The video Dougie's owner sent me

What you’re watching

Dougie is out ahead on a field track with a lot of open ground around him. He gets called, turns, and comes the whole way back at a run. Then he does the bit his owner had wanted from the start. He comes in tight, turns round, and sits between their legs facing out, waiting to see what happens next.

Nobody was stood off camera prompting him. His owner had a phone in one hand and that was it.

Why that finish is worth having

Most dogs come back in a loose sort of way. They drift in, swing wide, hover a few feet off, then wander off again the moment something rustles. On an empty field that passes for a recall. Next to a road, or with a nervous dog coming the other way, it isn’t good enough.

A dog that comes back to a fixed spot is much easier to manage. You can clip a lead on without a scramble, or hold him still while a cyclist goes past. He knows where he’s meant to be, so he isn’t weighing up other options.

How we got there

Dougie’s owner told me this was the goal at our first session, and we built it up in stages. Young dogs find the rest of the world very interesting, and rushing it would have cost us time.

The part I’m proudest of is that I wasn’t there when this was filmed. I train owners as much as dogs, because the recall has to work on a wet February morning when I’m miles away.

“Me and Dougie have just about mastered the recall, with him coming back in between my legs. This was one of the main goals for me from the start, so I had to share it with you.”

Dougie's owner