Don’t Expect Too Much From Pup

During the past few months, several folks have told me that they’ve purchased a puppy and are preparing their new pup for the upcoming bird season.  What could be more exciting than having a new best friend and hunting companion this fall?  Especially, if you’ve spent hours, days and weeks training the pup.

No matter how much time you’ve spent with your pup, no matter how much training the pup has received either by the owner or a professional trainer, don’t expect too much.  Delmar Smith, the pointing dog training guru of the 1970s, commented in his book, Best Way to Train Your Gun Dog, about new owners of young dogs calling him and crowing that they have a “natural”.  They have a puppy sure to amaze all observers during the upcoming bird season.  

Delmar always chuckled at these proclamations since he knew what often happens with these phenoms…they fall apart under real hunting conditions.  These conditions include wild birds, multiple scent cones, wild flushes, running birds, blowing wind and all the other factors which affect a pointing dog’s performance.  Factors that your pup may not have encountered during training.

There are simply too many variables for your pup to perform consistently at an early age; therefore, don’t expect too much since they are not machines.  Even in the upper echelons of pointing dogs, a champion- level dog will sometimes simply forget about staying steady to the flush; he’ll break and chase as though he’s never received two minutes of training.  Mike Gaddis, in his fine book, Zip Zap, discusses the frustration during witness of dogs breaking during either flush or shot during preparation for the National.  These dogs have seen the finest trainers and training methods known to date.

I’m not aware of any of my dog friends training for the National; however, secretly, we would all like to have a “brag” dog.  A dog that is the envy of our hunting friends.  So your new pup falls apart on opening day; don’t in the least be discouraged.  A puppy being confused and losing focus is a true “natural”.  If you remain patient and consistent with your training methods, the pup will eventually be your “brag” dog.

Here are a few tips to help you and your pup.  First, if your dog is under one year, don’t be upset with your dog breaking point, chasing birds or even bumping birds.  All of these mistakes are normal for a pup and there should be no punishment or scolding.  

Secondly, under no circumstances should you use an e-collar for correcting a puppy for mistakes in the field. Put the e-collar away.  After careful study and yard introduction, you may begin using the e-collar after the pup’s first year in the field.  An e-collar is never a substitute for well thought-out yard training.

Thirdly, don’t carry a gun the first few days of hunting this fall.  Handle your pup rather than hunt over him.  Invite your son, daughter, wife, friend, or whomever, to be the shooter.  You can’t properly handle a pup in the field and carry a gun.  Your pup needs 100% of your attention.

And last, if you have the time, take your dog west to Saskatchewan or Manitoba where you can get 100 flushes per day.  He’ll figure it out in a hurry.

The above are suggestions for right now.  For the long term, simply plan on a continuous training program right through next summer.  You’ll be amazed at the maturity your young dog will demonstrate during his sophomore year of hunting.  Your “brag” dog might be only one year away.

What’s in a Guarantee?

By Steve Ries

Remember when a handshake and a person’s word was all it took to seal the deal? A person’s promise was a bond; integrity was not a commodity, but part of a common set of values. I’m not saying integrity no longer exists, but in today’s world, the expectation is to provide written guarantees to clarify who is responsible for what in case one party or another is not satisfied.

A Better Program Equals Better Odds
When it comes to breeding performance hunting companions, we are dealing with a variety of genetic traits and environmental factors. These factors, when combined with ownership expectations and changing goals, can occasionally produce results that are impossible to predict. This doesn’t mean we refuse to accept responsibility for our dogs––things happen that we couldn’t predict and couldn’t control. It does mean, though, that we need a good understanding of the people with whom we are doing business and try to ensure they have reasonable expectations.

If I were to tell you we have never had an issue with a dog, whether health or behavior related, I would not be giving an honest or realistic assessment. I can say with absolute confidence, however, that we follow a disciplined breeding and training regimen that is rigorously maintained to produce the most desirable traits. These traits include a number of factors among which overall health, hunting ability, and social behavior are given highest priority.

Owning Pups Doesn’t Make You a Breeder
Most kennels today offer some type of guarantee to provide a degree of confidence to prospective dog owners. The real guarantee, though, is the breeder himself. Have you ever heard the phrase: “I have not heard of this before” or “This is the first time we have ever had this happen”? A professional breeder with years of experience shouldn’t be able to utter these words honestly very often so it is understandably frustrating when they do.

When a person purchases a puppy from a breeder to get both the breed and the specific dog that best meets their needs, they expect a long term companion who will help them achieve the goals they had in mind when they began their search. When they learn after 2-3 years of time and expense for purchase, training and vaccination that their canine family member has a genetic issue that will require surgery, medication or worse, they are understandably upset.

I truly believe that many breeders do their best to provide a quality pup for purchase. They would not knowingly breed or sell an unhealthy animal with faulty genetic traits. The key point here is that they wouldn’t do it “knowingly”. In our experience it is most often a lack of knowledge and experience rather than a lack of integrity that is to blame when faulty genetics are reproduced. Unfortunately, this often results in animals that do no good for either the breed or the mislead owners.

Who Is Responsible For The Guarantee?
Much like buying a vehicle, you should think long term when shopping for a new pup. Sure you look for speed or style or comfort, but most importantly you look for a brand you trust and believe will provide long term value. Making an impulse purchase of an unknown brand because it’s attractive carries a much greater risk that you won’t be satisfied long term.

The same rules apply to shopping for a household or hunting companion. Don’t increase your risks by purchasing a “cute” pup from some fast talking owners of a litter (notice I did not use “breeders”) with little history or experience in doing business with the breed. This is a 10-15 year commitment we are talking about and it is worth your time, effort and money to do your research and find the best long term match for you.

In all fairness, even the most experienced breeders with the finest reputations can experience anomalies when recessive genes come together to create an unexpected and undesirable traits. The difference is that the reputable breeder will learn from this and take steps to eliminate this risk from future combinations. In all likelihood, because the breeder is reputable and experienced, he probably already has prevented many of these unforeseen combinations through years of selective breeding.

So who is responsible for the guarantee? The answer is both parties. A true guarantee comes from a combination of a reputable breeder and an informed consumer that has done their homework in identifying the desired breed and traits for them, as well as the right breeder.

Keep in mind that trait selection doesn’t only work for the dogs. If enough of us only buy from reputable breeders with the long term interest of both us and the breed in mind, pretty soon the less reputable breeders won’t have any customers. The only ones remaining will be those that are interested not only in the sale, but in a long term relationship with satisfied customers who will share their experience with others. The only real guarantee is choosing the right kind of breeder with integrity and years of hard won experience.

To learn more about Steve Ries and his training methods, visit www.topgungsps.com.

Seasonal Feeding Programs

By Steve Ries

Feeding For Performance
As a breeder and trainer of canine athletes, we've spent many years refining our feeding program to ensure peak performance and condition throughout the year. Consequently, we get a lot of questions about the feeding regimen in our kennel. Following is a summary of some of the key points to consider regarding daily feeding requirements.

Focus First on Hydration
Before you consider how to feed, you must address the top priority. Dehydration is likely the greatest risk you face when moving from your off-season routine into the hunting season. While dogs don't sweat, they lose water through a variety of other activities. The importance of a constant supply of clean, fresh water cannot be underestimated and is likely the greatest contribution you can make to the health of your dog. Maintain a steady supply of water throughout the year and allow your dog to replenish with frequent small doses while hunting.

Special Attention To Puppies
Puppies have 2-3 times the maintenance requirement of a similar sized adult. This makes it more difficult to meet their caloric needs as activity increases. We tell our customers that their puppy burns a lot of fuel but has a small tank. Consequently, we suggest feeding in small increments 3-4 times daily until at least six moths of age to make sure energy needs are met. Since obesity can also cause major health issues down the road, we avoid overfeeding to consistently maintain ideal body condition.

Adult Requirements
Feeding an adult dog is easy during the off-season since there is little fluctuation in their requirements. A fifty pound dog can generally maintain proper body condition on 1000-1500 calories daily with normal temperatures and activity levels. As activity increases for the hunting season, calorie requirements can increase by as much as 50%. It is important to monitor your dog to make sure he maintains the proper condition to perform at the desired level throughout the season.

Meal Time
In our kennel, we place a great deal of importance on feeding times. Whatever the age of your dog, it is important to time feedings to allow for proper digestion before periods of activity. Here are a few quick feeding tips to help you avoid digestive issues with your dog.

1. Avoid feeding in the heat of the day as this can result in increased body temperature caused by the digestive process.
2. Allow at least 2 hours between feeding and exercise to help avoid digestive issues like indigestion and bloat.
3. Break daily feeding into at least 2 meals (e.g. morning and evening) as this also helps avoid digestive issues.

It is also important to train your dog to eat when offered. This will allow you to more easily adhere to the tips noted above and avoid problems while maximizing performance.

A Winter Coat
We'll close with comments on how environmental factors affect calorie requirements. If your dog spends the winter in low temperatures, his body is forced to generate its own heat. He may need up to 30% more calories to generate the required body heat. If he's curled up indoors with you, though, it's best to avoid the extra calories and keep him lean and mean. This will make it easier to get him back into hunting form when the weather warms.

To learn more about Steve Ries and his training methods, visit www.topgungsps.com.

What Level Is Your Dog?

By Steve Ries

What The Levels Mean
The first thing most people ask when they see Native® performance dog food is what do the Energy Levels mean. The Energy Levels are simply an indicator of the caloric content of each formula. The higher the number, the higher the calorie content. Native was designed to make it easy to choose the level of food that will meet your dog's needs and all Levels are formulated to meet the nutritional requirements for all life stages.

Change Is Easy
With one exception, the ingredients are exactly the same in all of the Native products. The Energy Levels are increased by simply adjusting the balance of Proteins, Fats and Carbohydrates in each formula. Since the ingredients are the same, you won't get digestive issues when you move from one Energy Level to another as your dog gets more active.

The one exception is that Native Level 1 uses primarily Lamb Meal while the other Levels use primarily Chicken Meal. This formula was created to meet the needs of dogs that have very sensitive stomachs and just seem to do better on Lamb than other meat proteins.

Energy Factors
With that said, there are several factors that will determine what Level is appropriate for your canine athlete. We have found the following factors to be the most important ones.

• Breed – As a rule, certain breeds tend to burn more calories than others.
• Age – Puppies tend to burn more calories than adults.
• Activity – Obviously, more active dogs burn more calories.

You should keep in mind as you consider these factors that there really are no hard and fast rules. Every dog is a little different and body condition should be evaluated on a regular basis to ensure that nutritional requirements are being met.

So What Level Is Your Dog?
The following are some recommended starting points that work well for most breeds. Again, this is just a starting point. If your dog is very active, move him up a level if it seems to help.

Formula	Puppies	Adults
Native Level 1	Large breed puppies Puppies with sensitive stomachs	Medium and large breeds with normal activity All breeds with sensitive stomachs
Native Level 2	Medium breed puppies Large breed puppies	Small & medium breeds - normal activity Large breed – active dogs
Native Level 3	Small & medium breed puppies Large breed puppies if limit fed	Small & medium breed – active dogs Large breed – very active dogs
Native Level 3 Puppy	Small & medium breed puppies Large breed puppies if limit fed	Small breed – very active dogs Dogs that must have very small kibble
Native Level 4	Small breed puppies Medium breed puppies if limit fed	Small breed – very active dogs Medium & large breed – very active dogs

Don't Forget The Water
As always, quality and quantity of water is the key to any nutritional program. We need to make sure the bowl is kept clean and full to maintain optimal health. We strongly encourage frequent cleaning of your food and water bowls to avoid the presence of bacteria and we try to never let the water bowl run dry. This may be the best thing you can do to keep your dog happy and healthy.

To learn more about Steve Ries and his training methods, visit www.topgungsps.com.

Tips for Beginning Retriever Training

By Todd Sterrett

Article originally appeared in “On the Wing”, a monthly e-mail newsletter by Pheasants Forever

Train To Your Expectations
There are many schools of thought regarding the best methods for training a finished retriever. The extent and style of training will often depend on the activities you plan to perform with your dog. For example, your standards of acceptable training may be very different if you plan to do a lot of Hunt Tests or Field Trials versus an effective dog for recreational hunting. We tailor our training to the individual needs of the dog owner.

Most retrievers from good hunting lines will show natural tendencies to hold, carry and retrieve objects in their mouths. Some pups will retrieve directly to your hand with very little or no training. Others will drop things on the ground or just run around playing keep-away. Our goal is to develop a finished bird dog that consistently delivers birds to heel and hand. In order to achieve consistent delivery, force/hold and force-fetching a puppy is ideal around 6 months of age or whenever his adult teeth have come in.

Basics Don't Change
Whether for hunting or competition, there are some basic "Do's & Don'ts" for retrieve training that are fairly constant. These are essential to build the foundation for a well conditioned bird dog that consistently retrieves to your expectations.

Basic Do's & Don'ts

1. When the pup gets to the point it is no longer returning to you with an object, put a check cord on the pup so they are forced to return to you.
2. Praise your pup when he returns to you and while he is still holding the object in his mouth. Do not remove the object immediately, let him hold it and praise him.
3. Watch the corrections you give when retrieving. Higher drive pups can be corrected more while with a lower desire retrieving pup you may need to do less correcting.
4. Start by throwing retrieves in confined areas. This helps limit distractions and encourages direct returns. A hallway works great for doing this.
5. Avoid training sessions being too long. Keep them fun and make them successful.
6. Introduce your pup to birds and feathers as young as possible. Getting a puppy into water at a young age is always a great idea as well.

Right From The Start
If possible, it is much better to avoid undesirable behavior from the start since it is much easier to learn proper behavior when you don't have to unlearn improper behavior first. From a very early age, it is essential to consistently reinforce the behavior you want. If the pup is picking things up and carrying them, use encouragement to get him to bring it to you. When he brings it to you, praise him and let him enjoy the prize with you. The most important thing is to start your pup off right by making it fun to retrieve the right way every time.

To learn more about Todd’s training methods, visit www.arrowheadkennels.net.

Determining Factors In Bird Dog Abilities

By Steve Ries

Laying A Genetic Foundation
In more than fifteen years of breeding dogs, we have taken great care in selecting traits for hunting, conformation, and overall health in order to ensure a quality household and hunting companion. We have learned that breeding opposites together will not necessarily produce "happy mediums" nor does the "give and take" method used by convenient mating make consistent litters of individual offspring.

We read classified ads with words like natural ability, proven hunters, guaranteed, etc. and can't help but cringe as a breeder and trainer knowing how little these terms can mean. Experience and many dollars in tuition have taught us that genetic progress is made with strict selection practices that balance traits and focus on breed improvement. These practices may include spaying or neutering an animal with trait defects and proving breeding animals through performance testing and health certification. Taking shortcuts to reach your goals will rarely produce the desired traits. In the end, the quality of your hunting companion will come down to three basic factors in ability.

Natural Ability
This is the ability God has given each individual animal based on the traits brought forward from their parents. Pointers should naturally point just like retrievers should naturally retrieve and flushers should naturally flush. These untrained traits are displayed naturally when exposed to hunting situations. Have you stopped to wonder what is going through that young pointing dog's mind when he is pointing that first pheasant or quail? Do you think there is excitement or fear during that first duck chase across the open water by a young retriever? All great hunting companions have natural traits and abilities bred into them from selected breeding plans that were conceived well before his litter.

Train-Ability
This is the ability to learn and retain commands through repetition and experience. Many trainers would agree that these traits are often overlooked or misunderstood in a solid breeding program. When we have a student come into our training program, a strong desire by a dog to learn what is needed and expected of them to move forward in training creates a true pleasure for the trainer. These dogs move to the head of the class through a willingness to retain the training and achieve higher goals than fellow classmates.

Bid-Ability
This might be a new word for many dog owners and some would suggest that bid-ability is the most important of the three. Bid-ability is how an individual dog responds to a correction or whether there is a willingness to accept training at all. Signs of bid-ability can range from excessive alpha dominance, an animal that will not submit to your needs, to excessive timidity in dogs that avoid any training stress at all. Bid-ability can be difficult to determine without a willingness by the breeder to prove sires, dams or offspring through standard performance tests. There are many events available to demonstrate these traits and a reputable breeder and trainer will use them to prove a well rounded dog from a well balanced line.

Bringing It All Together
It is important to consider all three factors in ability when selecting a hunting companion. Choosing proven dogs from reputable kennels is the best way to ensure your companion is the product of healthy trait selection that evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of both the breed and the individual dog. Nothing guarantees your hunting success, but your chances are greatly improved when your hunting companion displays a great combination of natural ability, train-ability and bid-ability earned through exhaustive trait selection.

To learn more about Steve Ries and his training methods, visit www.topgungsps.com.