Gun Dog Training Insights For Brilliant Results
Anyone who has watched a hunter and his dog can sense the deep bond between them. The hunting dog responds to every command with speed and precision. It takes time and patience to reach this level, but the result is well worth the effort.
Retrievers: Dogs such as the Labrador retriever and the Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever have been bred over hundreds of years to be good gun dogs. This doesn’t mean, however, that it is any easier today to get them to work than it was back then.
The Basic Commands: Instructions on a basic level, such as Whoa, No, Kennel, Sit and Come, are necessary for the dog to be completely familiar with. It is vital that your dog know and obey each of these commands before field training can commence. If your dog doesn’t follow your commands when he is on a leash, he definitely would not obey when he is off his leash and running free. Do not try to train your dog at home; he needs a realistic situation out in the field.
Transition To The Field: When your dog becomes skilled with those particular orders, and you have taught him not to be afraid of the noise that a gun makes, then you can begin training in the field. Begin with dummy training. Your dog must learn that he is meant to retrieve, and dummy training is the best method for teaching this.
Do Some Dummy Training: Select a dummy appropriate to your dog. Some are made of plastic or fabric, while others resemble game birds. Only when your dog can retrieve the dummy without shaking or damaging it can you begin to train with real birds.
Sometimes the dog won’t touch the real bird at first, and you will have to go back to the dummy adding feathers and streamers onto it to resemble the game bird you will be hunting.The streamers mimic movement of a bird when it isn’t quite dead so that the real thing won’t scare your dog off.
Using Decoys: It is important that you transition to the real bird slowly if your dog seems to be afraid at first when retrieving it. You can use a stuffed duck or pheasant as a decoy dummy, by getting them from the taxidermist.
