What do we think of this?

[Qest12]

We rarely use treats to train hunting and retrieving – I may only resort to food when I'm running out of ideas. I only use food in the first few months of the pups life to establish heel and maybe recall and sit if needs be......but that’s it.

[Hepe]

Holy crappola, i have some reading to do and since i get mails from this thread i seem to have contributed too. Bit worring since i can't remember writing anything, i dread what i will find, did i write something while tipsy?

Interesting discussion and here we sort the wheat from the chaff come to dog training.

Helene

[Springfield Pointers]

We rarely use treats to train hunting and retrieving – I may only resort to food when I'm running out of ideas. I only use food in the first few months of the pups life to establish heel and maybe recall and sit if needs be......but that’s it.

Also only use treats on young dogs for basic obedience/yard work, and probably stop with them at about 4 months. The last thing I want in the field is a dog that is focused on me because it thinks its getting a biscuit. But once a dog starts hunting the main prize should be the bird not a sausage.

[Hepe]

We rarely use treats to train hunting and retrieving – I may only resort to food when I'm running out of ideas. I only use food in the first few months of the pups life to establish heel and maybe recall and sit if needs be......but that’s it.

Also only use treats on young dogs for basic obedience/yard work, and probably stop with them at about 4 months. The last thing I want in the field is a dog that is focused on me because it thinks its getting a biscuit. But once a dog starts hunting the main prize should be the bird not a sausage.

I'm pretty much the same but i've never ever worried that the use of treats would make my dogs be too focused on me in the field cos of treats, seriously, are you? It's just me being forgetful, finding the smell of sausage or liver forgotten in my jacket pocket for some weeks rather gross. Also, i build my training chain in a nice way, i'm not good at everything but that's one thing i'm doing great - how to build up expectation and rewarding with another activity. So my choice of reward is mostly not a treat but some bit of training which this particular dog loves and feel great at.

That said, my dogs also get hunting clever and learn to anticipate runners, quick sends etc, and i LOVE it! That is the kind of hunting dog i look for, being smart and clever and learning from experience. Yeah, we might fluke some trials but so what..? It's my errors for letting them learn by doing. I rather fail cos i got a clever experienced hunting dog than lack of attitude and will.

Helene

[Bryn]

Trekmoor answered the question for me , i am also selective in wich dogs to use in open field situations and woodland

Surely dogs should be able to handle both? Or do you use different breeds?

Maybe if you have a choice of dogs it'd be worthwhile selecting them according to their strengths?

you mean by breed? IE shooting over spaniels or pointing dogs? I like a dog to be able to adapt, so a good hunter should handle the ground and the conditions.[/quote]

Corrected the original quotee, I think.

In an ideal world we'd all have pointers, retrievers and spaniels but unless you're loaded or make a living from it most of us tend to stick with one breed. I would hope that any dog would be able to handle any terrain within reason but what I meant was that if you have a particular dog that isn't too enthusiastic about water but excels in stubble/grassland and another that is part otter but isn't too fussed on stubble, would it make sense to have the first dog on say driven partridge and the other on flighted duck. For me its academic as I can only ever see me running 2 (maybe 3 ) Springers, I just put it the idea out there as a thought.

[trekmoor]

Huv ye nae ambition man......get a cocker.

Wullie

[Springfield Pointers]

You guys need pointers that can swim

[Bryn]

Huv ye nae ambition man......get a cocker.

Wullie

Nah I want to keep what's left of my sanity

Now got access to 2,000 acres of hill that would suit pointers but I'm struggling to keep up with my springer..........old age and a hard paper round

[Hepe]

You guys need pointers that can swim

That is what we in Sweden call a tuliprose!

Helene

[Springfield Pointers]

You guys need pointers that can swim

That is what we in Sweden call a tuliprose!

Helene

you're going to have to elaborate a little...