Training a Gundog Isn't Hard - Lesson 3, the Recall

By Ken Devonald

The Recall

The perfect recall is for the dog to come at a run straight to you, without responding to distractions such as rabbits being flushed, and then to sit square in front of you, head raised and watching you for the 'Finish!' command.

The advantages, besides looking good, is that if a problem arises in the field, you can call the dog away from it straight away. If you are American, and the problem is a bear, you may prefer to practice the send away, so wait for lesson ten!

The head up position is used to present game to you without you needing to bend (too far). When the dog is watching your face, you can give a facial command to finish.

Most pups will come naturally by the time you start training seriously, and a little attention will go a long way in reinforcing the kind of finish you want.

The Finish can be performed in either direction depending upon your preferences. If you are right-handed and use a double barrelled gun, the chances are you will have the gun over your right arm, taking the game in your left hand and with the gun barrels pointing down in front right of your right foot. In this case, to finish properly without knocking the gun, the finish to your left, where the dog moves to your left before turning round to sit in the heel position. If you are left-handed, the finish is better executed by the dog doing a two-seventy circle starting by heading to your right and finishing again at your left leg.

Problems with the Recall

Sometimes, (often due to previous tensions with a retrieve) a dog does not wish to come straight in. This is why you can never punish a dog when they do approach you, even if you have spent the last three hours chasing the blooming thing from one end of the shoot to the other.

If you have a fairly hard dog, and you are convinced that he is not worried by the recall but is choosing not to come, you can emphasise that he must come by attaching a long lead, giving the whistle and pulling him in. When he is (forced) to come to you, make him sit, and praise him up (strange as it seems, you are trying to positively reinforce the recall!)

Ken Devonald has two German Shorthaired Pointers and has previously trained spaniels. He lives and works in the Scottish Borders, where he has plenty of opportunities to train his dogs to work rabbits. He is currently developing a Gundog Training Site, which you can visit here!