Yeah, but think of the entertainment this would have provided for onlookers!

I once went to a local park armed with raw meat, hoping desperately that this would entice Dex to come back on command.

You can imagine the looks I got, as I jumped up and down shrieking at the top of my voice while brandishing pieces of raw steak....and Dex still chose not to come back

Hmm...I coulda sold tickets and made some money off it I suppose

Time to start random rewarding rather than every time.
It is an achievement!

Mistakes give you the opportunity to reassess your methods and perhaps use your common sense rather than sticking rigidly to the 'rule book'.

Hi
Sounds like you're doing a great job in persisting with this and not giving up! Good that you're trying lots of methods as well. Have you considered taking your dog to dog training sessions maybe to help you have a breakthrough and then keep up the progress?! I know it's not an option for everyone but I really found dog training sessions helped Not sure where you're from but I went to a great guy in Croydon! Good luck with it all

Just came back to update & realised there were some replies I hadn't seen! Sorry!

To update, we've now started to do recall on walks & she is doing surprisingly well Her recall in the garden is near perfect now & we have taken Muddy's suggestions to treat randomly when she comes in, which seems to be going well.

Work on Molly's emergency stop is also going very well & is proving to be a great way to get her to stop in mid chase, rather than getting her to recall. I don't mind having to go and fetch her as long as she is still & not actually chasing!

As far as interrupting her during chasing, this is also going much better than before. She still falters a lot & it is a learning curve but I can now call her off about half the time if she's chasing something in the garden. If she begins to chase on a walk I just do what has been suggested & tug her towards me. It doesn't stop her from learning to chase but it stops her from practising it at least

I've also discovered that she recalls really well if I run backwards away from her while alternating between slapping my knees & making weird pincer-like movements with my hands! This makes me look like some weird crab lady to other walkers but Molly seems to like it

Once again, thanks everyone for your help & suggestions! It's given me a new insight into how to train recall with Molly & has made me shake up my techniques which obviously weren't working. We're going to continue to persevere but for now things are looking good

Glad you are getting there with her!

When I got Cara she was bad at taking off to get to any other dog she could see (even miles away!!) So I used a long line, and yes I had to reel her in, but I only ever called once, no need to teach her there will be a second call or third! lol As soon as she was back with me I rewarded her with excitement and treats at the beginning and released her to run again straight away. After a short time the treats went to random, sometimes none sometimes one sometimes a jackpot (whole handful). By doing the reel in at the start it made her practice the right thing not allowing her the option to fail, and taught her that really good things happen around me when I call. I also never called her at the time to leave and go home so she would not associate recall with end of fun. She is now at 98% recall, with any luck she will get 100% soon.

Don't know if that would help you but gives you another way to try. Good luck if you keep trying you will get there in the end!

Well I need to take some time and read this thread from beginning to end. Until last night I would have said that Molly had 100% recall. I have recalled her successfully from deer and birds in the past but last night was her first encounter with rabbits. She went into the 'zone', not even a flicker of acknowlegment that I was calling her! Back to basics me thinks. Difficult to train for something that you only encounter rarely and that they usually see before you do. I'm sure I'll find some good advice in this thread when I've had time to read it

It is EASY to train for rabbits, much easier than hares or deer!

Find a gundog trainer and a rabbit pen!

Sounds like you've done a wonderful job with Cara

Honestly, this is basically what we've been doing since I got her, just without the reeling in when she didn't recall. It is working slowly but surely, but learning that I should be reeling her in has helped because it doesn't give her the chance to practise unwanted behaviours It's weird how adding such a simple step into our process is having such a large effect!

It's been a very informative thread so definitely have a read through Good luck with your training!