Beth J. asks, “I am in the process of training my 13 month old Pit/Lab to “recall” and “random recall”.
My problem (or his problem, I should say) is that instead of running TO me – he runs right PAST me! Any suggestions? Thanks! ”
Dear Beth J.: It’s a very common behavior for dogs that are first learning the exercise.
What you need to do is: Leave the long line on the dog. As the dog shoots by you, call it’s name once more and immediately step forward on the line.
This will make the dog correct himself. Then turn to face the dog and take a few steps backwards, to stimulate the dog’s “chase” drive… to come into you. When he gets to you, praise him.
If the correction is motivational enough, the fly-bys should stop after two or three times. Your next step would be to use a ball or toy or food to get the dog to target into a correct position, right in front of you… if you want to get REAL precise.
-Adam