Recall and responding to voice commands reliably are absolutes with me. I was talking with a dog trainer who advocated clicker training. The idiot had no answer when I asked what she'd do if her dog was running toward traffic and she didn't have a clicker.
I teach all dogs the command " Stop"...which is to be taken literally...whatever you are doing, wherever you are going etc. needs to stop immediately.It has saved the life of every dog I've ever owned .
Stopping on voice, whistle or hand signal is vital to me. Pup has to stop and look or he can’t be directed to a blind retrieve. I also need to stop him if he’s far ahead trailing a pheasant so that the flush happens within gun range. I just catch up and then release him again.
I’m a stickler for obedience on or off lead. Every day, all the time. It seems that lots of guys allow this to go by the wayside once more advanced tasks are introduced. I think this often leads to sloppy overall performance.
