29/06/2025
The first three months with your new gundog puppy are all about laying the groundwork for a well-trained picking up dog.
Two essential commands to teach your puppy are "leave" and "drop."
Leave means moving away from something they are approaching and coming back towards you. It could be a treat on the floor, a toy, or even something undesirable like sheep poo. The idea is to redirect their attention back to you and then reward them for doing so. It functions similarly to a recall command but protects your recall, as in these instances, your puppy can soon see the cue as negative as you are essentially ruining their fun.
On the other hand, "drop" tells your puppy to empty their mouth of whatever they’re holding. This is particularly important because puppies tend to pick up everything they find, and you don’t want to risk ruining their desire to retrieve by constantly taking things away from them. Start by offering something more appealing, like a piece of cheese, when they have an item in their mouth. As they release the object to take the treat, click and reward them.
For those of you who have just panicked at the thought of rewarding a picking up puppy for dropping something, I want to introduce you to the hand touch, which will form the foundation of the clicker retrieve.
It is a simple yet powerful behaviour to ensure you get a hand delivery. And yes, dogs are smart enough to know the difference between that cue and the drop cue.
The hand touch can also be used for recall, heel work and getting your dog to pivot with you when lining out for retrieves. By holding out your hand in a flat palm, you just encourage your puppy to touch their nose to your hand and click and reward when they do.
Want to know more about how to train your puppy to become a successful picking up dog? https://www.completelygundogs.co.uk/courses/puppy-to-pickingup
