One Chance to Get it Right

But while gripped by the enthusiasm of a new dog to work with, it’s essential to bear in mind that this is the most influential time in the life of a youngster and getting it wrong – albeit without intention – can impact on the dog’s lifetime performance as your shooting companion.

And it’s probably over keenness on the part of the owner that is the most common cause of future problems – particularly in dogs that have more than their fair share of enthusiasm.

As I have said many times in these articles it’s absolutely vital to have a real understanding of how your dog “ticks” before you embark upon its initial training.

Proceed with caution with full-on youngsters
Very often it’s that exuberant and headstrong youngster that is most at risk. And it’s when the first stages of formalised training are introduced - based on the incorrect assumption that this boisterous attitude is indicative of a need to start giving the dog more to do – that the problems start.

All too often what usually happens is the training dummies come out and owner starts throwing- ad infinitum! Some owners may attempt to restrain the dog but things often end up resembling a rugby tackle. Alternatively repetitive severe “lead jerks” applied in an effort to effect control are another widely tried option.

The final release to allow the retrieve to place is usually hugely messy and uncontrollable as the dog gallops forward and eventually pounces on the dummy.

If you are lucky it may bring it back – although it will probably have played a game of “cat and mouse” on the return trip – but could have decided to swing the dummy by the toggle just to add to the fun of it all. 

On getting close to you it may drop the dummy a few yards in front in a frantic plea for you to do it again – a bit like a poodle in a park playing with a Frisbee – or it may circle you a few times playing hard to get. The permutations of this dire early retrieving exercise are endless but I hope many will recognise this scenario. Needless to say it is certainly not the way to channel the pent-up energies of a lively young gundog in an effort to turn him into a calm, dependable shooting companion.

Although there are dogs that can be reluctant to retrieve as pups – not many but it does happen – the premise upon which to start your training should be to assume that you have a dog that will retrieve. In essence what your training should quickly come around to is actually training the dog to be steady and to only retrieve when told to do so. But so often we see owners repeatedly throwing dummy after dummy, seemingly on the basis that constant repetition will drive home the skill. Wrong.

Handle with care in the early stages
Undoubtedly the full-on, handful of a pup is especially more needy of a careful and planned introduction to training, instead of one that assumes that draining away the energy will make it more controllable. 

If you think about it it’s the dog’s attitude that is a good indication of its mental immaturity. This is a dog with a brain that is still “fizzing and popping” with all the zest of youth and is certainly not one that is going to be receptive to going to proper school just yet.

But of course a youngster like that can’t simply be left to its own devices. Very often these are the real gems that turn into tremendous working dogs with all the drive and commitment you can stand back and admire on a shooting day. The dogs that never let you down and have the heart of a lion. 

But the secret is knowing how to harness all of that ability and that’s why it’s essential to realise just how good these dogs can be and to ensure the early stages of training are taken with great care.

Of course there will be those who have seen these explosive youngsters subjected to harsh training methods in an effort to curb their “now, not in a minute” approach to life. I don’t agree with any such methods; they are not what gundog training is about because the real skill is about being able to capitalise on what these dogs have to offer rather than apply methods to achieve submission and subservience. 

Everyone knows that no matter what job is being tackled – whether it’s decorating a room or re-designing a garden – that the best end result can only be achieved by thorough and correct preparation, somewhat tedious though it may be. And so too with young dogs –particularly the strong-willed ones.

Channel the dog’s energy towards listening to you
Don’t be in a rush to start retrieving work. You’ll be surprised at how much of the dog’s energy can be far more usefully absorbed by basic obedience routines. I am not, however, suggesting that you set about rigid collie-type obedience training, but undertake heelwork, sits and stays and response to the whistle. In fact any training opportunities that engage the dog’s brain to focus on listening and watching you will be hugely beneficial.

Hi-energy work with youngsters that are not ready for it just fuels the fire. What you should be aiming to do is to divert some of this physical “fizz” so that the dog is using up mental energy and is starting to look to you more and more. This is how to establish the sound foundation for further training and so develop that all important “connection” between the two of you.

If you imagine such a scenario compared with the one where you start hauling dummies into the air, you soon realise that you are instigating elementary training over which you have a much greater degree of control compared with one where the young dog is being launched away from you and given a free-hand is deciding how and when it returns.

So many times have I seen young “hot” dogs that are a real handful be asked to do things they are simply not ready for. When they make a hash of it the owner assumes that gives licence to chastise or shake the dog or worse, in the assumption that such admonishment will correct the crime.

Such actions may serve to quell the dog’s enthusiasm in the short term but I do not believe they are a long-term solution to learning. If a young dog is strong-willed far better to spend more time with him on the elementary issues of training to get him receptive and responsive so that when you do progress to more of the action-packed part of his education he is a respectful and listening pupil – but one in which you have harnessed his enthusiasm rather than extinguished it.