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Posts Tagged ‘Cedarwood Gundogs’

Road to Utility Test: a new tool

Posted in dog training, hunting dog, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 22, 2012| Leave a Comment »

We got lucky here. Now, we’re practicing to make things more perfect.

Of all the things my new friend and NAVHDA judge Bob Farris pointed out on a recent visit, the most gratifying was how steady Manny was on flying birds. Not rock-steady, of course, but better than many of the other aspects of the Utility test. And I’m pretty confident he’ll get better, especially with the help Bob extended to us.

Bob acquainted me with his version of the ‘gut hitch,’ a variation on Rick and Ronnie Smith’s half-hitch around the dog’s waist. The basic concept is that a dog will stop – and stay stopped – when he feels pressure on his flank. The hitch applies it.

Bob’s rig goes from waist to collar, attaching at both points. A checkcord is clipped to the rail-like cord and gives the handler an easy way to apply that pressure to the flank. A tug, particularly upward, stops most dogs in their tracks. The advantage to Bob’s version is the dog need not drag the entire cord, just the hitch portion, which remains off the ground and attached to his waist and collar. When you want to stop him, simply attach the checkcord and tug.

No, it’s not really that easy, but the tools make it easier. Now, to put theory into practice.

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When a point becomes “whoa”

Posted in dog training, hunting dog, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on July 10, 2012| 8 Comments »

Now, it becomes a “whoa” command.

Thanks to NAVHDA trainer, judge and Pudelpointer breeder Bob Farris, my eyes have been opened so wide, I’m gonna need Visine! Of the many things he’s enlightened me about, steadiness while on birds was perhaps the most useful to me, and maybe to you.

We all have our methods for teaching staunchness. Barrel, table, half-hitch, collar, place board, winch, tow truck … all have their merits. But those are merely practical applications of a theory I’d never quite grasped.

Think about the temptation, the challenge, the genetic motivators for breaking point. After all, a point is merely a pause prior to pouncing on prey (just watch a coyote working a field for mice). Sure, we can stretch the length of that pause, but at some point we must overcome instinct alone or he will pounce.

As a judge, Bob is asked to evaluate every piece of the point-flush-shot-fall-retrieve process. There are different goals for each, the most important being the separation of instinct (the moment a dog smells the bird and points) from obedience (when he’s led to understand he must hold that point, indefinitely).

So, Bob says break the sequence into those two pieces: 1) the point … instinct; 2) staying staunch … obedience. That’s how they’re judged in a NAVHDA Utility Test, because that’s a good way to ensure reliable performance in the field (a dog that’s steady to wing-shot-fall).

Manny is catching on … now, if his handler can! He’s learning that a whiff of bird equals point. But he’s also learning that once I’m in the picture giving the whoa command, instinct is out, obedience is in. Eventually, the verbal command will become a hand signal, then simply a “look.” But by then, he’ll understand that a human that walks to the bird means the same thing as “whoa,” a hand signal, the sound of a flush, a gunshot or long whistle: do not move.

We love our dogs for their instinctive skills and how we can join them in the hunt, the two of us making a team that is stronger than either individual. There are plenty of times when the dog’s instincts are paramount. Others, when obedience and cooperation must trump those genetic signals.

What’s worked for you?

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