The trick to teaching a dog to come when called is to never let him make a mistake. Until you are 99.9% certain that the animal will respond to your COME command, he should NEVER hear the word COME without being under your control (i.e., on a leash). As he begins to respond well on a 6-foot lead, increase your distance gradually to 15 feet, 25 feet and up (clothes line can work well). I had to work my first dog on a 100-foot line for months before she was reliable. He MUST be convinced that you are in control ALWAYS.

If you get yourself into a situation where the dog is loose and you need to get him back:

First of all, SHAME ON YOU! But don't despair. Try any and all of the following:

• Get the leash and collar and walk him down. This may take some time, but it should give you time to figure out what YOU did wrong. Do NOT use the COME command. When you catch up with him, DO NOT PUNISH HIM (I know, I know, I've lost nearly a half-inch of my tongue biting down and trying to smile at this point.). Put the leash and collar on him and work some of your RECALL lessons, praising lavishly! The dog MUST BE CONVINCED THAT COMING TO YOU IS THE MOST WONDERFUL THING TO DO IN LIFE.
  NOTE: If at the beginning of this problem you DID use COME and the dog failed to respond, then instead of working lessons, snap-correct the dog ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE POINT WHERE YOU FIRST CALLED HIM -- NO MATTER WHAT THE DISTANCE, saving "Rover, Come" "GOOD boy!" -- "Rover, Come" "GOOD boy!" You now know the benefit of not getting into this situation.
  
  
• RUN THE OTHER WAY and pretend you're having a wonderful time. Dogs LOVE chase games. Again, NO PUNISHMENT. When you have your hands on him, put the leash and collar on and work some RECALL lessons or snap-correct back to the point of origin.
  
  
• If your dog is not heavily involved in physical activity (like chasing the neighbor's cat), it's possible that he might respond to food, his favorite toy or - I've even opened the car door and offered to take him for a RIDE. If you use the RIDE ploy, be sure to start the car up and go at least to the end of the driveway and back or you'll lose your credibility (This is just in case you ever make this awful mistake again -- but, of course, I know you won't.).