When to start gundog training
Gundog training: The basics and benefits
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hello my name's adam femi and i'm a
canine behaviorist and trainer based in
hartford ship today i'm going to be
talking to you about gun dog training
I don't feel trying myself but I enjoy
picking up on local shoots with my dogs
and helping pet dog owners improve their
relationships with their gun dogs gun
dog group includes the retrievers the HP
ours hunt point and retrieve the setters
and pointers and also the spaniels I
always encourage all owners to try and
get the best out of their dogs on a walk
we're out and about making sure exercise
is constructive and this can be done
with any dog not just the gun dogs but
of course it's more instinctive for the
gun dogs to do things like flush game
retrieve want to use their nose etc as a
behaviorist I often see breeds such as
the cocker spaniels the Springer
Spaniels the working Labradors these
these briefs that have been selectively
bred for their energy levels obviously
going to be very important on a shoot
day these breeds within a pet home
environment can become problematic or
show behavioral problems gun dog
training can be very useful here even if
not at a serious level but at a fun
level to help the dog have an outlet and
energy outlet to prevent behaviors such
as obsessions possessive behaviors
pacing territorial guarding etc so I
always encourage people who come along
to my classes with higher energy dogs to
get their dogs focused whether that be
with agility gun dogs working trials etc
gun dog training is about basically
getting good discipline to start with we
need the heel command the recall
commands the dog to be steady so to stay
on the whistle preferably rather than
the voice although some people will use
voices especially gamekeepers rather
than a whistle but what we must make
sure with any command that we give of
course is that the dog understands it if
it doesn't understand it we should be
teaching it once a dog does understand
the command we must enforce the command
we give this has to be shown
the dog in many different situations so
within the shooting field we've got to
make sure that the dog understands to
drop or sit within a woodland area
within a cover crop out on an open wheat
field or within Rape etc I always start
training my dogs with tennis balls with
a young dog then we start to introduce
the canvas dummies the reason for this
is they are more realistic they match
the weight of a pheasant or a partridge
or a rabbit so we get the dogs used to
carrying the weight obviously we need
the dog to bring the game back without
any damage so we need to teach the dog
to retrieve in a nice sensible way and I
will always start in a calm quiet area
without any distractions the ultimate
goal is to get into the shooting field
where there is going to be game
livestock potentially guns which is a
dangerous situation potentially for a
dog so we need to make sure we have good
discipline good foundations build off of
them to get the end result and for me
the end result is a picking up dog
others it may be filled trialing or
competing in working tests but for me is
to end up with a good sound dog that we
can take on to a shoot that's steady
reliable and it's safe some of the
exercises we may require a dog to do on
a shoot they may include flushing game
which is using its nose to find the game
within a cover crop or long grass etc
pushing the game out sitting steady as
the bird flies away or the rabbit runs
away obviously staying well out the way
of the animals so that the shot is clear
and dog won't get injured we've also got
things with the setters and the pointers
obviously setting and pointing this is
freezing on the scent once the dog is
sure there is scent within the area
we have the retrieving which of course
is once the game has been shot or
wounded we want the dog to be collecting
that for us on command not just chasing
off off much of the gun dog work is
about steadiness good foundations making
sure the dog is well-mannered within the
presence of game scent except run with
the gun dog we always have to appreciate
scent wins that's very important I
always test the win just with a bit of
grass before we go out just to see where
it's coming from that's going to help
putting the dog in a position to win in
those early days of training but also
massively important when we're getting
to the shooting field the dogs using its
nose massively powerful organ for the
animal and we want to make sure we get
the best out the dog if you've got a pet
dog and you're just using the ball
throwing the ball into some long grass
throw it into the wind initially just
the dog gets that that the the the idea
of using his nose or her nose which
obviously is going to make the game much
more constructive a lot of pet dogs I'll
go and see will be playing but with
their eyes so they're very obsessive the
Colley's in the park with the ball froze
etc and what I always try to get owners
to do is make the play constructive get
the best out of the play game and make
the dog work as hard as you can
especially the higher energy dog we need
to make sure we mentally and physically
drain that dog during our exercise
sessions this is going to help with
preventing behavioral problems
potentially at home
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