Adventures Outdoors'

In Wisconsin

A lot of people want to know specifically how long it takes to train a dog. Training is done in sessions, it will depend how many sessions a day you train, what methods you use, how many days a week you train, how strict your standards are, as well as how easily the dog grasps your lesson’s. Normally you should have a hell of a good hunting dog by the second year, and could have a premier hunt test or field trial prospect by that time also.

Don’t ever punish a dog because of your frustration or anger. Respect the dog’s abilities and use pressure (punishment) only when you’re sure the dog knows the task you ask of him.

Consistency in training is most important. If your standard for heel is not for the dog to pass your knee, then you can’t one day let him go 2 feet past and the next day only 2 inches. When you tell a dog sit, and you’re sure he heard you, don’t tell him a second time. Make him do it. If the dog knows what you want, he will respond much better to all training and understand properly without being confused and have a good attitude while training. This is the fairest possibly way to teach.

Praise must always be given when the dog does well so there is never any second-guessing. Dogs know for sure two things, this feels good or this feels bad, (pain or pleasure). I always praise my dogs while their eating so they associate the words "good, good" with pleasure, that way if I tell them in the field "good, good" they will know they are doing the right thing. So many times I see trainers running young dogs and no praise is given. While the ultimate reward for the dog is the retrieve, they certainly want to please us to. When given the cue that they have done the right thing, their attitudes seem to flourish.

Productivity is also very important. If I have 10 minutes to spend with my dog I wouldn’t throw tennis balls for him. I would improve on what he knows or introduce him to something new. Although the tennis balls would give him a little exercise, it would do little else. It might even create some bad habits (remember everything we do with the dog is training). Even when I feed them I make them sit on their platform in their kennel, set their food bucket down and let them wait to be released, by their name before they can eat. This not only encourages steadiness later on (remember were always planting seeds for later training) but it makes them earn the food for doing something I ask of them. While their sitting there I say several obedience commands like "place" (an area I want them to stay), "sit", and "stay", a little extra obedience never hurts, and it certainly can save a finger or two from getting nipped.

Fun Time is also important. While my statement about the tennis balls is true, it is not meant that the dog should always work, work, and work. Fun bumpers (dummies thrown letting the dog break yelling "ok" "ok" "hey" "hey") should be thrown at the end of a training session. Lots of live flyers should be given. And also taking him for walks occasionally.

Future thoughts are good in training. That is we always train for the future. When we set up a permanent blind (a blind the dog runs over and over to build confidence in overcoming a factor} we give ourselves room to back up in the future making the blind a longer distance making the test tougher. We are constantly planting seeds in our dogs head that later will be beneficial to them.

Pressure to most people means pain, but in training dogs, many things are related to the term pressure. When we give the dog commands, the tone of our voice can determine pressure. Saying siiiit, siiit, to a pup is much different then "SIT" in a stern voice. The tone and loudness of the command dictate an amount of pressure. Physically making the dog sit by holding their chest while pushing down on their rear is physical pressure and after awhile of doing this the dogs naturally sit on their own after you give the command. The command is given, and when the dog responds you give the dog praise and maybe a small piece of treat. The dog now knows he is to receive a reward and most times responds accordingly.

On occasion the dog will test you, and after awhile the dog may begin to wonder if this is worth it. Usually while doing heel training the pup will begin to think this isn’t all that great. You will tell the dog to sit, and he will just look at you and may think, "no I don’t think I will sit today". Now the next step of pressure will be needed to let the dog know that this is not asked of him, but demanded. A heeling stick should be used to whack him on the rump then physically pushed into the sitting position and again be praised. Remember in all training you should only give them enough pressure to get the task done.

Not enough pressure is a sign weakness and nagging the dog. If constantly nagged, he will not respond well to training. He will get used to the nagging and just expect it to happen every time he is given the command. A good stiff whack should get them to respond, and if they do then the next time you can lighten up and see if the dog responds better. Every dog responds differently to pressure. Some dogs are quite affected just by a loud stern voice while others, it doesn’t mean anything. The pressure should also fit the crime. You must be sure the dog knows the command and what’s asked of him before you provide pressure.

You will introduce different amounts of pressure through training. If trained properly the dog will except pressure as part of training. We introduce pressure with forced training, such as the forced retrieve, forcing back to a pile of dummies, collar fetch, stick fetch, so on and so forth. By doing these types of training the dog learns how to turn off the pressure by performing a certain way.

Dog Clubs and Training Groups provide land to train on and people interested in training to help you and your dog. This is very important to the amateur trainer. To train a good hunting dog, hunt tester, or field trial prospect you must be able to simulate conditions the dog will experience. To advance the dog’s abilities you will need help. Remember if you are new to a training group don’t let your ego get in the way. Try to listen to the other more experienced trainers and watch how they handle their dogs, as well as watch the way the dog responds. Don’t just show up; let your dog out to run around causing havoc. Always have control of your dog when you let him out of the vehicle. Put a lead on the dog, and then let him off the tailgate or out of the car. This is not only common courtesy but also for safety. We don’t want your new addition to our training group running up to other dogs possibly getting nipped in the nose, interfering with a test or worse yet getting hit by a car.

Try and find time to get involved with the club by providing work hours. Not only will this decrease your dues at most clubs, but you will get to know the members and keep the club going, by providing the needed help to obtain cash flow needed to keep the club operating efficiently. Most clubs gain the cash by holding events such as hunt tests, field trials and picnic trials. These events require a lot of hard work and personnel.

Equipment is something we are going to need to train our dog. There are something’s we simply have to have, and something’s that just make our life easier. See the chart for these things.

Age of the dog is certainly important in the steps of training and how they should be done at what age. But while its desirable to begin at 15 or 16 weeks of age it’s not mandatory. Any dog at any age can go through this program. You will have to structure your sessions accordingly to obtain your standard, and because the dog maybe full grown he may not be able to be physically handled as easily, and he may be slightly more aggressive then a pup. You will have to be patient with this situation but it certainly can and should be done.

Natural instincts a dog uses are very important. We have to train against these instincts often. It sounds like that doesn’t make much sense. Dogs instinctively want to look for birds in cover, in the decoys, and along the shore. They instinctively want to quarter in a field rather then run a straight line. It’s certainly not a natural tendency to sit quietly and wait to be sent or honor another dog’s work. So we must train to go in the straight line, go through cover and beyond cover and past the shoreline, to go through the decoys and well beyond them.

What we want is an awesome hunting companion that can honor another dogs work and wait to be sent. When we train for over and under blinds (two or more blinds placed along the same line or close to it, as to make the dog run past birds he has already picked up) we are going against the grain a little, but it must be done. Some people think that it’s just for the field trials, but these scenarios happen often while hunting, as you shoot birds that landed past previous birds that were picked up. Some times during training you may question yourself if you could be taking the natural abilities of these dogs away. Your still going to have retrieves in decoys, in cover, along shores, and not always honoring another dog, but your going to teach your dog to also go beyond and learn to be under control. We are going to train the dog to retrieve past an island, past a point, as well as on it. We are going to teach the dog to be the best he can be.

Washouts or dogs that can’t seem to grasp the training or don’t have enough desire to retrieve occasionally pop up in the retriever world. If the pedigrees and history of the parents are researched properly this is very unusual. But I have seen trainers train a pup the first year, knowing this dog doesn’t like this and simply wants no part of all this training. But the trainer simply won’t give up because the dog is loved by the family or is a great housedog, or whatever. It’s a real shame to see these poor trainers wasting all this training on a dog that hates to be trained.

Most dogs with good hunting, trailing, or hunt test pedigrees love to be trained and love spending time with you in the field, some loving it so much you would think they are border line spas cases. But they really love this game we call the retrieve. Don’t waste your time with a dog you know doesn’t enjoy the game.

There’s another dog out there called a washout, but this one could be a good dog. Some people have super high expectations of a dog like winning the National Retriever Open Field Trial. If they think the dog cant win it after an amount of training then they will wash him out of the program. He still might make a heck of a good hunting dog and maybe a Master Hunter in the AKC hunt tests. These can be great dogs to pick up at a bargain price with little training to keep them tuned up.

Other people washout there dogs for medical reasons. The dog might not be able to breed but still would make a fine hunter. These types of washouts are usually fully trained and can cost a pretty penny, but for someone that doesn’t have the time or patience to train a pup it might be worth considering.

Communication with your dog is extremely important; cues or language, verbal and bodily will help your dog understand what you want. Giving your dog verbal cue’s like "good, good" when he is doing the right thing, "no, no" for doing the wrong thing or "mark" (for a thrown bird), "dead bird" (for a hidden bird), "there it is" (when he is pointed in the proper direction on a blind), "no bird" (when he is to honor another dogs work and not retrieve), and bodily cue’s like holding your arm out in a certain direction while the dog is returning on a retrieve and is a little off line, to indicate to the dog to go to that direction. I like to hold both my arms out and at the elbows I bend my upper arms downward and hands down while the dog is returning from a retrieve when the dog crosses an angle in a trail or road or piece of cover or angle in the water to indicate to the dog to stay within my arms while returning. After a while the dogs really pick up on this. If the dog is a little off line on the way back I might toot the whistle and gesture in the direction I want him to go in.

When the dog picks up the bird I give a couple of quick toots on the whistle. I don’t think its necessary to blow you’re whistle the entire way in. After the dog gets older I rarely even give him the come in whistle when he picks the bird up. He knows he needs to come back with the bird. That way, if I do blow the whistle, it seems to mean a little more.

Another body movement dogs really pick up on is, while they are running a blind retrieve, before he finds the bird, and a "come in whistle" (a whistle blown to make the dog come straight towards you) is blown, toot-toot-toot, the dog should come straight to you), the handler bends down slightly. Later on when the wind is blowing, and it’s hard to hear the whistle, it will reassure him to come in. Talk to your dog when he can hear you and try to reassure him.

Weather conditions should also be considered while training. If it’s hot, say over 80 degrees, keep a close eye on the dog and try to do lots of water work. Don’t overdue it in hot weather or you could lose a good dog. Some dogs will go and go in these conditions until they drop. Always give the dog plenty of water and rest before you put him away. Cold weather is probably not as critical to the dogs, but lots of water should still be available to offset dry conditions. The problem with the cold is probably getting the helpers to come out, or for us to build up the stamina to get in the cold. There is no reason to cancel a training session because of rain or snow; we certainly don’t cancel a hunt because of it. If its 35 degrees and raining, grab some warm waterproof gear, a towel for when you put the dog away, a hot thermos, and go out training. This is the weather that separates the Men from the boys, and you can usually tell by their dogs. Oh by the way don’t forget to tape the packer game.

Force Training a dog to retrieve and hold an object is a must for any hunting dog or dog that is going to run hunt tests or field trials. Its easy, can be done in a fairly short time and will make your dog a willing happy retriever that’s going to do it right. This is important bonding type training. You’re going to find out a lot about your dog, as he will of you. The procedure in this book will get you through force training easily and quickly.

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