Scott Linden Outdoors

Timing really is everything. So is “thinking like a dog.”

Look up “immediate gratification” in the dictionary (it’s a fat, heavy book with a lot of words in it – look it up, er, well, you do remember those, right?) and you’ll see a picture of my dog Flick. I’ve written and spoken many times about how I believe dogs think in a linear fashion, and how timing any command/praise/correction is critical, must fit into the tiny niche allowed in the dog’s thought process.

Virtually every good trainer knows or at least senses this. Among the pro’s I’ve worked with, most will use it to their advantage, whether they know it or not. But a recent conversation with Brad Higgins of Higgins Gun Dogs put an exclamation point on the topic. See if it might help you both train a little better …

It is the belief of many, including me, that a dog only has room in his head for one thing, a single next step, solitary priority. In most cases, that priority is in his best interests, not ours. Bird, food, safety, comfort, love, come to mind (hey, we’re talking dogs here!). When Flick gets what he wants, he has then cleared his mental inventory and has room for the next need/want/priority. And maybe, just maybe, your command.

Would it help if we fit our priorities into our dog’s logistics? Probably. Of course, if you’re a master trainer with different methods/motives, or have access to unlimited cooperative wild birds year-round, you can ignore my suggestions. But for the rest of us, just sayin’.

Example: Flick is working on locking up the moment he scents bird. No “roading,” creeping, or dilly-dallying until he actually sees the bird or the bird launcher. On bare chukar slopes or behind a covey of scampering valley quail, we might get one more safe shot per day with him pointing sooner rather than later.

Instinctively, he will do this. Or, enough “wild” birds may teach him. Unless he’s gotten away with the sneaky behaviors noted above or worst, caught a planted bird. Which Flick did, several weeks ago. So, we are back to Square One, carefully stage-managing his search to ensure he hits the scent cone hard and with nearby adult supervision. Once he’s pointing, the bird flies ASAP and so does a dead bird he can redeem as his reward for a job well done.

Point-flush-retrieve is 5-10 seconds total because well, he’s a puppy, and an instant payoff is the fastest way to learn. In other situations, the dog’s goal may be different – food, girls/boys, going home … and we need to keep that in mind and use it to our advantage – we are supposed to be smarter than our pupils.

Yes, we are extending the length of each portion and some day, (some day!) it will be a leisurely approach to a steady dog, some picture-taking, loading and closing the fine English SXS, and finally, a flush. Once the smoke has cleared, the still-quivering-but-otherwise-solid Flick will be released to retrieve – to hand, of course. I just hope my baseball-catcher’s knees hold up until then!

The point is, thinking about what a dog wants is one thing. Thinking about what a dog wants right now, is a different kettle of fish. Speed up your thinking process and you may speed up your training, too.