Dog training

[Joe T]

I have started working on preparing Enzo and myself for upcoming hunt tests in spring and summer  and getting ready for next season.  Every morning I do heeling, pile and casting drills and practice some marks and blinds in the yard.  Once the weather gets better and I can go to Otis Pike we will start some water work.  I also need to get to an open field to start some four corner drills and longer blinds.  What are you guys doing to prepare?

[NYBowhunter]

Mine just chills all day waiting on any unwelcomed guests...lol

[BAS]

I have been working on "forced fetch" with my WPG. She is good at pointing and flushing but she does not like to retreive on land. She just pins the birds down if it is alive or stands over it if it is dead. She will retreive ducks and she will retreive a dummy in the water or on dry land. So we are just working on holding something in her mouth for long periods for now. Then I'll combine that with retrieve and holding the bird. Thinking about getting a Dokken dead fowl trainer dummy. 

[Dogman]

I always enjoy these threads !  Joe T glad to see you back. I check once and a while for new dog related posts and it's been quiet as of late. Bas keep at it those Griff's like to retrieve !

[Joe T]

1 hour ago, BAS said:

I have been working on "forced fetch" with my WPG. She is good at pointing and flushing but she does not like to retreive on land. She just pins the birds down if it is alive or stands over it if it is dead. She will retreive ducks and she will retreive a dummy in the water or on dry land. So we are just working on holding something in her mouth for long periods for now. Then I'll combine that with retrieve and holding the bird. Thinking about getting a Dokken dead fowl trainer dummy. 

I do something different than force fetch.  I conditioned Enzo to an e-collar but only at a barely perceptible level.  I use a 2 out of 10.  When I send him on a “back” command, I give a single nick- back-nick-back.  When he picks up the bird I give the “here” command followed by a nick,  here-nick-here.  I do this every day for about 20 min. Much nicer than force fetch!

 

 

[Joe T]

Sorry- video too big so I will use you-tube:

first I practice with bumpers

then I advance to dokken

Then a real bird

As you can see it’s a work in progress- takes patience and lots of time.

i follow Bill Hillmans philosophy- he has tons of training videos on line- all low pressure and he is one of the winningest derby handlers in history.

[crappyice]

So cool Joe! You can just see how much training is actually training yourself too. You are doing an awesome job and I still love how this "hobby" was found later than most.
 

One of the things that you can always work on which will make your field time more enjoyable for you and any other hunters that are fortunate to hunt over Enzo is trying to break the habit of repeating your commands. I remember wanting to constantly keep saying the command until my pup did it. He not deaf...he either didn't understand or didn't want to! Haha. 
 

It's also amazing how quickly they get bored. In that first video he was awesome for the three retrieves and then started to jump when he got back to you. It's like you can hear him saying, "come on man-too easy!!! Let's have some fun!!!"

again, you guys are doing awesome- please ignore or disregard - no offense intended by the above! 

[Joe T]

Crappyice, your advice is exactly what Bill Hillman told me when he reviewed my video- shut up!  I am now forcing myself to do just that- sometimes running the drills entirely on a single back command and letting Enzo do what he knows he needs to do after that!

What I really love about this forum is unlike Facebook, we can post reality and get helpful feedback.  I hope @BAS gets to see that it takes time and patience unlike the perfect dog training videos we see on FB.  Those are the same guys who post tailgate photos of everyone getting a limit of birds without sharing all the skunk days!  I have stopped putting hunting pictures on FB because my wife gets mad at me sharing that we went out and had a great day without getting any birds.  I can feel free to post that here and know that it is valued as much as a full tailgate post!

[Robhuntandfish]

The training is all part of the fun to have with Enzo.  I have considered the next dog I get training him for either ducks or squirrels.  Will see 

[Joe T]

I reference bill Hillman and low pressure collar training in my post in lieu of force fetch- here is one of bill’s basic videos explaining it

This is just his introductory video; this next one is descriptive of the process 

 

Edited February 6 by Joe T

[BAS]

1 hour ago, Dogman said:

I always enjoy these threads !  Joe T glad to see you back. I check once and a while for new dog related posts and it's been quiet as of late. Bas keep at it those Griff's like to retrieve !

She loves to retrieve in the water. We'll get there with pheasants.

[Joe T]

26 minutes ago, crappyice said:

So cool Joe! You can just see how much training is actually training yourself too. You are doing an awesome job and I still love how this "hobby" was found later than most.
 

One of the things that you can always work on which will make your field time more enjoyable for you and any other hunters that are fortunate to hunt over Enzo is trying to break the habit of repeating your commands. I remember wanting to constantly keep saying the command until my pup did it. He not deaf...he either didn't understand or didn't want to! Haha. 
 

It's also amazing how quickly they get bored. In that first video he was awesome for the three retrieves and then started to jump when he got back to you. It's like you can hear him saying, "come on man-too easy!!! Let's have some fun!!!"

again, you guys are doing awesome- please ignore or disregard - no offense intended by the above! 

 

6 minutes ago, BAS said:

She loves to retrieve in the water. We'll get there with pheasants.

 

6 minutes ago, BAS said:

She loves to retrieve in the water. We'll get there with pheasants.

It’s amazing how the dog can learn something in one environment and have to learn to reapply it in a different one. I can do a drill perfectly in my driveway or yard and then go to a field and have to almost start all over.

[mowin]

Always liked watching the dog hunting comps.  Marveled at the dedication and training. 

[crappyice]

23 minutes ago, Joe T said:

 

 

It’s amazing how the dog can learn something in one environment and have to learn to reapply it in a different one. I can do a drill perfectly in my driveway or yard and then go to a field and have to almost start all over.

So many new sights and smells and freedoms in the field. I used to go to a local school football field near the fields I was going to hunt prior to hunting sometimes. Let him burn some excitement somewhere else, then bring him to the fields I wanted to hunt. 

[Joe T]

3 minutes ago, crappyice said:

So many new sights and smells and freedoms in the field. I used to go to a local school football field near the fields I was going to hunt prior to hunting sometimes. Let him burn some excitement somewhere else, then bring him to the fields I wanted to hunt. 

That is a great strategy… When I take him to hunt test I do the same thing I find a school,park or other lot nearby to run him out so he can focus better when we get to the test… we’ll have to do as you suggest and do it when we go hunting as well!