Once Buddy is solid on retrieving and holding a bird or bumper, it will be a matter of extending that hold indefinitely. Again, this is critical in almost every hunt test or field trial situation but more importantly in the field. Wing-clipped birds are highly motivated to scoot away given the chance, when a dog [...]
Archive for June, 2008
What Buddy Taught Me: Train the retrieve, extend the hold
Posted in News, tagged bird hunting, dog training, German wirehair, hunting dog, Labrador, obedience, obedience training, retrieving, shorthair, TV series, water, What the Dogs Taught Me, wirehair on June 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Bringing Up Buddy: Train your dog – another route to “hold”
Posted in News, tagged bird hunting, dog training, fetch, German wirehair, hunting dog, obedience, obedience training, puppy, retrieving, TV series, What the Dogs Taught Me on June 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
One of the many challenges in teaching Buddy to retrieve is holding the bird until told to release. I use “thanks” for the release command, just a quirk, but it works. I also use “get it” rather than “fetch” just because. So sue me. Anyway, getting back to the task at hand (or paw): Buddy [...]
Bringing Up Buddy: Train your pup with free food?
Posted in News, tagged bird dog, bird hunting, dog commands, dog rewards, dog training, fetch, German wirehair, gun dog, hunting dog, obedience training, TV series, What the Dogs Taught Me on June 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
A crusty old trainer told me a crustier, older trainer once told him: Never give away a bowl of food. And as I approach crustiness, I follow that advice religiously, because it helps Buddy be a better hunter. Short of birds, food is the strongest motivator … for an un-neutered dog. So I’ve learned to [...]
