Below i have added two videos, the first is of Treacle our 9 month old black Labrador and the second is Timber our Golden Retriever who’s 2 years old.
I’m doing the same activity with them but they are at different levels as you will see.
I took Treacle out training somewhere different to see what results we got on new ground.
Treacle had a few retrieves from the pond and stubble filed individually which then built her up to a double mark. One retrieve from the water and the second from the field of stubble.
It was an extremely windy night but Treacle took most of it in her stride use the wind well to find the dummies.
It may sound simple that you want a dog to look in the direction your hand is pointing but towards something they haven’t seen placed. This is where it can become more of a challenge!
I’m just starting to teach Treacle to look down my hand and if she looks in the right direction she will see dummies which hopefully stand out to build her confidence.
As you’ll see from the videos I’m having mixed results at present!
With the heat of summer we have been very careful not to over exercise our young dogs and cause any issues.
Now the weather is back to normal we have been back on the training field. I have taken a step back to see if the young dogs are still understanding their training.
In this video clip I’m trying to show you how i introduce the whistle to early training.
I start by continuing activities that Treacle has been doing regularly to try and build confidence whilst introducing something new, and today its the whistle.
You will see how careful you have to be as drive level drops quicker than you would think when something arises that hasn’t been heard before.
We use 3 whistle commands whilst training our gundogs using a 211 and 1/2.
1st command is one pip which means stop and sit, as dogs become more experienced most dogs will stand when they have stopped and that’s OK.
2nd is 2 pips in quick succession which means turn and hunt in the other directions.
3rd is continuous pips which means come back to hand.
Iv added this video of Vixen a home bred working Golden Retriever.
Although I haven’t logged her training from the start you will see all the same traits in her training that I have done with treacle our black Labrador.
Many people say you never train 2 dogs the same, I beg to differ slightly.
I think dog owners interpret this in the wrong context, if we had to think of new training methods for every dog we trained we would soon run out of ideas.
However, we do come across some dogs that you really have to think outside of the box to get the best from their ability.
Iv added this video mainly to show you that from a puppy our training methods are the same with each puppy but differ for the dogs personality and breed traits.
Up until now treacle has been trained in the same place to build confidence which will help her to become more outgoing in her ability.
Changing the ground and encountering new cover can sometimes put dogs back a little in their training but should quickly overcome it if the foundations of training have been done correctly.
Treacle now has to learn to use her marking ability, her ability to hunt and her memory all in new circumstances.
In training now I will start to test our ability together, I will do this by asking someone else to choose which dummy we are to collect.
This will show me how much treacle needs me to set the activity up in the same way and how I complete the activity normally. As much as we try to test her in training we are also creatures of habit so generally avert back to the same training methods and techniques.
Treacle is now running really well and understanding all commands, long may in continue!!
The nice thing is she stays really focused even when filming doesn’t always go to plan!
In this video you will see how much Treacle is so eager to please, she is really getting the hang of the commands now and wants to succeed so much.
This training session was so close to being perfect however when she doesn’t get is quite right look how responsive she is to stop when being told she’s got it wrong.
Training Treacle is a real joy at present I’m getting loads of eye contact, control, patience and eagerness to get the job done.
There are a few main things I would want people to remember watching this video.
