training for public

Question
Hi,
I have a yellow lab, she is 10 months old. She has housetrained and is a great pup! The problems I'm having with her are when I take her out for exercise. She walks very well with a training leash that goes over her snout. She gets excited when she sees people, but she is easy to handle and distract. But when she sees another dog, I have no chance! She somehow gets out of the training collar that was around her nose, collar stays around her neck though, and pulls me and acts crazy as she wants to approach and play with the other dog.. She is not aggressive towards them, just wants to get to them so she turns into a nut. And she is so much stronger than I am so you can imagine what I look like trying to hold her back! (which doesn't usually work well)
She had the opportunity to play with dogs and was around people when she was younger, so it's not like dogs are new to her. How can I get her to stay calm when she sees another dog when we are out for a walk or playing in the park?

My second question is pretty relevant to the first.
When she is off the leash and we are playing ball, something will catch her attention and she is off and won't come back on command (which she does only indoors or outside of our house). She will run into the woods or somewhere I can't get her, and I'll have to run in the other direction for her to eventually follow me. It makes me too nervous though, how can I train her not to stray on instinct?
This really makes me anxious and I would like to feel more comfortable when taking her out. Any advice is appreciated!!


Answer
You must practice "leave it" and "come" at home, every day, very often when there are few distractions. Then you can add distractions and continue to practice. You want those two things to be so ingrained that when you say those words she responds immediately without thinking.

For leave it:
Level 1
Place a treat in your hand and let her see it. When she goes for it, close your hand so she can't get it and say "leave it". When she pulls back and looks at your face, give her a different treat or toss a ball or something. Repeat 20 times or so until she is instantly pulling back and looking at your face the minute you say "leave it". Mix it up with different kinds of treats and toys, some being the thing to "leave it" and some being the reward.
Once you've practiced this inside a bit, practice outside, on the porch or in the yard where it's somewhat calm and quiet, but still exciting outside.

Level 2
Take a fabulous treat and drop it on the floor quickly covering it with your foot (wearing socks only, you need the socks to protect your foot, but shoes could hurt the dog). Tell your dog "leave it" and when she pulls back and looks at you give her a different reward (another treat or a toy). Repeat several times. As she gets the idea, you can go slower with your foot. After you've practiced this indoors for awhile, try it outside in a relatively controlled environment.

Level 3
Take your dog for a walk outside in a place you're pretty familiar with and that's relatively quiet. Bring treats. When she starts to sniff some interesting thing, say "leave it". When she turns to look at you give her a treat. Repeat this a few times till it seems he has the idea. Then take him to a place where she might see a dog. Walk close enough to the dog so that she notices the other dog, but not close enough so that she goes ballistic. Say "leave it" and when she looks at you give her a treat. Keep walking along that edge where she can still be calm and everytime she looks at the other dog and starts to woof or strain, say "leave it" and turn and walk away and as soon as she is calm and paying attention to you, give her a treat.

For Come
Level 1
Have everyone in the house spread out, everyone gets treats. Have them take turns calling the dog and then giving her a treat when she comes to them and sits down in front of them AND They have a hold of her collar. If she won't come at first, start by having the last person who called her lead her to the next person on her leash.

Level 2
Take your dog outside on a long line. Let her run around loose-ish and periodically call her over, have her sit and grab her collar and then give her a treat. If she doesn't come right away when you call her, reel her in on the long line.

Level 3
Only after your dog is coming reliably on the long line without any help from you, take her to a fenced in area and practice. You should be calling her to come over for a treat or to play a bit with a toy 90% more often than you call her to come over for something she might see as unpleasant, like the end of playtime.