When the dog consistently brings the activity to the game and has been grabbing the item-now it’s time to start increasing criteria! I begin to ask for short holds, quickly remove my hands, or might not reward right away on a grab. You can even see him get frustrated as he struggles to unlock the reward as the old quick grabs might not pay as much or as frequently. This frustration builds motivation to hunt out the solution-struggle is learning and over coming is rewarding!
My favorite moment is when he offers a down, so I step away, he then stands up and pulls into the back tie for me to bring the game back in! 💪
After spending time rewarding an active dog, now begin to emphasize rewarding the dog reaching for, booping or pushing with their nose, or quickly grabbing at the simple item. Reaching, pulling, struggling to get to the item is beginning to build toughness. We want to work towards building tough, motivated, and active thinkers in our dogs.
I keep my hands involved this early on and help hold the item up while the dog reaches for or quickly grabs at the item. Later on, I will generalize lowering the item towards the ground, to the sides, and will phase my hands out completely. Don’t expect the dog to fully grab and hold onto the item this early in the retrieve behavior, but if they do, be prepared to jackpot that grab and quick hold!
Is your dog struggling with retrieve? Here are some common steps I take and ask when problem solving:
1. Do you have a clear marker system?
2. Have you spent any time rewarding/getting the dog in the right emotional state before asking for the dog to grab the item?
3. Has your dog spent any time pulling into a back tie? The back tie is a gauge for a dog’s motivation. Tight back tie = motivated dog
4. Have you found a simple item that fits your dog’s mouth and stayed consistent with it or have you been switching items before the game of reach and grab is understood?
5. Does your dog have a culture of working for their meals?
One of the biggest things I want to see in a retrieve sessions is an active dog (one who pulls into the back tie or one who stares intently) before we even start focusing on a grab of the item.
Stayed tuned for sessions 2 and 3 with this future retrieve monster!
Generalize your obedience in the ☀️ and in the ❄️ so that way your dog begins to have a generalized understanding of commands in all sorts of environments!
I get it, setting specific time to train might be hard on some days, so if you really don’t have the time to train a 5-10 min session, make training apart of your day! Training culture is about doing cool sh*t with your dog, but it is also your dog has the ability to execute commands while you are busy on that phone meeting, watching a movie, doing the dishes, folding laundry (if you don’t just throw it in a pile and call it good enough like me😅). So let’s strive for fostering training culture and making training apart of the day!
One of my favorite things to do with dogs in for training is add play throughout their whole stay!
Play:
1. We like to incorporate play with the dogs to get them into a good emotional state.
-Play helps dogs feel powerful! Check out that tail/motivation after he beats me and wins his toy in the second portion of the vid!
2. Great way to get dogs feeling comfortable/confident in newer environments as the game is with the handler.
-Dog’s focus is inward with the handler and not outwardly to the environment.
3. A fun way to build culture with your dog.
-the game begins when he targets and tugs the ball. NOT the handle. Must be able to give the item with harmony. Can even go one step further and put play on que!
4. Play can help with counter conditioning.
-dog likes to chase squirrels on the walk? Break them backwards toward you to let that prey drive freak flag fly onto a tug toy!
5. A dog can eat while they are stressed, but a dog will not play while they are stressed.
-good gauge to see where my dog’s head space is at. Am I in too much challenge right now? Is my dog too prey locked on the squirrel? Maybe I need to take some distance to where my dog will take their toy!
6. Good exercise for both dog and human and overall just good for the soul!
-have fun, be weird, really try to win that toy, play so hard you’re winded afterwards, laugh, and smile!
A Plums’s retrieve! I wanted to keep the original audio as a learning opportunity.
I’m getting low and encouraging the little man the whole way through the retrieve from the moment he grabs to the out.
Notice my pacing of the commands. I’m excited and throwing commands out left and right. 😅 not the end of the world as he does execute the commands, just at his pace.
Lastly, pay attention to Nisha during Plums’s retrieve. She isn’t taking/possessing the bird from him. She isn’t demanding my attention or running off in the distance. I can’t emphasize this enough, if you run multiple dogs in the field or know you will be hunting with other people’s dogs-take time to train your dogs around each other outside of a downed bird situation. Throw some bumpers, do some denials, and send one dog at a time for a retrieve.
One of my FAVORITE drills for retrieve!
I love this little game of teaching the dog to pull into the back tie to put their face in my hand.
1. Gets a dog comfortable with pulling into the back tie outside of retrieve or bite work context.
2. Helps foster motivation for reaching.
3. Gets a dog more comfortable with their face being manipulated/touched for when you have to bring your hands in over or under the dog’s mouth for when you increase the criteria.
4. Fosters a culture of the dog has to bring the activity to move the game forward and not the handler.
5. Helps me know when to reward for a settled mouth/grip
6. I can later put it on que so I can check ears/eyes/mouth for any foreign bodies. Plus makes wiping them eye boogies a lot easier 😂
Fit check! Plums got a new skid plate, so I always recommend testing out your gear before taking it into the field. You don’t buy a brand new pair of boots and take them out of the box at the hunting field. You wear them bad boys around the house and break em in!
Things I keep in mind when I test out new gear for the dogs:
1. Indirect socializing and training of the gear beforehand (don’t be slapping specs or plates on and expecting a good hunt if they’ve never had any exposure before)
2. The fit (adjust the sizing before reaching the hunting field. Should be ready to go beforehand and need no major adjustments)
3. Looking for any rubbing or chafing especially in the armpits when wearing skid plates (can lead to skin infections/issues)
4. I like to exercise the dogs while they test their gear to help simulate the running/environment of hunting this way I can see if the fit is proper, I see what they act like in their gear, and observe any behavior changes (check specs staying in place, look for any breathing restrictions with the skid plate, and watch their movements)
5. I get a lot of questions on booties. I personally don’t use booties for my dogs, but have used mushers secret and have bandage wraps in the first aid kit if need be.
Working dogs out in Montana! 🏔️
Your dog training adventure starts here!
