Rethinking Lily's Bringsel Stranger Retrieve with Sue

I have a conundrum.  A training conundrum.

For Lily's Bringsel Retrieve A Stranger behavior, I want her to go to a stranger....with the bringsel in her mouth (and held calmly)....and Sit in Front.

Have been working on this w/Wendi, Jan etc but now am working with a non-trainer friend twice weekly.  Suddenly Lily approaches Cindy and sits about 45 degrees on Cindy's right side....meeting all the other criteria but at her side.

But I WANT a Front Sit.

She gives Front Sit w/bringsel in her mouth w/me.  W/Wendi.  W/Jan.  But NOT with Cindy.

How to train a Front Sit to a "civilian"?????

I have taken the chain apart and retrained each smaller behavior but have never been faced w/this dilemma.

Suggestions? ? ?

"I'm thinking that getting noticed is a heck of a lot more important than getting her front correct. I'm pretty sure she knows that sitting behind you staring at you is not how to get your attention. Start refining that idea now so that she ALWAYS has to be in front of you before you notice her telling you something."

That's my quandry.  I trained it using Sit/Front.  Wendi and Jan were my helpers.  They know what Sit/Front is and what it looks like.  When I began working w/non-trainers the Sit/Front precision gradually deteriorated bit by bit.....by deteriorated I mean became less precise.  AND I accepted it.  Volunteers are so awefilled about what she is doing that they have trouble waiting for the "correct" position, take the bringsel faster, give the food faster.

With Cindy, Lily CONSISTENTLY now places herself in the same 45 degree angle on her right side.  Cindy turns and Lily follows and maybe by the 3rd turn hits it.

My quandry:  Should I maintain the Sit/Front criteria?  Should I change criteria?

Here is a rather long video if you have the attention span to even watch it at this point.  I know that you have to save the energy that you DO have for your Golds.

This was our first time training in public.  Lily has been to this location before.  Cindy had not.  The only distraction that "caught" Lily or bothered her was some smell on the ground.  But as far as the behavior goes.......the first time out Lily was crazy.  

https://youtu.be/kPbTvfCPieY

IMO

The sit is important. A dog standing in front of you is intimidating or trying to play. A dog sitting in front of you is trying to tell you something.

The position isn't important. I think it would be solved completely if she were actively trying to sit and make eye contact. What's a perfect front for any of these people (if you can see the black guy's face - he is going to eat that girl with fava beans and a nice chianti)? 

Lily's having a problem holding on to the bringsel and getting the person to take it. Her desire to pass it over is making her chomp on it, flip it around, drop it (?). I'd calm her mouth down on it but that's a separate link than WHERE she presents it to get noticed.

Her bring-the-person is brilliant at this point. 

What if she presented to a person who didn't pay attention? What if she went and sat in front of somebody and got no reaction? What does she do then? Does she try harder to get eye contact? Think of this as a housebreaking problem. HOW does the dog get your attention? Left to right, my Giants would 1) put it in her lap and poke it towards her hand; b) put it in her lap close to his hand and poke it; c) poke his magazine; d) run alongside/in front poking it toward her.

Lily's got the poking/chomping thing. I'd go for ostentatious eye contact (let her work for a second at getting attention, then WO! HELLO! WHAT HAVE YOU GOT? with eye contact, THEN take it and let her initiate the tow.

Lily can better eye contact from in front of any person than she can off to the side. Turning away from her is CUEING for a straight front. Nobody's going to do that. What they're going to do is just not realize she's there - not make eye contact. Let her push for eye contact.