Gundog training: Heel and Recall 

Same here with a brittany spaniel, three years old rescued from the streets... i have no idea how to get her focused on me for longer than 20 seconds. E- and prong collars are forbidden in my contry. i have tried couple of methods in the last two yeats, small progress but still very challenging/frustrating outside. have you tried feeding them in your garden by letting them search/sniff the food on the ground (dry food bits spread all over the lawn..) for 10 minutes? that will tire out the nose/brain a little, maybe it will help..

@@philippvonow1676 Haven't got much of a lawn but in the last 2 days I may have seen the beginnings of a solution. A 30 metre long training line which means he can have something like freedom in the field let him go and just before he gets to the end I whistle and call and leap about making a real fuss. Every time so far he has turned to recall and I keep up all the antics getting even more excited all the time, eventually with arms outstretched as if welcoming him into a great big hug. His arrival is so fast that he can't stop and overruns by a metre of so before turning to sit and get his treat, usually ham or cheese rind. On the first day after 5 recalls I simply turned my back and headed towards home whereupon he came of his own accord and then passed me to arrive in the garden ahead of me. Only 2 days so far, the 2nd in the forest, no problem as he trails the line in and out of the trees instead of me doing it. The line is bright red and I can easily keep an eye on it to make sure it is always within my reach. Looking good, but we'll see. I have long been an opponent of the dangerous dog laws based on breed, asserting that it is always training and not breed that is dangerous, and that led me to realise that I was making the same wrong assumption with Jules, blaming his genes for my lack of effective training.

@@davidmarkersnr.1888 hello, any tips for the nose to the ground ? I have same problem as you described, dog is heavily focused on new smells and I have really hard time teach him anything, since he does not focus on me or even meat and he also pull really hard, partly fixed by Halti, but it does not seem as solution

In case Adam doesn't answer (please jump in to correct my advice, Adam, if you disagree with it), I'd say, based on some years of dog training experience, that you COULD reshape the response to "come", but it would be easier to use a new word. I recommend "here" because it can easily be drawn out ("heeeeere") at a high pitch if the dog is at a distance. Get one person to hold the dog while the other walks away, turns, and gives the "[Dog's Name] heeere" command, at which point the dog is released and shoots over for a very high-value treat like cubes of roast chicken or cheese. Don't insist on a sit. As soon as the dog has wolfed the nibble, give the thumbs up for the other person to call out "[Dog's Name] heeere" -- and so on, back and forth between the two of you. You can gradually lengthen the distance between you, hide behind a tree, etc, to keep the exercise interesting. But don't make it exhausting. Five or six of those back-and-forths twice a day for a few weeks should get results. Make sure you DON'T use "here" during the training period unless the dog is facing you without other distractions and you have a high-value treat to offer. FWIW, hope that helps.

@@joannasheldon2146 This sounds like good a idea. I have purchased a ACME dog whistle too which should help over distance. I'm also thinking that over time I can morph the HERE command once it's solid. The slight challenge is that I live on my own so I'm using the sit command and training lead. Also he's extremely motivated by toys especially a ball or tugg so I'm using that too. 🙂

I live in France and have to bear in mind that my foster will be rehomed to a French family (maybe), so started off with French commands. However I have noticed that he does reply to 'here' as well as 'vien la'. His history is both French and Spanish so I now have a suspicion that any dog will quickly reply to any language very quickly as long as it understands the requirement. Whether it chooses to obey is quite another matter. Jules responds to both French and English commands both of which I use regularly. It is only with his nose to the ground in the field where he ignores me. I could be speaking fluent dog for all he cares out there;-(