Positive I'm doing something wrong...?

Okay, I'm pretty sure I am messing up somewhere. *sigh*

Lizzie had a fantastic recall for about a week of walking offleash, then something "snapped" and now she barely looks up when I say "Lizzie Come!"

I have no idea what happend, I praised her, gave her treats, then released her to go back out and sniff/run. What am I doing wrong?

I mean, she would come back to me and "check in" then get rewarded. If I called her she would come running back and get a treat and her praise word ("yes") then I would give her release command ("okay").

What happend? Should I just keep her on a long line till she re-learns(or whatever you'd call it) her recall?

She acts like her brains have fallen out =/

How old is she . . . and is she spayed?

Dogs, like humans, hit a certain age, and become deaf to all authority figures. And bitches in heat often have 'their brains go to Florida' . . .i.e. they become total flakes for a while.

Sarama is on a waiting list to be spayed . . . long story . . . anyway, she, naturally enough, came into heat last week. Let me tell you, for a few days, she acted like she was totally untrained. She just flaked out . . . was anxious . . . deaf to all commands . . . just . . . nutty. That's stopped, thank god, though she's still in heat and I have to be really careful with her. So, that could be it.

Or she could just be a teenager . . . other that that, I don't know. Did you call her once and she not come and then got in the habit of not coming?

it also could be that her recalls just aren't solid yet, and she has realized that she is off leash.

i would put her back on a long line.

She's 3 years old. And she's spayed. Though it DOES seem like she's PMSing.

It started 2 walks before this one. We went and she was just NOT listening, so I put her back on leash and walked swiftly away not letting her sniff anything and she had to stay right beside me till we got home. Then the second time she was a bit better but COMPLETELY blew her chances at having off leash privledges for a while. She broke her Sit/Stay and ran 200+ ft away from me after "something". Then would not come back when I called her. So of course I went and got her leashed her and she sat when I told her to so she got praised. So it was a little better, then she was on HIGH alert the who walk, then I come to find out a Pitty has been following us the whole walk in the woods. He's a total love-bug(I pet sit for him) so Lizzie and him have been together since puppyhood, but haven't seen each other in a year, so he was all up in her face and she didn't like it but put up with him. We walked home and got him back to his owners.
Then today we go on a walk and she's on her 20ft line. She would come sometimes, but not every time. And when she wouldn't come back I would pull her in and praise her then release her. Am I doing that wrong?

Are you praising her and giving her rewards even when she doesn't come to you? No matter what she does, does she get a reward? Does she get rewarded for slow sits, maybe stays and so, so recalls? If so, its a good deal for the dog, no matter what their preformance is they get a reward...........
Positive is not permissive. You also have to have a variable reward system, the dog never knows what the reward is, when it is going to receive it or how much. But having said that, in the very beginning you have to train with a high rate of reinforcements, but they should be faded as the dog becomes better trained and reliable.
You also have to train through the three D's, Duration, Distance and Distraction. I would also suggest that you never give the recall unless you know she will respond, if she wont then all it does is reinforce them not listening and responding as we want.
Do you have a large fenced area (several acres is great) that you can train in?
Also, what would she do if you just turned around and walked away instead of going to her or following her after she failed to respond to the recall? That is a hard one, but depending on the dog, the situation etc, it can be very effective.

Get Leslie Nelson's DVD "Really Reliable Recall". Praise may not be what your dog wants to work for. For the first eighteen months that I own a dog, they don't get off the long line, then I put them on a tracking line for a month or so. Any time they respond to "come" (and I only call them when I'm reasonably sure they are already on their way), they get liver, not a pat on the head. If they don't come, I simply reel them in gently and show them the nice liver that they could have gotten, but didn't. Next time I call, they arrive in hope of not having that happen again.
And, I never chase them, call them for anything unpleasant, or predictably call them to stop play, go home from the beach, etc. I usually call and release, call and release a few times, so they don't know when the fun stops for real. My dogs learn that being near me means great stuff is going to happen for them. Another trick, if the dog doesn't come? Squeal with glee, like the party is moving, and run away. Or, get on the ground and squeal as if you found something really cool. The dog may come to investigate. Under all circumstances, reward the dog when they get to you (just not if you have to reel them in)
As a result (thank you Leslie), I have four dogs with rock solid recalls, and one of them is a hound.
You can do it!!!