Dog running away when walking near it

Question
I am currently looking after my friends German Shepard for a couple of weeks.  It is only 7 months old and seems to walk away from anyone once you walk out the back yard.  She has not been belted or anything thing like that.  She does it with anyone.  

I have experience with obedience training and used to be an instructor 19 years ago when I was 13.  I was supposedly the youngest in Australia at the time.  I have completely forgotten.  Can you help me out please.  

I have tried calling her with a small reward (food) but doesn't work.  The only way I can think of doing this is to try her on her lead and practise like a recall and get the lead to go longer and longer each time.  If you have any ideas, I would appreciate it greatly.  

Thanks
Scotty

Answer
Hi Scotty,

Thank you for writing to me about your friend's German Shepard.

The dog doesn't understand what you want from her.  She's just a baby and hasn't been properly trained for recall yet. If you try to teach recall with a treat, it must be something that is particularly delicious (like a piece of chicken) and prior to her feeding so that she is hungry.  Only use this treat for the training session.

Keep her on the lead during practice time and don't practice recall unless you have everything set up precisely. Instead, go to her with the lead, hook her up and take her back inside without fanfare.

Practice just a little bit a few times a day, maybe 5 minutes each time.  When she starts to respond, you can make the lead a bit longer.  Praise her to the sky when she responds, even a little bit.  

Do not practice where there are distractions because you don't want to set her up for failure but rather success.

Make your sessions pure  fun.  Watch for signs of fatigue and don't continue beyond that point.  Again, you want to aim for success.

Use praise along with the treats.

Best of Luck,
Shelley Davis