[dixietrainer]

My dog, Dixie, is an 8 year old black labrador mix. She is very smart (I think she is part border collie) and knows many tricks/commands. The only down side to this is that she doesn't come very quickly. Many of my friends have well - trained dogs and when they say 'come' or 'sit', their dogs come running or sit very quickly. with dixie, she'll come if she feels like it, and sit very slowly. It makes her look not well trained, though she is. It bothers me and I hope that you guys can help! :clap2:

 

[Gally]

It takes lots of training and repetition to have a reliable recall. After you do it so many times it eventually becomes an automatic response. You want to make it really fun and exciting for your dog every time she comes. Carry treats so anytime she comes to you you can give her one. Play recall games with her like hide and seek. Make sure you start without distractions like in your living room and then proof your recall in distracting environments after she does it consistently in low distraction areas. Also make sure you never use your recall command before doing something unpleasant including leashing up to leave the dog park, going inside, doing grooming if she doesn't like that etc. Recall should always be a good thing for your dog.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tV5qsH5tjYA&feature=plcp

 

[Amaryllis]

Always, always, always treat recall with high value treats. Every single time.

Never, never, never use recall for something bad. Do not recall and then punish the dog or clip her nails or brush her teeth. Recall should always be the best experience ever.

My guess is you've probably poisoned the command, either by calling her for something bad or simply accidentally teaching her that come means "if you're already walking this way, but no rush."

So retrain with a different command following the rules above. That's all.

 

[dixietrainer]

Thank you very much! I will try your suggestions

 

[Wicket]

To add to all the great suggestions above, when you're training Dixie with a trick/command she knows, reward the best response. If she gets a treat for every sit she does, she has no reason to try to perform better. Now if you're only going to give her a treat when she sits faster than her previous sit, she will try to sit faster each time. However, with recall, give a great reward and praise every time. If you're doing clicker training with her, you can click the moment she is running the fastest as well to encourage her to come a little faster.

 

[dixietrainer]

Thank you! Will try