Monday, September 28, 2009
Sprig Ludwig Bach MH
It is sad I have to report a longtime friend and companion has passed away. A dog of over 16 years of friendship and service has left me for a better place. I will miss him and all he has done for me and i have written a tribute to him. www.sprigkennels.net/sprig
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
A Common Marking Mistake During Retriever Training
A few years ago, I was working with a new retriever owner on marking drills with his young dog. He couldn't understand why his dog repeatedly failed at even the most simple of marks over and over again. He was very enthusiastic about training his dog as they trained on a regular basis, usually several times a week, but his frustration continued to grow as his dog kept having problems with marking.
As we begun the training session, he reached in the back of his truck, grabbed a handful of rubber training dummies and handed them to me to throw for his dog. I immediately knew what the problem was and told him I wanted to try show him something so I grabbed a few of my dummies and walked out in the field.
As he called for the first dummy to be thrown, I gave the dummy a high throw and quacked loudly on my duck call. The dog did indeed struggle to find the mark. I told him to repeat the mark and I would use one of my training dummies. He signaled and I threw the dummy. The dog raced out to the fall area, and after a very short hunt, found the dummy and raced back to the owner.
The owner was elated. That was the first mark the dog had done in a long time with no help. As I moved to another location for the next mark I threw one of my dummies on the first mark. Just like the previous mark, the dog quickly found the dummy and returned to the smiling owner.
As we proceeded to work the dog I would mix in his dummies and my dummies one various retrieves. The dog struggled on almost every mark with the owner's training dummies but did very well with the new ones.
After we were done with the retrieves, I walked back and asked him if he saw what the difference was why his dog was able to mark the new dummies over the old ones. Noticing they were white as opposed to his orange dummies, he made a reference to the difference in color but wasn't sure why that made a difference.
I grabbed two dummies, one orange and one white, told him to watch the next throw and see what dummy he could see the best. After I walked out about 75 yards, I stopped and threw both dummies in the air at the same time against the dark background of the wasatch mountains.
As I walked in he said he couldn't believe the difference in how much better the white dummy showed up against the dark background. This is why his dog was having so much trouble with the marked retrieves, he couldn't see the dummy very well.
Compared to us humans, dogs have poor eyesight and are actually color blind to some degree. They see colors differently than we do. Dog's can't see the bright orange color of commonly used training dummies in the same manner we do. They need a vast contrast in color between dummy and background, for example, such as a white dummy on a dark background.
This is important when selecting training dummies for your retriever. Orange dummies are great for blind retrieves since the dog can't see them but you can. White training dummies and black and white multi-colored dummies are better suited for marked retrieves as they give a better contrast to many given backgrounds for the dog to mark. The dog can't mark what he can't see.
Check out our website, www.sprigkennels.net, for a good selection on training dummies and other training equipment for your hunting retriever.
As we begun the training session, he reached in the back of his truck, grabbed a handful of rubber training dummies and handed them to me to throw for his dog. I immediately knew what the problem was and told him I wanted to try show him something so I grabbed a few of my dummies and walked out in the field.
As he called for the first dummy to be thrown, I gave the dummy a high throw and quacked loudly on my duck call. The dog did indeed struggle to find the mark. I told him to repeat the mark and I would use one of my training dummies. He signaled and I threw the dummy. The dog raced out to the fall area, and after a very short hunt, found the dummy and raced back to the owner.
The owner was elated. That was the first mark the dog had done in a long time with no help. As I moved to another location for the next mark I threw one of my dummies on the first mark. Just like the previous mark, the dog quickly found the dummy and returned to the smiling owner.
As we proceeded to work the dog I would mix in his dummies and my dummies one various retrieves. The dog struggled on almost every mark with the owner's training dummies but did very well with the new ones.
After we were done with the retrieves, I walked back and asked him if he saw what the difference was why his dog was able to mark the new dummies over the old ones. Noticing they were white as opposed to his orange dummies, he made a reference to the difference in color but wasn't sure why that made a difference.
I grabbed two dummies, one orange and one white, told him to watch the next throw and see what dummy he could see the best. After I walked out about 75 yards, I stopped and threw both dummies in the air at the same time against the dark background of the wasatch mountains.
As I walked in he said he couldn't believe the difference in how much better the white dummy showed up against the dark background. This is why his dog was having so much trouble with the marked retrieves, he couldn't see the dummy very well.
Compared to us humans, dogs have poor eyesight and are actually color blind to some degree. They see colors differently than we do. Dog's can't see the bright orange color of commonly used training dummies in the same manner we do. They need a vast contrast in color between dummy and background, for example, such as a white dummy on a dark background.
This is important when selecting training dummies for your retriever. Orange dummies are great for blind retrieves since the dog can't see them but you can. White training dummies and black and white multi-colored dummies are better suited for marked retrieves as they give a better contrast to many given backgrounds for the dog to mark. The dog can't mark what he can't see.
Check out our website, www.sprigkennels.net, for a good selection on training dummies and other training equipment for your hunting retriever.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Obedience Training Essentials
For a waterfowl hunting retriever, one of the most important things the dog should know is how to sit and stay. But just how good is good enough? And for those high-powered retrievers that have been bred with almost too much energy to handle, how do we control all that high-energy desire their mom and dad gave them?
First of all, from my many years of experience in training retrievers for waterfowl hunting and AKC hunt tests, I will say the vast majority of dogs out there are lacking simple obedience training. When a new dog comes in for training more times than not the dog shows very little respect for the owner and any commands from the owner. Most of the time when the dog does obey simple commands like "come" and "sit" it is only after numerous repeated commands and an elevated pitch in the owners voice and demeanor, in other words, the owner is getting upset or frustrated and the dog knows what is coming next and usually sulks back to the owner.
So just what kind of response should we expect from the dog? Well, for example, when I say "sit" or "stay" to a dog I expect the dog to sit or stay without moving at all until I say otherwise, no exceptions. Even if the dog has to sit there for 30 minutes or more it is expected to obey the given command. When I say "come" the dog is expected to come, without any delay or meandering on his part, straight to me and sit at my side. Keep in mind, however, I also expect the dog's attitude to be positive and upbeat at the same time I give these commands.
Just how is all of this accomplished? Simply put, the dog is put through a month of nothing but obedience training and e-collar conditioning and training. Yes, I said e-collar training and yes, I said a month of obedience training. The simple truth of the matter is without some way to instantly and fairly correct the dog for bad behavior there is no way we can expect good behavior, especially when the dog is either 200 yards away on a retrieve or sitting next to us with in a duck blind anxiously watching us miss opportunity after opportunity for him to make a much wanted retrieve. And there is no fair way to expect this level of behavior if the dog hasn't been properly taught these commands without being rushed through the obedience training.
E-collars are the dog owners best friend if used correctly and trained with properly. They can give an instantaneous correction at distances from 400 yards and even up to 3/4 mile or more, depending on the model. The whole concept behind e-collars is to teach your dog to avoid correction by obeying the given commands. The dog essentially learns how to "turn off" the pressure by correctly responding to a command. Over time, you will find yourself rarely even having to use the collar once it is one the dog. If you find yourself having to use the collar stimulus more and more over time, you need to go back and evaluate just how well the dog knows his basic obedience training. E-collars, however, are just and extension of obedience training, not a substitute for it. So many times I see people buy and e-collar in hopes of saving time and money. There is no substitute for obedience training, none. But when a sound obedience training program is enhanced with e-collar training and conditioning, regardless of what kind of dog it is, you will get a more responsive dog with a positive upbeat attitude you can be proud of.
First of all, from my many years of experience in training retrievers for waterfowl hunting and AKC hunt tests, I will say the vast majority of dogs out there are lacking simple obedience training. When a new dog comes in for training more times than not the dog shows very little respect for the owner and any commands from the owner. Most of the time when the dog does obey simple commands like "come" and "sit" it is only after numerous repeated commands and an elevated pitch in the owners voice and demeanor, in other words, the owner is getting upset or frustrated and the dog knows what is coming next and usually sulks back to the owner.
So just what kind of response should we expect from the dog? Well, for example, when I say "sit" or "stay" to a dog I expect the dog to sit or stay without moving at all until I say otherwise, no exceptions. Even if the dog has to sit there for 30 minutes or more it is expected to obey the given command. When I say "come" the dog is expected to come, without any delay or meandering on his part, straight to me and sit at my side. Keep in mind, however, I also expect the dog's attitude to be positive and upbeat at the same time I give these commands.
Just how is all of this accomplished? Simply put, the dog is put through a month of nothing but obedience training and e-collar conditioning and training. Yes, I said e-collar training and yes, I said a month of obedience training. The simple truth of the matter is without some way to instantly and fairly correct the dog for bad behavior there is no way we can expect good behavior, especially when the dog is either 200 yards away on a retrieve or sitting next to us with in a duck blind anxiously watching us miss opportunity after opportunity for him to make a much wanted retrieve. And there is no fair way to expect this level of behavior if the dog hasn't been properly taught these commands without being rushed through the obedience training.
E-collars are the dog owners best friend if used correctly and trained with properly. They can give an instantaneous correction at distances from 400 yards and even up to 3/4 mile or more, depending on the model. The whole concept behind e-collars is to teach your dog to avoid correction by obeying the given commands. The dog essentially learns how to "turn off" the pressure by correctly responding to a command. Over time, you will find yourself rarely even having to use the collar once it is one the dog. If you find yourself having to use the collar stimulus more and more over time, you need to go back and evaluate just how well the dog knows his basic obedience training. E-collars, however, are just and extension of obedience training, not a substitute for it. So many times I see people buy and e-collar in hopes of saving time and money. There is no substitute for obedience training, none. But when a sound obedience training program is enhanced with e-collar training and conditioning, regardless of what kind of dog it is, you will get a more responsive dog with a positive upbeat attitude you can be proud of.
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