[vkong85]

just had a quick question... any tips on how to make my dog listen when i call despite the appearance of strangers and/or other dogs?

is there such thing as police dog training?

how soon should i start weening him off treats so he can do tricks without the food reinforcement?

[Curbside Prophet]

1) Condition the cue: meaning, do not offer the cue unless it can be reinforced - every time. That means do not offer the cue in areas that are too distracting. That means having visual eye contact with the dog. And that means being the most interesting thing in the environment. Add distractions slowly. A solid recall is something that takes months to achieve. I highly recommend Leslie Nelson's DVD Really Reliable Recall.

2) Yes, there is a such thing as police dog training. Are you an officer or do you intend on sending your dog into service?

3) Count the successes against the failures. If you can achieve an 80% success rate you can start varying the reward schedule. Thereafter, and again after an 80% success rate, begin Premacking (google Premack Principle) the cue to death with intent. 80% is an arbitrary percentage, and one I'd recommend the companion dog owner to achieve.

[briteday]

It sounds like you and your dog might benefit from a formal obedience class with a good instructor.

Recall is one of the most important commands you can teach, maybe THE most important. I start my dogs with a technique we call "watch me." Before I start command training we teach them to watch us for clues. Sometimes it helps to put a pice of cheese or hot dog in your mouth so that they focus on your face. Then when you have their attention, they get the treat. It's a good basic training to start with since you can't really teach anything until you have your dog's attention.

Police training is serious business. I would only suggest it for dogs going into service work. I can see no other reason for it.

Weaning the dog off treats to reward command obedience is pretty well covered above by CP. I agree with most. Although you still have to individualize it to your dog. But the end goal is to eliminate treats and still get a response. And remember to reward with verbal praise, even if you eliminate food rewards.