Originally posted by dolphindreamer28
Thanks for the advice!
I started re-training Sam with the "here" command like some of you said. It's working really well and whenever I'm around the house or in the yard and he's nearby I say "Here Sam" and he comes running to me, (so I give him lots of praise and sometimes treats) but sometimes he doesn't really feel like it so I just have to call him in a really firm tone and he comes trotting over. I have yet to try it offleash in a park but I'm going to the offleash park today so we'll see!:P
I'm sorry to say but you are setting yourself up for failure if you let him off leash when he is not consistently and reliably performing a recall under controlled situations with minimal distractions.
If you let him off leash and he doesn't come when you call and you cannot enforce your command then he will just learn that he doesn't have to listen to you. Each time you call and he doesn't come just sets it in his mind that he is in control.
It's going to take more than a week of training for him to be reliable.
Sorry but that's just my opinion.