It's all about the training!

[Judy]

Or is it?

"Impossible to replicate a shoot day", "you have to train on live game", "need to train in context". For most of us these phrases are depressing as, I would guess, 85% of us have no access to game in any numbers before you take the dog to the shoot. However, I have found the more I train basic obedience and a bit of dummy work the fewer issues I have chucking my dogs in the deep end on biggish commercial shoots. If the core training is good then the dog will rely on you for guidance in all new situations.

I have a caveat though, it's not all about the training, it's about how you live with your dog too, if you ask your dog to do something in the house or out on a walk the dog must do it, don't recall and accept a fly past as "the dog came back", don't accept an occasional rest on the sofa they are not allowed on, the occasional visit upstairs if that's not where you want them to go. If you don't let you standards slip then neither will they.

This is not to say that training shouldn't be great fun for the dog, the more fun it is the more they like it. Once trained then ensure they stay trained, doing what you asked when you ask then all will be manageable wherever they find themselves.

[ips]

All sounds like perfect sense to me Judy, I do however believe that certain scenarios cannot be trained for so i just look on every working day as a training day also

[crackerd]

...I do however believe that certain scenarios cannot be trained for so...

You mean like commanding Eze to pull yer a pint of Old Peculier, ips?

Nice post, Madame Moderator--

MG

[ips]

Yes that sort of thing

[WGD]

Or is it?

"Impossible to replicate a shoot day", "you have to train on live game", "need to train in context". For most of us these phrases are depressing as, I would guess, 85% of us have no access to game in any numbers before you take the dog to the shoot. However, I have found the more I train basic obedience and a bit of dummy work the fewer issues I have chucking my dogs in the deep end on biggish commercial shoots. If the core training is good then the dog will rely on you for guidance in all new situations.

I have a caveat though, it's not all about the training, it's about how you live with your dog too, if you ask your dog to do something in the house or out on a walk the dog must do it, don't recall and accept a fly past as "the dog came back", don't accept an occasional rest on the sofa they are not allowed on, the occasional visit upstairs if that's not where you want them to go. If you don't let you standards slip then neither will they.

This is not to say that training shouldn't be great fun for the dog, the more fun it is the more they like it. Once trained then ensure they stay trained, doing what you asked when you ask then all will be manageable wherever they find themselves.

100% agree, hear it all the time "I don't have the game". Like you Judy I have found over the last few year that with basics instilled, properly, I don't worry about taking a dog shooting or out for a day's work. And even if it does go wrong a bit they have been trained and are easily corrected. I'm more focused on whether they're doing their job properly, that's a different story altogether.

[PRH]

Agree. Arguably 90% of gundog training is basic manners, the field work on top of that develops with experience, but if you haven't got the manners nailed in the first place the wheels can come off pretty quickly...

[CockerCanuck]

Excellent post Judy. Advice everyone could use. I have recently discovered another technique which makes sense to me and worked quite well with my last pup. I have become a bit of a disciple of the American Retriever Trainer Bill Hillman. Once a pup understands the basics of a command he starts each training session with vigorous, excited play which gets the pup into quite an elevated metal state. If he notices the pup flagging during a lesson he will play with it again until it is fired up and happy again. The logic is you expect him to behave while excited why not train him in that state. For most of my life I have tried to do the opposite and train in a calm relaxed way, then am surprised when the pup ignores commands when excited.

[ips]

Excellent post Judy. Advice everyone could use. I have recently discovered another technique which makes sense to me and worked quite well with my last pup. I have become a bit of a disciple of the American Retriever Trainer Bill Hillman. Once a pup understands the basics of a command he starts each training session with vigorous, excited play which gets the pup into quite an elevated metal state. If he notices the pup flagging during a lesson he will play with it again until it is fired up and happy again. The logic is you expect him to behave while excited why not train him in that state. For most of my life I have tried to do the opposite and train in a calm relaxed way, then am surprised when the pup ignores commands when excited.

An interesting method CC

[Judy]

I train so rarely my dogs are always excited to see the dummies come out.

[CockerCanuck]

I train so rarely my dogs are always excited to see the dummies come out.

But you are training cockers who’s mood is always elevated. A Lab needs a bit more motivation to get to the stellar heights that cockers occupy every day