We have been to see the gundog trainer this morning. It was useful to get his thoughts.
I can't generalise here as he was giving me advice on Zac, but he has told me to go back to basics with lead walking, making sure that he keeps his head up all the time instead of sniffing. Also go back to basics with recall from short to longer distances just to proof it, and to use a long line until I feel that his recall is good enough that he will come back to me in almost any instance. He also said it is important to keep Zac away from areas as much as possible where there are very distracting smells until his recall spot on. However we do have to practice recall in those areas on the long line to help proof it.
Apparently if his head is down then the likelihood is that he isn't listening to me. I am going to hold a tennis ball in my hand to help get his focus as well as a voice command.
There is so much to think about!!! I am just about to start reading the good stuff about the actual training in 'Total Recall'. I am going to try and follow it as best as possible which involves changing my recall command and starting right from scratch. Will keep you posted on this too.
I should add as there has been a lot of comments about this, that the trainer does not agree with harsh methods at all. He believes that the dog is even less likely to come back to you if you use them. I completely trust him as he has trained the gundogs of some high profile people that live near us
