Why doesn’t my gundog come back on the recall whistle when we’re in the countryside?

Picture this: you're out in the countryside, enjoying a walk with your gundog. 

You blow your recall whistle or call their name, expecting them to rush back to you as they do at home, but get nothing. Zero response. They don’t even look up from what they’re doing. 

In your garden, their recall is impeccable. But out in the countryside, surrounded by the intoxicating scents of nature, they become deaf to your calls. They're off hunting and exploring - nose on, ears shut off.

If this scenario sounds all too familiar, you’re not alone. 

It's a frustrating, sometimes alarming experience for many gundog owners, especially when safety becomes a concern.

Irrespective of whether they are a family pet or a working gundog, all dog owners should adhere to the Countryside Code, and if your dog isn’t on a lead, they should be kept within sight and under effective control at all times.

It is also always good practice to keep your dog on a lead around livestock, particularly as farmers can shoot any dog that is attacking or chasing livestock.

As of 18 March 2026, changes to livestock worrying laws in England and Wales (the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953) also mean dog owners now face much stricter consequences if their dog disturbs, chases, worries or attacks livestock. It doesn’t take physical contact for an offence to occur - anything that causes stress is enough and fines can be unlimited.

If you suddenly come across livestock while your dog is off lead, it is absolutely vital that you know you can recall them immediately.

In this blog, we explore why your gundog won’t listen to you, what to do if they ignore your recall and how to train a reliable recall so that your gundog comes back when called, even in challenging environments.

Why doesn’t my gundog listen to me when we’re on a walk?

Before we dive into teaching a reliable recall, we need to understand why your gundog finds it difficult, sometimes impossible, to respond to cues like recall during your walks in the countryside.

The countryside is rich with stimuli that can easily overwhelm your dog's senses. Scents, sights, and sounds, such as those from wildlife or other dogs - there’s a lot going on in this environment, and it can very easily tip the balance away from you and towards everything else that’s grabbing their attention.

When there’s an abundance of external distractions, the loss of “control” over your dog can happen very quickly, especially if they are young or if you’re a first-time gundog owner trying to understand and get to grips with your dog’s breed-specific quirks.

It’s not that they’re ignoring you or being difficult. They’re simply responding to what feels most relevant and rewarding to them in that moment, which is driven by their instincts and past experiences. 

At this stage in your training, your dog might not have many past experiences powerful enough to override the pleasure they will get from following their instincts to keep hunting. 

As you spend more time training together and your relationship develops, and countryside environments become less overwhelming, you will be able to shift this balance, helping your gundog learn from past experiences that listening to you is more rewarding.

Simultaneously, we must remember that our gundogs are bred and trained to respond instinctively to certain environmental cues. If they appear to have stopped listening, it is worth understanding what’s happening in their body when they switch into hunting mode. 

When a dog bred for hunting is following scent, their brain is prioritising that information above everything else. After the scent of game triggers a hunting sequence, their focus narrows, and other senses, like hearing, become far less important. 

They might understand the recall cue, and they might be within hearing range, but when you’re calling them, they might genuinely be incapable of registering this noise in the same way. In that moment, their system is prioritising scent processing, and their natural instincts are overpowering learned behaviours such as recall.

How do I get my gundog to come back to me even when we're in a distracting environment?

Transitioning your gundog’s recall from a quiet garden to a distraction-rich countryside involves a combination of patience, technique, and understanding of your dog’s instincts. 

One. Begin training in a less distracting environment, like your garden or a familiar, quiet place. This helps establish a strong foundation for the recall behaviour without overwhelming distractions.

Two. Use a consistent recall cue (like a whistle) and associate it with positive experiences. For example, at Clicker Gundog, we like to use a range of games and rewards to build a positive association with the recall cue.

Three. Gradually expose your gundog to an increasing number of distractions and challenging environments by playing these games in different places.

Four. Repeat recall games frequently and use high-value rewards to reinforce the recall behaviour, such as their favourite treats, toys, or activities like letting them hunt a bit of cover. The key is to make returning to you more rewarding than the distractions they encounter.

When training a recall, particularly in a highly distracting place, try to avoid calling your dog away from something they want or enjoy doing. This is because the recall cue can very quickly become a punisher. 

You must avoid doing this in the early stages of training, so if you need to recall your dog away from something good, you might want to consider a temporary verbal cue.

If you do have to use your whistle recall, you must go straight back into the conditioning process and play hundreds of repetitions of the recall games to balance this out.

Training in distracting environments takes time and persistence, so you will need to be patient and consistent in your approach. 

Remember, the key is to make responding to the recall cue more rewarding and exciting than the distraction itself. As your dog's training progresses, they should learn to prioritise your cues over environmental distractions.

What to do when your gundog ignores your recall?

If your gundog ignores your recall in the heat of the chase or exploration, it’s crucial to try and remain composed and strategic.

Always avoid showing frustration or anger. Dogs can pick up on your emotional state, and negative reactions can make them less likely to respond in the future. 

When your dog returns after ignoring the recall, do not scold them, as this can create a negative association with returning to you. Always reward your dog for returning, even if it takes longer than expected. This reinforcement makes them more likely to come back in the future.

If your dog runs away from you, do not chase or run towards them. Chasing can trigger their prey drive or make them think it’s a game, encouraging them to run further away.

If your dog looks at you but doesn’t come, try showing them a high-value treat or their favourite toy to entice them to you. As mentioned before, we need to make coming back to you more appealing than whatever distracts them.

Avoid repeatedly calling. When they don’t respond, it will weaken the effectiveness of your recall cue and will become white noise. Instead, wait for a moment when your dog is less distracted and try again.

If ignoring recall becomes a habit, it’s a sign that you need to go back to basics and reinforce the training in less-distracting environments before gradually reintroducing distractions as your dog’s recall improves.

Recall is a skill that must be nurtured and reinforced regularly, especially for gundogs often exposed to highly stimulating environments. You might need to take a step back and consider if the training process is lacking in some aspects – perhaps the rewards are not motivating enough, or the distractions are too challenging at the current level of training.

If your gundog often ignores you and you’re struggling with recall, it is advisable to use a long line for safety to help you retain control over your dog.

How to train your gundog to come back when called

The step-by-step recipe below will help you to condition your recall whistle cue to food. In time, the whistle cue can be conditioned to anything your dog regards as valuable. 

Step one: Throw several pieces of food to the floor around your feet, and in front of your dog. As your dog is eating, blow your whistle cue. You can also do this while your dog is eating their dinner, or use their dinner scattered on the floor for the exercise.

Step two: Repeat this as many times as you can each day, and do so consistently at least once a day for several weeks. 

Step three: Include some social interaction, such as physical contact, scratching their ears, allowing them to rub against you, stroking them, and talking to them as you do this. Create the idea that being close to you and having contact with you is a great place to be. Blow your recall whistle during this interaction. The combination of food and interaction with you will increase the value. 

NB: You may find that when very focused on their work, some dogs will not enjoy physical contact. The older they get, the more evident this becomes. It is no longer reinforcing but actually irritating to them. If you see this in your dog, leave it out and just talk to them as you deliver the food. 

Step four: Change the sequence around. While your dog is away from you, at some distance or in another room, whistle your recall cue and as your dog arrives, scatter food at your feet. Make sure it is a good scatter - one piece of chicken won’t cut it. 

Step five: Gradually increase the criteria, whistling your dog from one place to another. Always reinforcing prompt arrival with a combination of food and interaction with you. 

At this point you can add in your click. The click should be for speed and purpose, not for location. 

Step six: Change from scattering the food on the floor to delivering a number of pieces of food (6 minimum) from your hand. Do this slowly, increasing the length of time that your dog is with you. 

Do not focus on a specific behaviour at the end of this recall. You do not need a sit in front at this stage and adding this in too soon will slow down your dog’s response. Imagine it’s like running into a brick wall. Allow them to come into your space at speed, it’s the speed that you want associated with this cue.

Keeping your recall reliable in the long term

The recall will be a lifelong project. The minute you become complacent

about the behaviour and its solidity is the time your gundog will be three fields over with you running behind like Fenton’s owner in Richmond Park. 

The real skill of your recall is not actually establishing the required behaviour but keeping and maintaining its quality and association with the whistle cue. 

Our gundogs hunt because they love it. It is not instinctive to break off hunting and return to you, and so the value of reinforcement must be redressed, and the conditioned response to the cue must be maintained. 

The higher the value, the greater the strength in the behaviour - this is the motto that should be adopted with this.

Helen always carries food with her, and her dogs are always rewarded for prompt response in as many situations as possible, no matter how old they are. The reward used can and will vary depending on the situation, the dog and the environment. This keeps the recall strong.

Sometimes our dogs are rewarded with an environmental reward e.g. immediate return to hunting or retrieving. Other times, a food reward is sufficient. But we don’t believe that just one piece of kibble is ever enough for your recall training.

If you’re finding it challenging to work through the recall steps listed in this blog, or need personalised guidance, then now might be the time to seek help from the Clicker Gundog team. 

If you have an older dog with an ingrained recall issue, then 121s would be the best place to start. Click here to view our in person and online 121 options. 

If you have a puppy or younger dog and need help transitioning recall from the garden to the greater outdoors, and would benefit from support with other aspects of training, then you might want to consider joining our classes. 

Click here to explore our range of weekly evening classes, which cover topics like recall alongside the other essential gundog behaviours. 

Or here to join our monthly Puppy, Beginner and Pet Gundog classes.