My 3yo Lab comes when called, but he walks casually when doing so, sometimes stopping to sniff or pee. I want him to run directly to me quickly. It doesn't have to be a full gallop, knocking me over with enthusiasm, but I do want a faster response. I ALWAYS praise, but have not used food reward for some time now. I have used a check cord on occasion, but it does not speed him up. I have considered using frustration, but haven't tried it yet.

Just a little background, I rescued him when he was 1.5 yo, he knew the basics, but was head shy, and was even slower on all of his commands. I did a ton of remedial work using positive reinforcement only, and he has improved a TON, but is still slower than I would like on most commands. We don't do competition stuff, he is in training for SAR, so I don't need polish, just reliability.

Any thoughts?

maybe if you tried using food as a positive reinforcement. I know my girls go crazy for treeats even if it is a handful of thier normal food. if you take a couple minutes throughout the day training come with food or treats then that would pep up his step because he would be looking for food each time

Labs are notorious chow hounds. Food rewards work great with them. Keep him a little hungry, cut his calories during the day and carry lots of good treats. Do a couple of obedience commands before you let him off leash and reward with food. Call him back when he's close to you and reward with food. Once he realizes you have food he'll probably come back right away. Always carry the food, but only reward a recall every few times after that once he gets the picture. Employ a recall several times during an off-leash play period, then release him to play again. This worked for my dog. I always run him off leash and now he's whistle trained to return as well. He only gets food about 1 out of 10 times and always returns on the first command.

Never repeat a command 2X when the dog obviously knows the word, especially a "come" or "here". Put your dog in a down or sit (provided he can do it from a distance) if he won't come automatically, then walk over and attach the leash. Free time off leash is ended if he does not come. Walk him around the park a bit on leash at heel. But always end the lesson positively. Release him again, make the call, and reward with food. Pretty soon he should realize that coming = good things. If you only ever call him to come to attach the leash and end the free play session, then that is what he'll associate the word with. LOL <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

You can use motivation if you dog has the drives or else an Ecollar and teach the dog that the faster he gets to the handler the faster the collar gets turned off. Depends on the dog and your goals.

Thanks for the speedy replies. Sounds like I just need to do some more remedial work using the positive motivation. I had been doing that previously, and had tapered off the food reward, thinking he was ready. Perhaps it was too soon. In all other aspects, his obedience is good. He's a pretty mellow guy, and doesn't do anything fast, except for tracking! That's where I need to slow him down.

He did great today. He has to play fetch for specified lengths of time and specified distances as part of his post surgery physical therapy/rehab. When I have that frisbee or giggle ball, he'll come at a run. Guess I just need to work with him more, which I will do. Thanks, folks! Sometimes posting a question, we answer it for ourselves!