Your author receives training questions via email on a continuous
basis. That’s exciting to me because it
demonstrates that dog owners are interested in a better performance from their
dog. The entire hunting dog experience
is so much more enjoyable with a well-trained dog.
By far, the most frequent
question always relates to “what age” to begin training. It’s a difficult question to answer without
knowing the dog. The issue is “pressure”
and how a pup reacts when under pressure.
Put too much pressure on a young “soft” dog and you could create
long-term damage. Other pups might be
hard as nails and able to absorb substantial pressure. Although the trend is toward younger and
younger training, my approach seems to be going in the opposite direction. I’m becoming more and more old school.
Old school training says
that training on birds doesn’t begin seriously until your pup is one year
old. This gives your dog an opportunity
to mature and be able to handle the pressure involved with learned
behavior. Learned behavior is the opposite
of natural behavior. For example, it’s
natural for a predator to chase their prey.
However, we don’t want our dogs to chase prey. We want our dog to point and stay on point
until they’re released…this is learned behavior.
For the beginner or amateur trainer/dog
owner, here are my suggestions for training a young pup.
Enroll in a puppy obedience class. A good obedience class instructor will not
put undue pressure on your pup. The pup
will learn basic obedience and have fun doing it…and you’ll have fun bonding
with your pup. Keep the training
going. If all goes well, enroll in the
next obedience class. As with all
training, obedience training is a step- by- step process. If the pup doesn’t respond well to a step,
then start over again until everything clicks.
It’s like building a high-rise tower; without a foundation, you can’t go
any further.
There are two commands that are not routinely
taught in obedience school that are important to a hunting dog. They are the “whoa” command and the “kennel”
command. I’m unsure why because both are
important to any dog…house pet or advanced hunting dog. Ask your instructor to work with you on each
of these commands. Both can be taught at
six months.
Okay, you’re anxious to see the pup’s reaction
to birds. That’s fine, but don’t force
it. Allow your pup to develop the
natural prey drive by chasing song birds, butterflies, etc. There is no need to introduce your pup to
game birds…that comes later. Put
pressure on a pup around game birds and you could be heading for serious
trouble. Don’t be tempted…it’s not worth
the negative results.
Besides basic obedience and permitting the prey drive to develop, there
are plenty of other training measures that can be taken to make for a better
companion.
Early in the pup’s life, introduce the little
guy (or gal) to the automobile. If
you’ll travel to your hunting grounds, this is very important. Another important training step is to allow
your pup to tow around a check cord.
Start with just a normal lead and then a longer cord. When serious training time arrives, your dog
will already be accustomed to the check cord.
Introduction to water is important at an early age. Let them have fun in the water and they’ll
learn quickly to swim.
Paul Fuller is host of the Bird Dogs Afield TV program. Paul’s website is www.birddogsafield.com.
