My very naughty but lovely girl had/has impulse issues and I may as well have been trying to connect to life forms on Mars. After reading Pippa's book Total Recall our problems are resolved and I have a solid whistle recall. Important to follow the steps and don't rush ahead. Good luck! also buy extra whistles and let it be the first thing you put on when you go out the door.
If you google north/south fetch it should come up but basically I read to throw one ball north and the second ball south so that in order for my dog to get the second ball he had to run right past me. After many struggles to teach him the "re" part of retrieve this method worked best on Oban. Then I just did the same thing with the whistle, after he'd clued in a bit.
The "puppy switch retrieve" means throwing one toy/ball/dummy in front of you for the puppy to chase (no steadiness). Once he has it, you encourage him back to you and, as he reaches you, you make the second toy/ball/dummy "come alive" by jiggling it, to encourage the puppy to drop the first one by your feet, at which point, you turn 180 degrees and throw the second. Pick up the first and repeat for a few reps. It's similar to a ping-pong recall, where you throw big chunks of treats to "north" and then "south" in the same way, blowing your whistle as the puppy turns back to you - and eventually just before the turn.
