Recall training for older Springer Spaniels

A 10-year-old Springer with fading recall is actually a really common situation — it's not that they've forgotten, it's usually that the motivation and habit have drifted over the years. Reliable recall is the single most important skill a dog can have, and the good news is it absolutely can be refreshed even in older dogs. The most effective combination is almost always a high-value treat paired with a long line so you can practise safely without the risk of them just ignoring you and disappearing. Before I point you in the right direction — is the recall patchy in specific situations like other dogs or distractions, or has it become generally unreliable? And are you after training aids, treats, or both?

Classic Springer behaviour — their nose takes over and everything else ceases to exist. That selective recall around distractions is actually easier to fix than general disengagement, because you know exactly what you're competing with. For a 10-year-old, I'd keep training sessions very short — five minutes maximum — and make the reward so good that coming back to you genuinely competes with whatever the smell or dog is offering. Does he have any known dietary sensitivities or allergies I should factor in when suggesting treats?

That's a big advantage at his age — food drive holding strong makes this very workable. Here's my recommendation: pick up a pack of Forthglade 100% Natural Chicken Liver Treats. They're soft, small, and smell genuinely strong — exactly what you need to cut through a Springer's distraction threshold. They're single-ingredient, so they're gentle on an older dog's digestion, and the smell travels, which actually helps when you're calling from a distance. Pair these with a 10-metre Flexi or fixed long training line — something like the Trixie Puppy Training Lead in 10m — so you can let him range naturally but have a safety net while you rebuild the habit. The method is simple: let him drift to the end of the line, call once in a bright voice, and the moment he turns toward you, mark it and reward heavily with the liver treats. You're rewiring the association between hearing his name and something brilliant happening. Do that consistently over two to three weeks and you'll see a real shift.

His name is fine if it hasn't become negatively loaded — meaning if you've ever used it in a frustrated or firm tone, it can lose its pull. If you suspect that's happened, it's worth introducing a fresh recall word like 'come' or even something unusual like 'here' that he has no prior history with. Start the new word indoors with the Forthglade treats so it gets charged up with value before you take it outside. Either way, the key rule is: never call him to you for something he finds unpleasant — nail clipping, bath time, going home from the park. Always go and get him for those. Recall should only ever mean 'brilliant things happen.'

Starting fresh is a smart call and honestly quite easy to do — dogs pick up new recall cues faster than most people expect when the treat value is high enough. Stick with short sessions, keep the long line on until the recall is rock solid across multiple distraction levels, and don't rush to go off-lead until he's nailing it eight or nine times out of ten. At ten years old he's still got plenty of good training years in him — Springers are sharp. Good luck with him.