Gundog Training - Recall Exercises

[@AviceYeo]

Jan 2024 Very pleased I found your videos! Best I’ve seen! Down to earth approach, easy to follow and excellent demonstrations, nothing wacky, training with understanding of the breed and lots of fun! I feel energised to review and improve my training with our 3yr old cocker spaniel, Charlie, who has been hard work but i think we’ll get there. Thank you, I’d love to know if you run courses!

[@u88erbush]

So glad I’ve found your videos! I have a 7 mth old black lab and am taking her to gun dog training. Always keen for tips and exercises to work on heel, recall and stay. Thank you for posting.x

[@carolinetison1554]

Very good video! You really love your dog and it is so beautiful to see both of you enjoying the training! I have a 2yo springer and I would like to start gundog exercices. But, even after 3 hours walking, he's running everywhere to smell everythings, so I think I should start the learn him to stay calm and listen to me. It is complicated because he prefere smells to treats ...

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Thank you I’m glad you like the video! 😊 So I would recommend focusing on getting him to use his brain rather than focusing on physical exercise. When you walk a dog off lead for hours and hours every day all you do is create a bit of a super fit athlete which means they get fitter and fitter and so the physical exercise doesn’t tire them out. If he doesn’t like the treats you’ve tried with him I’d recommend experimenting with different rewards to find out how best to motivate your dog. Try different types of food rewards, try different reward delivery methods - if he likes sniffy scatter feeding food rewards he likes might be something that works for him, try playing with different toys and play rewards and you can also separately train a release cue so you can reward a behaviour with a release to go and sniff the environment so you turn they thing that is currently a distraction into a reward. Depending on your knowledge level when it comes to training you might benefit from attending 121 training with a good gundog trainer. If you are in the UK I would recommend checking out the gundog club trainer: thegundogclub.co.uk/instructors/ Also if you want to try some different food rewards I use JR Pet Products Pate which I cut up into chunks. I have a 10% discount code which you could use on your first order: t.mention-me.email/lnk/AM8AALeh6EgAAcom2oYAALlWExgAAO87QCkAAAAAAAEZ0gBhuFhHa_N5Mny_Rfi9eDpTnZ8KMQABD9s/1/VLLOauecBBcO_fGw7n14CQ/aHR0cHM6Ly9qcnBldHByb2R1Y3RzLm1lbnRpb24tbWUuY29tL20vZmUvbm0wZ2otdmljdG9yaWEtY29jaHJhbmU_dXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPXJlZmVycmVyLWZvcndhcmQtZW1haWwmdXRtX21lZGl1bT1ub25vZmZlcnNwZWNpZmljJnV0bV9zb3VyY2U9anItcGV0LXByb2R1Y3RzJnV0bV9jb250ZW50PWN0YSZ1dG1fdGVybT1ub251c2Vyc3BlY2lmaWM

[@robertshockley9380]

Great video. I like that she stops and looks at mark. You really want them to hup on the flush and that mimics that.

[@jeffmcleod9870]

I have to agree with other comments and thank you for the time you put in to post these helpful videos. I like how you adapt to meet Ivy’s and your needs rather than demanding strict control that may be needed for field trials. Merry Christmas to you, your family and your pups!

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Thank you Jeff! It’s my pleasure, I really enjoy making and documenting our training journey, it’s nice for me to be able to look back on our progress and the fact that others enjoy watching them is a massive bonus. I hope you have a safe and healthy Christmas with your family and pooches! 😊

[@andrewsmmm]

Ditto. Thank you for taking the time to make these videos.

[@martinhunt6201]

Great video again! I have learned so much from your channel!! Thank you👍

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

I’m really glad you’re enjoying them. I need to get my brain in gear to start planning some more! 😊

[@matildabrennan5887]

This is so useful for my 6 month working cocker thanks 🙏

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Oh I’m so pleased! Good luck with your training 😊

[@markbennison8642]

Great informative video, Ivy is so enthusiastic great looking dog, my Springer Chester is to chilled out 😅, I’ll try some more high value treats see if that helps.

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it! Yes she is super keen which is great in some respect but also makes steadiness and self control that bit more challenging 😂

[@andywintle7314]

Hi Just found your videos,they are really helpful & informative. We have a 9 month old cocker. What treats do you use that are big enough for the dog to find ? Ones used in your quartering video aswell ? Thankyou

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Hi Andy, I’m really glad you like them. I tend to use JR Pet Products Pate which I chop up into little chunks. I do have a 10% discount code you could use if you’ve not ordered from them before: jrpetproducts.mention-me.com/m/ol/iu8wi-victoria-cochrane

[@marcostevens4086]

Hi Your videos are very good. What age is Ivy in this video. this was 2 years ago how is she going now. my cocker puppy is 13 weeks and I'm about to start this recall . thanks

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Hi! Ivy would have been just under 2 years when we filmed this video. Her recall is really good now, but I will stress that is due to continued maintenance of the recall cue, I did go the a period when I got a bit slack in using and practicing with it and as a result it did take a bit of a dip. I actually did a video on it a while back: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qF68qnVqaJqAhqM So for me the key to a lifelong good recall is to develop a strong cue with good reinforcement history at the start and then making sure to regularly practice it on an ongoing basis to help it stay fresh.

[@Msalaing11]

Would you have any tips for a dog that just gets distracted and won’t come back? I’ve got a 1 year old cocker X clumber spaniel and have stopped letting her off the lead as she has such a strong hunting drive and will run off when she sees or smells anything interesting! Thanks for sharing your videos :)

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Hi there, my advice would be to just go back to basics. To the point of just conditioning the whistle if needed. I would really recommend reading this free e-book on recall as it is a super in-depth guide to getting a reliable recall considering everything in the big picture not just the behaviour itself. www.gundogtrainersacademy.co.uk/f/recall-the-missing-link

[@Sndavies93]

Great video - your channel is so informative! Thanks for creating these videos. Question from me, I notice you’re using a clicker to mark and reward behaviours in your other videos, but are you still using the clicker here to mark and reward or just rewarding with food since the behaviour has already been learned by the dog and just needs solidifying?

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Hi Sean, I’m really glad you have enjoyed the videos! I honestly can’t remember. I think it was the second one you’ve suggested that I wasn’t using the clicker as it was an already established behaviour, but there would have been no harm in me still using it here either, just one extra thing to hold 😂

[@mayfield230961]

I'm really finding your videos very useful in training my 9 month old Welshie pup, so thank you so much for sharing them. The problem I seem to be having when doing the exercises where it is required that I throw food out, before either recalling or, for example, when doing the basics of the stop whistle, is that my dog is so foodie, once he's gone out to get the food, he then continues to search for more and more, even though I only throw one piece. I end up having to 'get his attention' again which I know is the wrong thing to do! He even does this if I am practicing on a hard surface, not even on grass, where he can see the food easily. How can I overcome this? He's not really into toys either. Thank you!

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

I’m really pleased to hear that you are enjoying our videos! So it’s hard to say without seeing this one as there could be lots of things impacting this. But if there was nothing bigger at play then I would probably practice the up down game (which I demonstrate in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKTOZXuNZ52egNk) at home with his food and then just be patience the more you can capture and reinforce him looking back to you the more likely he is to look back to you for “what’s next”. Once it’s reliable at home in various different rooms then I would move to practicing it out to a hard surface practice, expect he will go backwards a bit in a new location but be patient and if you’ve put the work and time in at other stages and the food is sufficiently rewarding then it should come. I hope that helps a little.

[@mrandymartin1]

How does Ivy differentiate between the tennis ball being a treat which she can chase when thrown, and being "steady" to a thrown dummy ? (Hope that makes sense ?)

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Hi Andy, that question make perfect sense. You might not be able to hear it on the video but I have a cue "get it" which I say just before I through the ball. If I say that it's her release cue so she is allowed to chase after it, if I don't stay "get it" she should remain steady. I hope that helps. :)

[@tomasalvesbernardo699]

Hi! Great videos and hugely helpful. I am really glad I came across them. I have one question though. What do you do if she fails the recall? Should we just ignored it or correct it in same way? I understand we do not want the dog to know it can ignore the recall...

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Hi Tomas, I’m so glad you’re finding them useful! Great question! So if I blow the recall whistle and she ignores it I have a few options which I would turn to depending on the situation. Firstly I would wait a few seconds to her time to process and respond to what has been asked of her. If she still hasn’t responded I would generally try to encourage her back using other techniques maybe verbally calling her name crouching down to invite her in or I might try turning and running away from her whilst making myself sound very exciting. In this scenario I would give some form of reinforcement for coming back to reward that decision but I probably wouldn’t reward with their favourite things as you don’t want to inadvertently teach that it’s more worth while for them to ignore the recall cue and wait for the verbal exciting one. Or I might walk up to her and silently pop her back on lead, but you want to be careful with this as you don’t want to initiate a game of “catch me if you can”. I once you have got the dog back I would then work out why the recall was unsuccessful so that you can adapt to ensure you get success next time. For me this is the most important stage, to analyse what’s happened and then set them up for success going forward. The reason it doesn’t work could be for a whole host of reasons, some examples to consider are that it could be it could be that the dog doesn’t yet understand the cue so we need to go back a stage in strengthening the cue, it could be that the criteria is too high (environment too challenging, distance too great, distractions too high), it may be that the reward isn’t motivating enough in that scenario, it could be that the dog is over aroused and so not able to process and respond to the cue, it could be that they are tired and need a break, and the list could go on. Whatever I decide will the dictate where we adapt the exercise, change environment, take a break before restarting or call it a day. I hope that makes sense! 😊

[@tomasalvesbernardo699]

@@SpanielTrainingDiaries Yes it does make a lot of sense! Thank you very much!

[@Tom-zi5xx]

I've just found and subscribed to your channel, great videos! I have a quick question... I have an 8 month old cocker spaniel and I've just started adding some distractions in to my recall training, what would you do if Ivy was to go for the toy/ball before recalling? Mine is struggling when the ball is in sight but fine when the ball is in the opposite direction to me. Thank you!

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

I’m really glad you like the videos! There are a couple of things I might try in this scenario, as I would take that as feedback that I’ve made something in the set up too challenging for the level the dog is at. I would experiment with the placement of the ball, so if they are fine when the ball is behind you, how are they if it is inline with you but at a distance (so you’re in the center of a clock, the dog is at 12 o’clock and the ball is in line with you at 3o’clock). I would play about with distance of the ball, so the further away it is from you the easier it will be so you might start with it 30 yards away and then bring it gradually closer but keeping it inline with you. Before then move on to getting them to run past it, again starting out with the ball at distance before gradually bringing it closer. Or if that’s not working I might look at using a distraction item that holds less value, therefore is less distracting for the dog to start with to help teach the concept of running pass an object without interacting with it before then retrying with the ball. I hope that makes sense! 😊

[@MrBritishTea]

Hello, love the videos! I’m curious, what do you use as a treats?

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

I’m glad your enjoying them! I tend to use JR Pet Products Pate for my treats. I get the 400g multi packs. I then just use one sausage at a time; I cut them up into little chunks, freeze half and use the other half cover the course of a couple of days. Both mine love them! 😊

[@carlospagos89]

Another great video. Started whistle training My 7 month cocker and he can sit stay on whistle and will recall but when I reward he buggers off! Cheeky git! Any ideas?

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Haha this made me smile! Clever git I think. If you’re using food you could try feeding a string of treats really rapidly so they don’t have time to bugger off. Then as you are feeding the last one, give your release cue or cue another behaviour. Then with repetition you can gradually work on slowing the treat string down, and because he will be expecting another treat he will start to hang around that little bit longer. This will also help strengthen his understanding that he should be looking to you for a cue on what to do next. I hope that makes sense. I’d love to hear how you get on!

[@carlospagos89]

@@SpanielTrainingDiaries well it was all going swimmingly but he has now decided to be selective with his listening now! he will keep up with us when walking when we ask him and he turns direction when asked but when reclled he isnt coming,finding the environment more interesting. wait for him to lift his head and call him but still nothing also which is frustrating especially as when his nose is down he will still keep up and change direction when asked. this week we have started basics again and on the long line.

[@rosieschneider5250]

Are you using all of Ivy's daily food allowance when you do any training sessions?

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Hi Rosie, it really depends. When she was younger I gave her all her daily food allowance through little training sessions or enrichment activities throughout the day so she never ate from a bowl. Now she’s older I use some of her daily food allowance for training but she does now get breakfast and dinner. It depends on what training I’m doing, if hunting I don’t use much food, if doing heel work sessions I do so I adjust it to suit each day. I’m also fortunate that she’s a dog whose weight is never an issue so I don’t have to be overly focused on her food intake. ☺️

[@raybede]

I will be interested to see how this works without food and that they dog doesn't drop the dummy

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

If you weren’t using food as a reward, then you just need to adapt the exercises to suit which ever type of reinforcement you’re choosing to use. So for example, with the game where she’s chasing after the food, you could use a toy or a ball in that instance. You could use fuss and verbal praise for some of the exercises. You could also release them out into the environment which is a really good one for the mooch recall in particular. Some are easier to adapt than others, but you just mix it up to suit the rewards that work for you and your dog. Both my dogs have a good delivery of the dummy and don’t spit it out, so that’s never been an issue for us. I think the key with that is just making the criteria clear to the dog when teaching a delivery, so they understand that it needs to go in your hand before any reinforcement will be given.

[@jazzman6858]

Hi there, after watching a few of your videos I am completely in awe of your work. My 7 and half month working cocker is just nowhere near as good as Ivy. I do think thats my fault. I’ve realised that letting him off lead in a park environment with distractions simply does NOT work and can be dangerous. I now use a 10 metre long lead to practice recall with tennis ball / treats but even then its only on his terms when he wants to listen. I’d never let him fully off lead again until he was at the stage Ivy is or near enough as he just can’t be trusted yet. If you have any tips or hints I’d greatly appreciate it ! I am taking him to doggy classes once a week however don’t think its suitable for my high energy spaniel. Gundog training is definitely another consideration. Thanks!

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Aww thank you! Yes I would definitely recommend gundog class lots of people that go don’t ever intend to work their dogs. But ultimately a working cocker needs a “job” of some description that allows them to use their natural instincts in a constructive way so I like to think our gundog training is Ivy’s current “job” as otherwise she’d easily start to become self-employed and that’s when they start to get themselves into trouble. My tips would be to scrap the idea of traditional “dog walks”. I think that has had an extremely positive impact on Ivy. We vary rarely go out to the park or fields and just walk round together. Instead we have shorter outings where we tend to stay in one place and I keep her engaged with me the whole time playing various training games and exercises. That way you tire out their brain whilst keeping them focused and engaged in the training tasks. You can find accredited reward based trainers based across at country at The Gundog Club who will be able to help at thegundogclub.co.uk/instructors/

[@jazzman6858]

@@SpanielTrainingDiaries Thank you for taking the time to reply, I really appreciate it. Ok well I’ve just had a whistle delivered today and was thinking about starting the recall training using purely whistle commands only instead of the ‘Nero, come!’ Command. Do you think start in the house/garden and then work from there? The issue is I have a reasonably sized garden however would prefer a field environment and finding a field without distractions is near impossible in my area. How do you get Ivy to not focus on sniffing the ground / scanning her environment when off lead in the field in your videos? It seems like lots of hard work and repetition in order to get her solely focused on you. Cheers :)

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Yes, great idea to use the whistle and start training it at home and in the garden before moving it out into the field. And when you move it into the field of you can remove the distraction just really reduce the criteria of your training. Honestly the question about how to get focus off lead in the field is a hard question to answer as it is like a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle, it’s a huge mix of things. But essentially yes, lots of hard work and time. Since the day she came home I gave a massive focus on making our relationship strong and making myself the centre of her world as much as possible. That comes into play in every single interaction I have with her. Also I invested a lot of time in developing her drive for reinforcement that I could control; particularly food as she had no food drive when she first came home. Also teaching a release to the environment cue as that enables me to use the environment as a reinforcer but it should only be on my cue. Ultimately working breed spaniels are dogs who are naturally full of drive for the environment, so you’ve just got to put the time in to build a partnership with them. I know that’s not very helpful but I’d say get some professional support, make a plan and set yourself little simple goals and you will start to see him making progress. 😊

[@jazzman6858]

@@SpanielTrainingDiaries thanks. I will practice and practice his recall so much that it’s flawless every time before going into distracting environments. Mixing it up with the ball and treats. I will consider a gun dog trainer definitely . Thanks.

[@paulj2287]

@@SpanielTrainingDiaries Thank you for all your excellent videos. Working with a cockerpoo, I have also scrapped the traditional dog walk. Instead I use a structured dog walk, and will do some fun stuff and training in the the 'be a dog bit' and I think that has definitely helped to improve engagement and been more enjoyable ( for me anyway) .

[@TheMarkcolston]

Hi - really nice exercises! Out of interest, how old is your dog here?

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Thank you, I'm glad you liked them. In this video she was 22 months old.

[@OfficialWilly]

Excellent videoa and really well shot! What time of day do you recommend training? And do you train pre or post meal (assuming that training is around the same time!!)

[@SpanielTrainingDiaries]

Thank you! If it’s around meal times then I will train before feeding or I will use their food for the training session. I hope that helps 😊

[@OfficialWilly]

@@SpanielTrainingDiaries Thanks for the tip! Looking forward to the next video😁