Teaching your French Brittany puppy to come when called.

This should be the most simple and self explanatory thing ever, yet so many people struggle with this. If you don’t have a good recall, you don’t have good field handling with your bird dog, you don’t have a good retrieve, and you can’t help keep your dog from danger.

The simple truth is dogs are pack animals and want to be with the pack. I am the undisputed pack leader of my pack. My dogs want to be with me.

I never ever under any circumstance call a dog to me for discipline or punishment. All that does is teaches a dog not to come to you.

If I am the most fun thing in the field or the room or wherever we are, the dog will want to be with me. Recall is that simple. Be fun and the dog will want to be with you.

In this short video you will see me introduce the recall to a young French Brittany puppy. I offer the puppy a chance to be with me when we go for a walk, and if we get separated I offer them a chance to find me. When they get distracted I create this opportunity by running away. I never chase a dog that has run off, then it has taught me the game of chase and it will always be like that. I run the other way and let the dog come chase me.

I call them to me and give them ample praise when they get there. At this age and stage of training, praise and affection are all that is needed for a reward. There is a time for treats and other rewards, but they are not needed yet. I want a dog to come to me because it wants to be with me, not because it is hungry for treats for example. Else why would it come to me when it doesn’t want a treat?

Now what if you already have a problem or you have an older dog you didn’t do this with? To some extent it will still work, but there are other ways to work those problems. Head over to the academy for more videos on that.