It’s distinctly human to rush through the things we are learning, or are teaching our dog, to get a slice of the end behaviour we want. This is particularly true in the realm of pet dog ownership. It’s also human to focus only, or mainly on what we want, and prevent a dog from doing something that is natural for the dog. This includes roaming, chasing, exploring, hunting, and social interactions.

If you resist a dog’s natural instincts you’ll find yourself always in a state of management and you’ll be using equipment designed to prevent the dog carrying out the behaviour and choosing where you can and cannot walk your dog.

In some cases this is very necessary but in other cases you can use your dog’s powerful inherent traits to yours and the dog’s advantage. Fundamentals must be put in place to establish steadiness, direction and recall training. If you are dealing with powerful instincts I believe your training should be exclusive to this.

Outlets can be provided through the training to align with your breed’s motivations. It takes work securing the fundamentals in teaching a dog self-control, reliance on the owner, and establishing a sound recall.

Look carefully at all the stuff you do with your dog and ask yourself, ‘Is this functional to what I really need from my dog in daily life?’

Rather than hindering your dog’s instincts the focus should be teaching the dog that you are the access to the dog being able to act on its instincts. That access through you comes with being meticulous in teaching the relative cues and commands, developing them into steady emotional behaviours, and work on extending the duration of them in various settings so that you know you have a degree of reliability before you test them. Reliability is about developing behaviour you can trust. You cannot trust a behaviour that has been partially, or loosely taught.

If the dog is not ready to run free then so be it. That is not a backward step as it can be in some owner’s minds. It is a necessary and current step on the road to the end result you desire. It’s a very necessary part of the process of your training.

The process, taking the time with it, and evaluating where you both are in that process, let’s you know how to choose your ground more confidently, and what you and your dog are ready for at the next stage.

Everything put into place in solid Recall Training provides you with planning the next steps properly. You get to assess your own and your dog’s ability as you progress, and your insight through your training work gives you the confidence of what your challenges are .

We can waste time doing pointless stuff if we are really struggling in a particular area.

What do you want?

What do you really want in your dog?

What exercises are really worth teaching with the future in mind, and what will work for you in the big picture?

You don’t rush it, you don’t spoil it with too much free running and over-exposure. You consider the age of your dog, it’s stage of development, and what must be managed well as you train.

Reliability is borne of repetition and consistently good responses. To get that consistency don’t rush the process. A few good recalls in a particular place doesn’t mean you have a great recall. Part of solid recall training is steadiness, which is the dog resisting the urge to run off from you towards something more attractive. That in itself requires ongoing consistent work. It is a behaviour useful in any daily situation and not only relative to field work. There are many factors to good recall training. Gun dog trainers know and value the benefit of fundamental training, taking their time, and managing the dog’s environment well before they up the levels of exposure. A rock solid foundation is a the key to all the end results they want.

Often the aims of some enthusiastic pet owners of sporting breeds can be different, but the outcomes with the dogs that are without foundation and the care and management of exposure, results in problems a working handler will prepare for and train meticulously to avoid.

We can all learn the value of a good foundation and training the fundamentals. Going back to basics if you have to is not a bad thing. It is a valuable and responsible thing to do. The process is enjoyable when you put your mind to it and gain in confidence with the results you acheive at each stage.

Identify this and train exclusively for it in everything you do!

It is Training for Life!

The Life You Want with Your Dog!