This is a specific conversation about Dog recall training — tools and treats that help — ask about yours and get one honest answer for your exact situation.
inparticular.ai
Reliable recall is genuinely the most important skill a dog can have — and for a high-drive breed like a Pointer cross, the right high-value treat paired with a long line for safe practice is usually the winning combination. To point you toward the best option: what age is the dog, how broken is the recall right now — does he come back sometimes or barely at all — and are you after training aids, treats, or both?
He's 2 years old, Pointer cross. Recall is pretty bad — he just switches off completely when he's on scent. I mainly need treats, ideally freeze-dried and in bulk because I go through them fast. Budget matters.
inparticular.ai
That scent-switching-off thing is textbook Pointer. They're not being stubborn — their nose just hijacks their brain entirely. For that you need something that genuinely competes with a smell trail, which is why freeze-dried raw meat is the go-to. It has a strong, natural smell and dogs treat it as a completely different category from a dry biscuit. What are you currently using, and has anything worked even slightly?
I've tried cooked chicken pieces from home and those Wagg training treats. The chicken works okay but it's messy and goes off. The Wagg ones he'll take but he's not excited by them. I want something that smells strong, stays fresh in my pocket, and ideally comes in a bigger bag so I'm not buying every week.
inparticular.ai
That tells me everything. The cooked chicken is working because of the smell and the meat content — you just need that in a shelf-stable format. My recommendation is Natures Menu Freeze Dried Raw Chicken Treats. They're made from 100% chicken with nothing added, freeze-dried so the smell is intense and they stay fresh for months. They come in 75g bags but you can buy multipacks of four or five which brings the cost per gram right down — meaningfully cheaper than buying small pouches of Forthglade or similar. They break apart easily so you can size the reward, and they're light enough to carry a lot without bulk. For a scent-driven dog this is about as close as you get to 'real chicken' without the mess.
That sounds good. How do I actually use them for recall — just reward every time he comes back?
inparticular.ai
Yes, every single time to start — no exceptions, and make it a big deal when he arrives. With a Pointer cross on bad recall, use a 10-metre long line so he can't self-reward by running off and ignoring you. Call once, reel him in calmly if he doesn't respond, then treat and praise the moment he reaches you. You're teaching him that coming to you when called is the highest-value thing that happens in his day. Once he's reliably coming back on the long line, you start practising in lower-distraction environments off lead. Don't rush that transition — two-year-old Pointers have a lot of instinct to override.
Really helpful, thanks. I'll grab a multipack of those and dig out a long line.
inparticular.ai
Good plan. Search for Natures Menu Freeze Dried Raw Chicken on Amazon UK and look for the multipack listing — it's the best value format. If you want to stretch them further, you can break each piece into three or four smaller bits without losing the smell, so a bag goes a long way. Stick with the long line until recall is solid in genuinely distracting outdoor spaces and you'll get there.
