Have you tried rewarding her with a small treat every time she comes to you voluntarily? As she approaches you could just say "come"
Below is a helpsheet copied with the various steps for a good recall that we hand out in my classes, this might be helpful for you.
RECALL TRAININGby Vera Marney BSc (Hons), MAPDT UK 00791
GENERAL RULESRecall word: decide on ONE recall word and only use that one word for recall. Also, do not use just your dog’s name; he is not a mind reader!
My recall word is: ____________________________
* Don’t do any training with your dog if you are in a bad mood as you would only end up being impatient and too critical.
* Never call your dog when you know he will not respond. If you do, the only thing he learns is that he can ignore you.
* Never tell your dog off when he does not come back immediately. He will learn that he gets told off when he comes back and will decide next time not to bother in the first place.
* Use a cheerful, happy voice when calling. There is no reason for him to come back to someone who is angry.
* Don’t make your dog sit when he comes back. Instead, touch his collar. You want to praise him for coming back, not for sitting. By touching his collar when you give him the treat and praise, he will associate this with something nice. He will therefore not turn into one of those dogs that come when called, but never close enough to grab hold of them (to put on the lead, to touch etc.).
* Use high value treats. Treats that work indoors don’t necessarily work as well outdoors. Cheese, sausages, frankfurters or meat usually work well. During the training stages, I feed the dog every single time he comes back (or give toy if a dog prefers that).
* A recall should just be a pit stop for a treat, a cuddle or a game. Do not just call your dog when you want to go home, when a dog is in sight or when putting him on the lead. He will quickly learn that you have an agenda and will avoid coming back (some dogs may actually look around first to see why you call!). Call your dog frequently (every couple of minutes if necessary), give food and/or play and release again immediately.
* Practice in many different places and situations. Dogs do not generalize well. Start off in an easy situation (e.g. in your sitting room) and only progress to a more difficult situation and location (e.g. in your garden, park, when dogs are around etc.) when it works no less than 90% - that is if your dog turns on a six pence as soon as you call and comes back instantly without thinking about it. Gradually increase the level of difficulty for each step.
* Don’t let your dog makes mistakes by progressing too fast before he is ready.
* Keep your dog within reasonable distance at all times. All dogs have a certain distance within which they are controllable and respond to commands. Once you have figured it out, keep him within this distance and don’t let him run off miles and miles away from you.
* Keeping your dog safe is priority. Never let your dog run off lead unless the area is safe without roads nearby, no wildlife or stock to chase etc.
TRAINING STEPSSTEP 1
Your dog needs to associate the recall word with something nice happening. The best way to make this association is with food (or a toy if your dog prefers that).
Stand in front of your dog, say YOUR RECALL WORD and give a treat immediately. Repeat this many times a day (at least 40 or 50 times). To prevent your dog from putting on weight, use may want to use his everyday food (e.g. his breakfast) to do this.
Note: make sure that you practice this exercise everywhere (higher value food outdoors to start off with), not just where it is easy. If your dog cannot pay attention to you when you are in front of him, then he won’t be able to do a recall from a distance either.
STEP 2
Once your dog is conditioned to the recall word, walk backwards and encourage your dog to follow the treat you are holding in front of you (quite low, not too high up). As soon as he follows nicely, use YOUR RECALL WORD, praise and give the treat.
Again: practice in all sorts of situations, starting off easy and progress to more difficult ones. Only once this step works 90% in every situation, go to:
STEP 3
Walk along normally, loose short lead, then suddenly call your dog (name and YOUR RECALL WORD) and run backwards, just as in STEP 2 (don’t tug/yank, but don’t wait for the dog either). Praise your dog and give him a treat when he turns toward you.
Just as before: first call when your dog is not distracted, then gradually increase the difficulty level (e.g. call when he is sniffing somewhere, when he is watching dogs/people/etc.).
Once this works in every situation, go to:
Increase Distance
Use a longer lead, eventually a long training lead (up to 30’) and do exactly the same as in STEP 3. Make sure that your dog is safe by using a harness with a long training lead or flexi lead. If attached to a collar, a long lead can be dangerous if a dog runs off at speed.
Off Lead
Only once your dog’s recall is perfect on the lead, you will have a chance of a good recall off lead.
Of course you need to make sure that the area where you let your dog off the lead is safe. You may want to practice in a fully fenced area first (e.g. tennis court) to test your dogs reaction once off the lead.
If your dog has instant recall on the lead, he most probably will off the lead too as by now, having gone through all the steps, it will almost be a reflex, not a decision as to whether he wants to come back or not!
Go through the same steps off lead before you let him have full freedom.
Once your dog is off the lead, the general principles at the beginning of this post are even more important as you cannot physically enforce your command anymore.
You might find that at first you can do STEP 3 in certain areas (e.g. at home/in the garden), STEP 1 in others (when near dogs/children/small animals etc.) and STEP 2 in others again (e.g. park without dogs around). By breaking the recall training down like this, each step can be practiced individually depending on the situation.
Equally, if you find that the recall has got worse for any reason, you can always go one or more steps back and practice again.
ADDITIONAL TIPS
• You can hide behind trees every so often to keep your dog alert.
• Vary your walks so you don’t become predictable. This too will keep your dog on his toes (and makes it more interesting for him too).
• Change treats every so often. Even the tastiest treats can become boring.
• Never walk towards your dog when you have called, but always away from him (unless you need to grab him fast for some reason). This will teach him that there is never a compromise and he always has to come back all the way.
© 2011: WAGGING TAILS Dog Training,
http://www.wtdt.co.uk
I know she will come around !
It sounds like you are doing a great job with Lady already. There is an article on clickertraining.com for training a steadfast recall. From the homepage click on Library then click on skills for everyday. It is on page 2. You will also find articles on surviving puppy teething and nipping and a lot of other things you will encounter. I clicker train with my dogs and my rescues. When the rescues are at adoption events most people are impressed with how much they know. Keep up with the training you are getting there with Lady and this is the time her little brain is like a sponge. She will learn many things quickly.
