn. After awhile the dog wont want to run very far from you even in the woods because he wants to be with you and receive what you have to offer more than anythging else be it praise, food, or to play. I hope I have made some sence, I wish you all the best and good luck.

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Man oh man, you know you get one trainer or book that says to scold for not coming and now I hear that wasn't such a great thing to do

I am not suggesting that a "correction" may or not be in order for not comming although I have not found it neccassary to train my dog's recall that way. A correction is different than scolding or giving a dog Sh** for not coming. If you do not understand the difference, you may want to find a reliable trainer to work with.

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Just tell me how and I certainly would go back to step 1. I have read so many different things and I do think my recall is good, but like I said before that's if she thinks she wants to.

There are many ways to acheive a reliable recall. To be the "one she loves best" requires consistant leadership, a good bond, time and effort, and quite frankly, it involves being a little silly . This the case if you use motivation or compultion for the recall. If you are going to use a prong or e-collar, please educate yourself on their proper use!

Either way, one hour with a good trainier may be able to help you with things like timing and praise and help you determine where to start. These things are hard to help with over an e-mail. Check out the resources and DVD's here if you wish. Look through the books section. It IS confusing, there are many choices in the ways you train your dog. Unfortunatley it is up to you to decide what is best for you and your dog, and then to be consistant.

Seeing as though you have a Golden and you say she is "soooo sensitive" carful not to "shut your dog down". If you are confused as to what you should be doing and how you should be reacting, chances are your dog is confused too. My advice is to NOT work on the problem until you chose a plan of action. It may take some time and research and even contacting a trainer in your area to come up with that plan of action and that is okay. No training is better than wrong training. Work the stuff you have success doing, and walk on a leash in the woods until then.

Cheers,