Ok, so it was yesterday but I didn't get a chance to post. I was working w/my dog's recall in the backyard. She is pretty good at it w/the long line. So after 3-4 recalls I noticed she would stare at me and wait to be called. The times I called her, she bolted to me (which is awesome) & got a treat.

I decided to take her long line off and try another recall or so. She did the same, ran right back to me. I pulled her tug out and tossed it to her to play for a while. The need came up for me to call her. "Brandi, come"...nothing..."No,..Brandi, come"...nothing again (she kept chewing on the tug). So, I went and put her long line on, then tossed the tug so she'd have to run after it. Now, I'm at the end of the long line, "Brandi, come"...NOTHING, "No, Brandi, come"...nothing again. So I pop her leash, and its behind her hind legs so it knocks her feet off the gound, she lands on her back and looks at me like, wtf?!...then she bolts to me. I really praised her and gave her a treat (and dusted her off haha). So we try it two more times. While she is playing with her tug, she looks at me here and there and as soon as I say "come", she drops the tug and runs over to me. Yeah! She caught on really fast. I hope it sticks and we can progress into bigger distractions, but I'm really impressed at how well she did. The whole session lasted maybe 5-7 minutes and we ended playing tug.

We are going to keep practicing, but I'm curious as to how many more times before we try it at a park or so? How can you tell when to add more distractions? I'm not trying to get ahead of ourselves, but I don't want it to get boring for her (like earlier before the tug distraction).

 Quote: Alex Corral

We are going to keep practicing, but I'm curious as to how many more times before we try it at a park or so? How can you tell when to add more distractions? I'm not trying to get ahead of ourselves, but I don't want it to get boring for her (like earlier before the tug distraction).

I don't increase the distraction (or, alternatively, move the distraction closer, such as having someone walk past with another dog, etc.) until the command is 100% at the present distraction level.

Also, I do teeny lil increases. I like not to have to back up. :>

Going to a busy park is very high-level distraction in my book. Lots of stuff happens in the fenced yard first, including people playing with a ball, another dog from the same house off lead, a strange dog on lead, and so on.

Yes, maybe I do have a little OCD. :>D

But I really keep it upbeat and non-boring, and always start and end the short sessions with something I know the dog will do well and get praise and rewards for.

Thanks Connie, I should have thought about it more. I guess there are a lot more distractions I can add in the backyard. I have done a little bit of recall w/her while on lead at a park. She has run back to me everytime w/no pops. I'll keep adding more distractions in the backyard.

Alex, When you are ready for the park to practice your recall I would suggest keeping your dog on a shorter line at first. The close proximity will discourage non-compliance. When she has a 100% success rate at that length then increase the line another few feet. Oh yes, and bring extra good amo (food reward). I like to pay higher when I'm going to ask for a more difficult behavior.