I now have Marco doing hand touch, sit from stand or down, down from stand or sit and recall all from commands. No more luring. I was initially using luring too much and had a hard time getting him off the lure with the sit and down. He is recalling consistantly anywhere from 2-10' indoors with no distractions. (I haven't done anything with distraction yet.) The thing is he just slowly walks to me and he always sits about 18" away from me when he comes. How do I get that really quick recall and sit right up close to me?

What I do is to be unpredictable. Some times, I turn and run away from my dogs, and then call the come. Does your dog have a favorite toy? if so, take that toy with you and when your pup chases you, and after you turn around and he sits in front of you, unexpectantly pull out the favorite toy or tug and get a fun game going with him.
Sometimes do not move, sometimes run away and call him. Also, playing hide and seek is a great way to get the recall faster. I also go out in my yard and work and keep treats with me. When my pups are far from me, I call them, and as they run to me and come and sit before me, I give them a treat.
Another thing I do is restrained recall. Have someone hold your dog around the chest, call him, get him really excited, maybe say something like, ready....set....come, and have your helper hold the pup for a few minutes and then release your dog. Make it a game and very fun. Act silly. That has helped my dogs.
When I call them in from the yard, if they come quickly, they get a treat. They come running from the corner of the yard, then up the stairs, and I get all excited and then give them a treat. Hope this helps. Sharon

Use a very high value reward. Get the dog up in drive. Mark the recall as soon as he starts toward you, then hold the reward in front of you where he can see it. When he sits in front of you, lure him closer by bringing the reward inward and upward drawing the dog closer before releasing the reward.

This particular luring exercise will be repeated numerous times as you polish these behaviors. Don't get frustrated, as this reinforcement will be ongoing and you won't get satisfactory results immediately.

oops, to get my dogs to come up close to me. when I call them I bring my hands, with a treat, in front of them as they approach, and into the area of my waist and up toward my chest. When they come in close I treat them and of course say (my word is good) that praise word to let them know they are right where you want them. If they are off and not close enough I bring my hands again in front of me and bring them close to me. When my pups have themselves in the right place, I reward them. I hope I made myself clear, and understandable. Sharon

I tried exactly what you described Duane. He didn't seem to get it so I didn't keep it up. I'll start trying that again. Finding a high value reward is the hard part. He's not really food driven and I haven't found anything that really can't do without yet. Even bacon. It works, but not where he gets really driven for it. I haven't tried toys yet because the videos say not to do that until the dog outs the toy on command every time and I haven't even started to try to teach the out yet. I can try Sharon's ideas also, but trying a restrained recall will have to wait a week. My wife and kids are at the beach this week.

I have a question re: rally Obedience. I am looking for a good video to watch. I need one that shows how to do the novice behaviors. I am not familiar with any of those who train for rally so I am at a loss. I always get all my stuff from Leerburg and totally trust the workmanship and content. I have looked on our site but found nothing for that sport.
can anyone recommend one? thanks
Sharon

Edited by Connie Sutherland (06/24/2012 09:53 PM)
Edit reason: mod move

Above post moved to

http://leerburg.com/webboard/thread.php?topic_id=32399&page=1#363061



Edited by Connie Sutherland (06/24/2012 09:52 PM)
Edit reason: move to its own thread

Kory, maybe one of these will help:

http://leerburg.com/flix/videodesc.php?id=200

http://leerburg.com/flix/searchResults.php?searchfor=ellis,%20recall

http://leerburg.com/flix/videodesc.php?id=513

http://leerburg.com/flix/videodesc.php?id=66
“This is the second in a series of 3 videos on training the restrained recalls. The restrained recall is one of the best ways to get the maximum speed out of a dog when its called.”

http://leerburg.com/flix/videodesc.php?id=819

Thanks Connie, I'll check them out when I get home from work tonight.