My advice would not be to pick a dog trainer off some Internet website. You just can't know for sure. You can ask around....your vet might know someone or ask some other dog oriented businesses if they know of anyone. Maybe a groomer's client may know a good trainer. Get reccomendations and make sure the trainer has a good reputation.
Ask if the trainer has titled any dogs, ask what his/her philosophy is...the most important thing I think. How long has she been doing this, any certification or degrees? (although lots of good trainers don't have that)
There are trainers who use harsh methods and that's not fair to a dog and it's not very effective either. Too many yanks, jerks, stern commands can shut down a dog and make learning a real drag, which slows them down.
Ask if the trainer knows about clicker training.....operant and classical conditioning. See if you can watch one class first. Make sure the trainer looks like she knows how to get along well with the owners as well as the dogs...that she can get her ideas across. See how those dogs like it. Talk to the owners. Never let anyone do anything to your dog that you have a bad feeling about. Beleive me, there are trainers out there who do awful, abusive things in the name of training.
I've probably left something out...maybe someone else can add to these ideas.
When I was talking about never giving your dog any freedom, let me change that a little. If you have a fenced yard or you find a playfield or something which is fenced, you can let your dog run around so she can get some real exercise. She needs some of that. But, never ever call your dog to "come" or use any command for coming until she IS already coming right to you.
How I teach the recall...basically: ("Come" means come right straight to me, sit right in front of me automatically) ("lets go" means come to me somewhere close or walk along near me if we're walking. It is not a formal "come" but the dog needs to come near me.) I'd start with "lets go" and go ahead and have your dog come close, but she doesn't have to sit yet. Do that after a while when she gets good at coming close to you, even if it's off to the side a little. Then you can up the ante and lure her in closer with a treat, as close as she can without touching you at first and lure her into a sit. That will be the formal "come."
You can entice her to come by running the other way, hiding behind something and making silly, playful noises, squat down with your arms stretched, squeek a toy...whatever gets her running to you. But DON'T SAY "COME" until she is almost to you, obviously coming to you. When she's about 2 feet from you, then say, "come" and "gooooooooood girl" and give a yummy treat and some happy play and petting. Then turn her loose again to have more playtime. Practice like that or use a long line that she can drag and you can pick up easily... if she doesn't tend to get coaxed easily. That would be my 2nd choice. It's always better if the dog chooses the "right" way instead of forcing her or reeling her in. Do this for a long time before you ever try using the cue word before she's already coming. When she starts coming very quickly after you begin running a few steps back or even if she comes on her own, which she probably will when she has been getting a high value treat every time, you can try calling her ahead of time. BUT.....don't do this in a high distraction area. Don't call her if she's otherwise fascinated with something else. You might fail. You need to beat out the competition of motivators. Again....you can use a long line if you want at first because you don't want to risk her being distracted and not giving a correct response. You must have her come if you say, "come" even if you have to go get her and show her to come.
as an aside: (Don't ever bribe (ahead of time) with a treat though. Reward is different than a bribe and comes after she comes.)
This all takes some time. When you coax her into the house after being in the yard, if she loves being in the yard, be sure that all the fun doesn't end the minute she comes inside. Have a little fun and a treat when she comes in. Same thing if you're at a park or some other fun place. If you call her and immediately put her in the car......fun over. In other words, that's like punishing her for coming. You want to call her and release her again. Repeat a few times, then when you get in the car, give her a high value treat. Coming to you must be the best thing ever......every time. It must be better than anything else going on. No matter how cross you might be at her for some thing.....never ever call her and then scold her. (you probably wouldn't, but I thought I'd throw that in anyway.)
Anyhow, you can choose how you like to do it. You can use a long, 30' line and if she doesn't come, you can always reel her in. That's how lots of people do it and it's fine. However, I prefer when at all possible to set the dog up so that she can succeed by choosing and figuring it out herself to some degree. Be careful that you don't rush things and get too eager to use the cue word before she is coming, especially if she's checking out something in the environment. It's necessary to practice in low distraction areas and work up gradually as she becomes successful at a previous level. It's an ongoing thing, not something that gets solid suddenly. I probably left something out of this too. I always forget something. (hard to believe with these painfully long posts) :lol-sign:
