I think it's a great tactic to start teaching the recall. It's fun, it's a game and it gets the dog ecstatic to come to you. You can shorten it up as you go....from running a longer distance to turning and running just a few feet and then turning to face him when he's just about there. Somehow, in dog body language, when you're not facing them squarely or bending toward them, they come better. That position (facing them, bending toward them) tends to stop them in their tracks. It means
"stop and stay where you are" in dog. LOL. So, to get them the idea to come, why not make it a fun game with a yummy treat at the end of the run? Get them all excited so they come fast and furious, then turn and start working on the sit in front of you. Later you can eliiminate the turning and running away part.
That's basically what I did with Lyric. I started with the running away game, then was able to face him and he'd come just fine. At first, there were a few times when he ran right smack into me. LOL. I had to start backing up just as he was sliding into home plate. But that's OK...you want them to come fast, promptly and happily and every single time. Later you can work out the bugs.
As Doberluv said, try only to use the command when you can enforce it, like on the leash.
Yes...if you're going to use the command. I prefer not to have to force the dog with the long line or leash if possible. I'd rather have the dog choose the correct resonse. The cue isn't that important at first. Get the behavior by some other means....like we were talking about, enticing, luring, making a chase game, whatever. Get it so he's coming to you almost every time for the reward of fun and a treat. THEN start adding the cue. Say it exciteably and upbeat, stacatto....really rev him up for a good time. But
only say it when he's just about to crash into you and get his treat. Later, when you're sure he's connecting that cue word and the act of coming to you, after quite some time....AND he's reliable 90% of the time, then try giving the command before he comes. But for a while, I'd have him on the long line, just in case. You don't want him to lose a chance to succeed.
One other thing: most people assume that the cue word is what drives the behavior. It is not. It is simply a communication to tell the dog what to do after he's learned to associate the word with the behavior. What drives behavior, what causes the dog to repeat the behavior is reinforcement, a reward which is valued enough by the dog to raise the probability of his repeating the behavior. It's like this: your wife wakes you up and says, "go to work." You know what those words mean so you go to work. But if you never got a paycheck or any other type of reward, you probably wouldn't go to work. The paycheck is what drives the behavior. So, until the dog learns the cue, it makes no sense to make him think about two things at once; what this noise is you're making (the word)
AND what am I suppose to be doing? Show him what you want...get that going really well, then boggle his mind with an English word. He'll get the association then. I hope I didn't forget to say, "reward, reward, reward" with something
HE likes.
Now, all this time you've been practicing where there are first: NO distractions. Your living room, then yard maybe. Then: someplace where there may be a person or two walking by. Then, where there may be a dog and a person. Gradually add the distractions. Just because a dog is good at home does not mean he'll be worth beans somewhere else. They don't generalize well. If you want a reliable recall, set him up to succeed, to add as many reinforcements to his "bank account" as possible. And that means starting with low distractions and gradually adding them.
Hope that helps. My tendonitis is killing me. LOL.