SORRY, I guess I didn't realize I could just continue on with my discussion right here in this lower box...Whoops....
Keela is 2 years old and like I mentioned very good at the obedience training. I would like to take her on to a higher level of obedience once I can master this darn recall with distractions. But I will try this drop on recall from what you guys have suggested. Thanks..And Jennifer, I simply love that photo of your dog. It is beautiful to say the least. I am a professional photographer, so I know one when I see it..."Writing with light" as the saying goes. Thanks guys. dc

Hi guys,
Well, I worked with Keela out in the yard today, and really paid attention to what she knows and what I think she knows.
I can put her at a sit stay from a good 25 feet away and with hand signals have her down, or sit immediately and she will stay right there and do exactly as I want.
She will heel beside me off leash and immediately go down when I want her to and will also go down if I stand in front of her.
This is what I am having the problem with, When I call her to me after she has downed from a distance or even when she is sitting from a distance, I don't know how to make her understand that I want her to go down right where she is,,she runs to me and then flops down. I have tried running toward her, and she will down then, but I am still being right in front of her so I don't see the connection there in doing it that way. I am stuck here guys, I'm not sure what to do..Please help, I'm having a brain lapse....thanks...dc

The down-on-recall is one of the skills our FEMA USAR dogs are required to know for certification. I've taught it to several dogs and I've seen various successful methods used. This suggestion was already briefly mentioned, but I noted from your most recent post that you hadn't tried it yet.

1. Once the dog fully understands the down command in place, teach your dog to down on command while just milling around in your training area/yard first. Just stroll around with the dog and randomly command her to down. When she does, toss the food or toy directly to her while she's still in the down and then give her your release command. When she gets up, mill around a little again and command her again.

2. Once she's solid with step 1 (downs everytime you tell her to as you move around the area, regardless of her distance from you or position relative to you), then you can proceed to the next step, which is to move a short distance from her (no formal stay is necessary, she can be in motion or just standing around), call her to you and then command down. When she does it, toss the food/toy to her and then give your release command. If she doesn't do it, return to step 1.

3. Once she's doing step 2 reliably, then you can put her in a stay, walk a short distance from her, call her to you and then give her the down command. Once she downs, throw the food/toy to her. If she doesn't do it, return to step 2. Gradually increase your distance from her, but continue to reward the down and don't call her from the down to you yet. In fact, I only rarely call my dog to me from the down in training. I want him to get his reward for the precise down. You can start calling her to you from the down once she is reliable with the down during recall. And, your dog may start to anticipate the commmand, so you might have to throw in a lot of straight recalls to keep her speed up.

This method takes time and is intended to take several training sessions to achieve success.

I've seen people use e-collars for this exercise with quick success. I've also seen people successfully use a long-line held by a second person behind the dog to correct it into downing.

Hope this helps!

Hi konnie, thanks for replying. But my question is this, she does the down completely everytime I ask. But I can't get her to down wherever she is. I mean, she will come to me everytime I tell her down, be it from a few feet away or right beside me. My problem is making her understand that when I say down when she is away from me, she stays there and downs, not come running over to me and downs. What am I doing wrong? I really appreciate you taking the time to respond..dc

Darlene, does she sit when told when she's away from you? If so, you can tell her to sit at a distance, then tell her to down.

Either way, for the sit or the down, it might help to take her back to the exact place she was when you told her to down (or sit). Practice doing that, see if it helps her understand and make the connection that she's to down or sit wherever she was when you said it.

Another thing you could try is to not be facing her directly every time you tell her to down. Change and shift your body position, progressing to having your back to her when you give the command.

You could also go back to close up, then move away very gradually, so she is doing it when you're two feet away, five feet away, etc.

And, in fact, I read in one book or another (amd I agree) that you might want to stay with six feet away for a week or more before going on.

Do you do hand signals?

Okay Darlene,

So you claim the dog will do commands at a distance only from a sit or a down? What if you leave the dog in stand? Will she down at a distance? When you work on your distance commands successfully are you rewarding the dog at a distance? Throwing toy or food to the dog? Dog must know it will be rewarded on the spot (not have to come to you, or you go to it to get reward in the begining)

I am sure it was mentioned but you could get a helper to work a long line, and just hold the long line tight at your down command. I don't think it has to be a correction (at first) just a physical stopping of the dog part way as you give your down command. Make sure you reward the dog at the spot. Many dogs get long line savy quick, but it may be enough to get the idea that downing on the spot is what you want.

Another idea is the stay or freeze command. I have a "wait" command, and the dog understand when I say "wait" he is to freeze. So then if you have a command like that (or even a stay command?) you could call the do towards you, give your wait command (handsignal a stop signal) then immediatly give your down command with exagerated hand signal. Eventually you fade out the wait command.

Someone here once posted a great game for quick drops in all different positions that is a great exersice and fun too. I use a toy and I jazz the dog up, running around like a bit of a looney with the dog following me. Starting when the dog is close I give a down or sit command, dog does it , mark and throw toy...short tug game ensues. Start over, when the dog is doing the down no matter what position you are in, and super speedy because it anticipates the toy throwing, you can ask for the down when the dog is a couple of steps away. Generally they will drop fast even if they are a bit away from you becasue they know clearly the toy is comming to them. Progress slowly to faking the dog out with a toy toss so the dog goes away from you and then ask for the down, throw the toy to the dog for complience.

If you are into clicker or marker training, I found this on the web, you may want to try it, or just find some nuggets that may help you. I like the idea of throwing the toy/food behind the dog, so they don't creep forward.

http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/Lesson5.html

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What am I doing wrong?

This is one of those training things you have to sit and think about before training and decide how best to communicate your desires to the dog. You may have to try various things before you find the one that works for you. Sometimes when a dog has learned many things super quickly in the past, we progress too quickly on a new command they don't quite grasp yet. Your skills as a trainer will shine when you figure out how to best let her know what you want. From the sounds of it she will be more than willing to oblige you once she knows what you want

Hey thanks guys , those are some terrific suggestions. Yes, she does know hand signals and also the "wait" command so I will try each thing to see what works best for us. She is soooooo willing to learn once I get the message of what I want to her.
I really appreciate you guys taking the time out to help me...dc