I have a new work schedule for the last month or so and when I get home there is only time for a 40 min walk and it's usually dark when we are coming up the street. I have not had much time to work with Alice outside on our recall command but here is what i have been doing, do you think this helps??

When I am getting ready in the am I leave the side door proped open and they can come in and out, when she is outside and I don't see her for like 7 minutes I yell from the upstairs bedroom "Alice where are you??" and she comes running upstairs, shows her face, I give her love and hugs and tell her good girl now you can go play and she goes back outside. She comes everytime

When we walk I stop two times a block, call her name and make her look at me and say "alice come" she wasn't coming at first because she wanted to walk now when I call her even while we are walking she looks back but she won't come to me unless I stop. I am hoping to get her to come to me while we are still moving forward.

This is all I have done time wise it will get better in teh next couple weeks but do you think this is helping? My biggest fear is her running away or Fred but he listens, not to come, but he knows Stop, we say stop and he does...dead in his tracks. Good Boy.

I hope so Pam, she is coming really well from the yard in the house and now on our walks she looks when I call her name, I hoep something is better than nothing but I am not sure what these drills will accomplish should she get out, I need to find a way to build on this in the time I have right now.

Val, I'm proud that you are working on the recall command... truly!
You said in your post that you call her to come to you from the upstairs bedroom... and she comes. That's all well and good... but what if she is focused on something more important than what you are asking her to do? You have no way of enforcing the behavior you are asking for. You're upstairs... she's out in the yard. You are giving her a choice -- to come or not to come. Fortunately, so far... from what you are saying... she has come to you, and that's good. Reward her HIGHLY for it... and always be prepared to do so.

Please remember something. It's VERY important that you never call your dog to come to you when the dog has the option not to. IMO you are asking a lot of her to come to you when you are upstairs and she's out in the yard or downstairs. I would prefer that you be out with her and have her on a long line so IF the behavior you are asking of her is not realized... you can enforce it and reward it immediately. Otherwise... by you NOT being able (by virtue of not being downstairs with her) to enforce it... you are pretty much saying it's 'ok' not to do it for you. (make sense?) You are in essence providing Alice with the opportunity to "fail" so to speak. Once she realizes that it's ok NOT to come to you when you ask her to... and you aren't available to MAKE her come to you... then consistency goes out the window. If she comes... wonderful. If she doesn't come -- what then?

The amount of time you spend on this is not worth as much as the quality of time you spend. 5-10 minutes a day on a long line in various locations on various surfaces will yield good success over time. Never ask her to come to you if she has an "out". Make sure you don't give her an out.

What you are doing on your walks is good.... but I personally would make the walks just fun times and not concentrate on the "come" command during those times, but that's up to you. My walks with my dogs are total fun times and I don't work on training with them during those times. I want it to be fun.. relaxing... and bonding times for us in a relaxed environment where I'm not asking a lot of them other than to just enjoy themselves. But this is my preference - it may not be yours.

Training time is training time... and walks are walks sheerly for the enjoyment of them.

Keep treats in your pocket at all times that it's possible for you to do so. If you are back in the bedroom making up a bed and she comes to you... treat her and say "GOOD COME>>>GOOD COME>>>" and make over her BIG time. Did you give her the "come" command? No... but you let her know beyond a shadow of a doubt that coming to you was worth her while, right? This recognition and reward will carry over into your training time in a very effective way, when you are outside with her working on the command on a long line. She will indeed remember that coming to you pays off!

Remember to keep it fun!  My trainer keeps reminding me.... "Don't take it out on the dog if you screw up!"   (she's right)...

I hope this makes sense...

Thanks Nora,

That makes a lot of sense. I didn't even think about if she didn't come and the message that would send.    Starting today even if it's in the dark we are going to do recall on the line. I really need her to learn this command and I need to make the time, even if it's late. On the walk I do say Alice come, but the walk should be for fun. Thanks Nora, starting tonight we do the line recall, she can still learn in the dark right.

so I went home for lunch and had only 4 minutes to work with her but it's a start. I put her on a lead and let her wander off, she kept staring at me like "we are in the yard, what's with this?" because she was looking at me she came every time I said "Alice come". Lots of praise and rewards. that was all we did, we will continue this tonight and this week then next monday start the next step.

Okay, I can do that. Now how do I teach the wait? I got confused?  Do these commands work on men too LOL??