Thinking ahead to this aspect of training.... if you are working on a recall and the dog is unexpectedly distracted (someone in the family or another dog/animal unexpectedly comes into the picture) and you can foresee/know that the dog will Not obey an already made recall signal, what do you do?
Anytime a recall fails, for whatever reason, I would always go straight up to my dog and get his attention or put him on lead or do whatever I was going to do had he come to me on the recall. The big thing to avoid is using your recall cue again and having it fail a second time. Then I'd think about why the failure happened and modify my training (eg including training on ignoring that distraction when a recall cue is given). It happens, so good on you for having a plan for it ahead of time
I've had this issue with water. We'll be walking along, turn the corner and there's a beautiful lake just calling Ella. She takes off straight towards it. I have chosen not to even attempt to use my recall in this situation as I know she'll ignore it. Instead, I get to her as quickly as possible and pop her lead on. Next time, I'll put her lead on before we come into sight of the lake so she can't run off. Depending on the circumstances, I'd then judge a "safe" distance from the water (i.e. the distance where I know she wouldn't be completely distracted) and practice a couple of recalls before continuing on with our walk. The aim is to slowly get closer and closer to the water.
I've wondered if it's OK to use an alternative recall - if your dog knows more than one. eg - verbal fails, so pip the whistle. I have done this with success, but I don't know if it's going to be causing problems or not. In general, I don't recall if I think it will fail, but sometimes a fail will surprise me - usually it's an invisible sniff.
In theory I'd like to think I'd do as Rachael suggests, not to recall again but to go to the dog and put him on lead and not reward the ignored recall. In practice, it's another story. I did this once at an agility lesson where we were we were already marked as a trouble ... Homer went over one jump then ran off towards the edge of the field, I chased after him wellie boots and woolly hat flying calling and calling to deaf ears, although as soon as he set off I immediately knew and realised he was desperate for a poop and he only goes under bushes. I do try not to call more than twice, and watch if he's sniffing or engaged and only call when he's paused and I'll get his attention. I also have an emergency call, which includes me running backwards in an exaggerated way which gets his attention back to me quickly.
Don't worry, I've heard people mutter that about me and Obi at our dog club ("...she has absolutely no control over that dog....") and I'm supposed to be an instructor!
If I know Mabel won't obey the recall cue I don't use it. On the whole her recall is superb except where picnics are concerned so I always pop her on the lead. Recently we were walking along the river and she disappeared through a gap in the hedge. I whistled, no sign of her so I squeezed through the gap to see her "helping" tidy up food in a marquee after a small family wedding. The family had decided to have the wedding reception on public land as they had no outside space so they didn't mind too much. I just ran and collected her, and profusely apologised.
