I'll chip in on the recall, because it is an important thing to learn.
At his age, you want to make returning to you the best thing ever. In a very few months adolescence will kick in and he may well regress, so the better the foundation now, the less hard work for you then.
A few tips - if you have fallen into the common trap of calling him repeatedly and he isn't complying, you have shown him that responding first time is optional - not what you want. So start again with a new cue word or even a whistle (shout out if you would like more info on that), and use it once only. Also use a long line (only ever attached to a harness, not a collar, to prevent injury to his throat) so he can't fail. In training, choose your times to practise recall carefully.
By that, I mean practise in low distraction areas like your garden or even the house, before slowly building up to harder places.
Reward him really well for recalling - if you want him to come to you rather than chase a rabbit, you are going to have to make coming to you a really, really attractive proposition. So the reward should be something like chicken or frankfurter sausage and deliver several small pieces quickly. To a dog, several tiny pieces is higher value than one piece of equivalent size.
When he recalls, play a little too, and release him. Coming to you shouldn't mean going on lead and end of fun.
At his age, you want to make returning to you the best thing ever. In a very few months adolescence will kick in and he may well regress, so the better the foundation now, the less hard work for you then.
A few tips - if you have fallen into the common trap of calling him repeatedly and he isn't complying, you have shown him that responding first time is optional - not what you want. So start again with a new cue word or even a whistle (shout out if you would like more info on that), and use it once only. Also use a long line (only ever attached to a harness, not a collar, to prevent injury to his throat) so he can't fail. In training, choose your times to practise recall carefully.
By that, I mean practise in low distraction areas like your garden or even the house, before slowly building up to harder places.
Reward him really well for recalling - if you want him to come to you rather than chase a rabbit, you are going to have to make coming to you a really, really attractive proposition. So the reward should be something like chicken or frankfurter sausage and deliver several small pieces quickly. To a dog, several tiny pieces is higher value than one piece of equivalent size.
When he recalls, play a little too, and release him. Coming to you shouldn't mean going on lead and end of fun.
