Spaniels - what comes first, hunting or handling

[Naj]

As a matter of interest, you say you have been encouraging him to hunt, has this been along the lines of encouraging him to quarter to you within the type of pattern you'll expect of him at a later age, or have you encouraged more along the lines of free-hunting him but not to any set pattern & with the minimum of control?

Naj

[Bryn]

You have to find a balance. You can have all the basics you want but sometimes you need to switch a dog on. I like exposing a dog to game the moment it has understood the long whistle, and that for me is early on. You can bore a good dog to tears by doing training drills until it's one and "you feel" its ready. Many good dogs are ruined by over-control, and you get a dog that is terrified to think for itself. Once a dog learns the partnership between it's nose and the gun, and if it is a good dog, the birds will put the rest together. People are too afraid to let the dogs make mistakes.

Anyone can bore their dog by doing too much of anything; like you said it’s about getting the balance right. It’s also about having a good bond with your dog and being able to read it - knowing when to stop or carry on.

All I’m saying is; the brakes need to be installed before you go any further, the longer he leaves it without the brakes the harder it will be to install them, and to a good standard.

By brakes I mean foundations, by foundations I mean things like:

Recall
Sit/Stay
Heel
Sit whistle
Recall whistle
Directional work
Taking a straight line
Marking

Ok at what age do you think it would be correct to introduce those 'brakes' and when would you introducing hunting and retrieve?

[Qest12]

You have to find a balance. You can have all the basics you want but sometimes you need to switch a dog on. I like exposing a dog to game the moment it has understood the long whistle, and that for me is early on. You can bore a good dog to tears by doing training drills until it's one and "you feel" its ready. Many good dogs are ruined by over-control, and you get a dog that is terrified to think for itself. Once a dog learns the partnership between it's nose and the gun, and if it is a good dog, the birds will put the rest together. People are too afraid to let the dogs make mistakes.

Anyone can bore their dog by doing too much of anything; like you said it’s about getting the balance right. It’s also about having a good bond with your dog and being able to read it - knowing when to stop or carry on.

All I’m saying is; the brakes need to be installed before you go any further, the longer he leaves it without the brakes the harder it will be to install them, and to a good standard.

By brakes I mean foundations, by foundations I mean things like:

Recall
Sit/Stay
Heel
Sit whistle
Recall whistle
Directional work
Taking a straight line
Marking

Ok at what age do you think it would be correct to introduce those 'brakes' and when would you introducing hunting and retrieve?

With spaniels you tend to let them hunt and be natural first; so they can build their confidence and enthusiasm with hunting and retrieving.

When they start getting too confident and head strong – you apply the brakes, normally around 6 -8 months...or whenever you feel its time.