Grading?

"Grading" is a great way to keep a dog interested when you are escalating criteria (making things harder).  Frustration of a failed exercise, particularly one that used to be good enough, is difficult to deal with, and can even make some dogs shut down.

And, in contrast with not coming at all, is a slow recall really such a huge failure, in the big scheme of things?

I use two types of grading.  One is with kibble.  I grade every repetition on a scale of 1 - 20.  That number tells me how many pieces of kibble to feed -- one at a time lets the dog "account" exactly how many pieces.

For example, a super-sprinting, right dead on to me, slamming into a sit recall -- well, that's definitely a 20.  If I have to distract you a million times before you get to me, that's a 1.  And there is a lot of variation in between.  Do I lay out an exact list?  Nah.  I just eyeball it. 

The other type of "grading" I use is not directly food-related.  When I ask for a command, I begin counting until the command is performed.  For example, SIT.  When the dog actually sits, I note how long it took betwen command issuance and command exection -- what number did I count to?  That same amount of time is how long the dog will need to sit before being released.  If the dog gets up, the clock starts over.  What happens is that the rapid responses are rewarded with a rapid release, and the slow responses become an opportunity to practice longer stays! 

**I call this second kind of grading not food-related, but you can certainly give a food reward during and after release.  It's just that the food is not the grading vehicle!

This is a similar practice to what is knowing as "jackpotting" -- only much, much geekier.  I'm incurable.