Why wont my gundog listen to me?

I am often asked, “Why won’t my gundog listen to me?”​

If I could wave a magic wand I would get this question rephrased as “Why can’t my gundog listen to me?”

Because, more often than not, there are obstacles in the path leading to your dog being able to listen to you, mostly those obstacles are either added by us or there through no fault of our own and simply not removed by us. If you want to find out more about why they can’t listen to you, simply read on…

Why can’t my gundog listen?

The primary reason that your gundog can’t listen to you is that their head is elsewhere!

Some reasons why that might be the case are:

• Overwhelm: This one I see a lot, this can be sensory overwhelm (this one is common) but it can also be emotional overwhelm (such as for reactive or anxious gundogs)
• Lack of connection: Please don’t take this one personally, it doesn’t mean your gundog doesn’t love/care for you it simply means that their are overriding factors when they are out and about that affect your connection, this can be fixed!
• Past history: If your gundog has had some negative experiences in the past this can cause them to disconnect &/or switch off/disengage when they are asked to do similar things again, it is avoidance and not stubbornness but is often mistaken for such!
• Health: This one is massively overlooked. I have seen gundogs not want to go into a down, gundogs not wanting to sit for prolonged periods, gundogs avoiding retrieves and much more and they were all labelled as difficult dogs however when looked into properly they were suffering from physical discomfort. Physical discomfort can range from something as mild as being asked to sit for duration without building up the gundogs core muscles first all the way to painful conditions such as young arthritis or hip dysplasia and more.
• Personality: Many gundogs love a retrieve or to work but sometimes their will be a dog who’s personality simply isn’t drawn to it, just like humans dogs have unique personalities and we need to consider that when looking at how we live our lives with them. 

Myths about why your gundog isn’t listening​

So let’s leap straight in with those common myths I hear so often, I read about on the internet and on social media, that really need to be resigned to the bin.

• Not being prepared – Before you go out to train recall you really do need to plan, some of the things that don’t get planned properly are what follows next….
• Not understand what their dog truly finds rewarding – I say this one all the time but it can never be said enough because we all fall into ruts of thinking we know what our dog finds rewarding but picture this. You have a favourite chocolate bar, you get this for every good thing you do, everything, how rewarding do you eventually find that chocolate bar? It decreases all the time. So we have to be clever about rewards, how we use them, and what for and to take time to look again every so often and ask ourselves if their favourite reward is still their favourite.
• Thinking rewards are just food – Your dog may have a favourite snack but do they have a favourite toy or game, perhaps they love to investigate good smells. You can use anything to your benefit as long as your dog finds it rewarding.
• Rewarding in the wrong place – An example would be, a dog runs past you whenever they recall, get them used to the reward coming right in front of you, surprise them sometimes with a sequence of treats or games etc
• This one is a biggie….not being consistent – Your dog needs black and white rules, if you don’t teach them that recall is non-negotiable (and it should be for their safety and the safety of others) then to them it is not black and white and you’ll experience the “Just a minute, I’ll be with you shortly” recall or the “I don’t have time for this right now” recall both of which soon become the “I’ll come if I feel like it but likely I won’t” recall as things go downhill. This happens because of a misunderstanding, not because your dog is trying to rule break.
• Not being calm – This is one of the reasons I often recommend whistle training because when you blow a whistle it’s really hard to do so in a stressful ‘tone’ but when you are panicking your voice will give you away and your puppy/dog will know something is up and this can make getting them back even harder.
• Not setting up for success – You have to build up the places you ask for recall carefully, if your puppy/dog recalls nicely at home you can’t suddenly expect the same result in the middle of a busy park, introduce your distractions carefully.
• Lack of connection – When you first start to teach recall make sure you have a connection with your dog before letting them off, don’t just unclip the lead and let them go crazy, ask for a bit of engagement first and keep doing little bursts during the off lead time, always making sure their return is greeted with brilliant rewards.
• Over socialisation – In the bid to create a sociable dog I see many owners creating dog-obsessed dogs, don’t let your puppy/dog run up to anything and everything. When you meet a dog or puppy that you are happy for yours to play with make sure you have a cue/word that gives them permission such as “go play” so they understand there are rules to engagement.
• Not trusting their instincts – As you build up your dog’s recall you will inevitably have to take chances in new environments and situations, however, you should always trust your instincts, if you aren’t feeling good about trying something then don’t. Get some professional help moving on to the next stage in your recall journey.

These are just a few of the most common mistakes I see, if you want my professional help fixing your recall problems just drop me a message using the button below, I am always happy to chat about your dog and your needs!

Remember, treat yourself as kindly as you would others​

When things don’t go to plan:

• You are not alone, we have all been there.
• You are not a failure, when something doesn’t go to plan it is just an opportunity to learn from the feedback.
• Remember, my signature system – 5 C’s to balance the lead – Calm, Consistency, Clarity, Communication and Connection.
• Keep going, today’s failure can become tomorrow’s win.
• You will get there, it won’t always be this difficult.
• Look back often to see how far you’ve come and give yourself credit for each step in the right direction.
• Make your recall journey faster and easier, contact me for help.

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article is not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article. Nina Fotara T/as Confident Canine disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article.