There is an old lore in gundog training, `never give a command you are not able to enforce!'
Using recall on a dog that is doing its own thing and is effectively out of control ( I'll deal with that later), is just such an occasion. If you think about it all you are doing is teaching the dog to ignore you, even if the dog comes back eventually you can neither correct its slow response or reward its return, as it has returned under its own terms and not to any instruction you have issued. Even if you chase the dog and catch it, you have effectively returned to the dog rather than the other way round, so what does this teach it?
This is why, time and time again I try to instill on owners the importance of the STOP, it should be taught and taught and taught again, a dog should NOT be off a lead if you have not got it `ON THE STOP' as you have not got control of that dog! ( No matter how much you try and convince yourself!) Yes, there are times that even dogs `on the stop' succumb to temptation, after all training the stop requires training it in all `environments' in a steady progression, so you are bound to reach a point where temptation breaks your training point. However being a simple action to command, the dog can be brought back to the point of transgression and corrected quickly and positively re-trained, this is well within the abilities of the dogs understanding, and by re-training in the very environment that was beyond your reached training point, you effectively continue moving forward. Yes it would be wise to take a step (or two) back in `environments' and re-train the stop there over the next few days ( weeks), but you would have at least used the transgression in the most positive manner. Even at this breaking point, a well trained stop may give you an extra second of distraction from the temptation to reassert your authority and take back your control, when the dog was going to break. A second blast on the stop whistle may stop the dog in this period of thought, and whilst this should not be used frequently, ( as it teaches the dog to ignore the first whistle), it can maintain control of the dog.
A well trained stop effectively means the dog sits without thinking about it, the act of sitting at the very least will break the dogs stride and allow the `temptation' to move further away and create a `pause for thought' in the dogs mind, which, if you have the respect of your dog is really all you should need, after all you are the boss, aren't you? You were leading the hunt were you not? You and the dog were communicating through out while it was hunting ( off lead)?
Now for the `out of control' bit. I'm not going to beat around the bush, FREE running is not a RIGHT for the dog, it is something that has to be earned through obedience. Yes we all like to see these dogs running free, and yes they do get obvious pleasure from being able to do it, and yes some of us don't want to be constantly attached to our dogs via a lead! BUT THATS WHY WE TRAIN. By putting a value on free running for the dog, we can give the dog the correct perspective for the whole relationship that we are in. The dog has to learn that everything in its life depends on us, everything has a price, and its a price the dog pays us not the other way around.
I often get the impression that some think my own dogs must lead a very restricted, disciplined life, however this can not be further from the truth. I put the training in early, and establish their boundaries and consistently maintain them, they have more freedom and leeway into mischief because of this! Because I have their respect and they have my trust, in them and their training, they probably experience more freedom than most dogs, and all this because I can train a dog to sit on a blown whistle!
Peter
I missed the bit about yipping, at eight months this dog is far to young to be loose around game, and not being directed/led by the handler. The yipping is out of frustration as it senses are being activated without the mind being shown the purpose. The primary purpose of your dog is to find and POINT the game, for YOU not chase and kill it itself. You need to act quickly before this yipping becomes habitual, or your dog is going to be effectively useless as a gundog. Once again the stop can be used to correct this, both from `cooling' off a `hot' dog and building an understanding of your understanding of the fact that the dog has found game and it has been appreciated. Stopping the chase and building steadiness can also be rewarded at the stop, or punished by returning the dog to the lead and finishing the `hunt' if the dog refused the stop.
Given the post as a whole I would advise curtailing ALL free running until you build the dogs focus on you as there are obvious communication issues that need addressing before you let the dog anywhere near game. The best discipline for this would be concentrating on retrieving and obedience and stay well away from hunting either intentionally or by free running. Barking should never be rewarded except when its tortverbelling.
