As consistent as our hunting training programs are at Wildrose, our socialization techniques vary greatly by trainer and location. Our mama dog Bella is getting ready for the Halloween season by checking out the animated mannikins at the Home Depot.
Great New Year’s Eve hunt with the boys home. Thanks to Darlene Zimmerman for working her pointer, Shatzie, with us so we could practice our strike-back training (where the GSH locks up on point and the lab, who had been heeling, is sent in to flush the bird). Still room for training, but 16 in the bag out of 15 released is a great day. Whether you have a pointer or a flusher, come join us for a Strike Back workshop this summer and get in on the fun. #wildrosekennelsmidwest #trainingthewildroseway
How old does my dog need to before I can taken them hunting? A question we frequently get. We generally will not hunt our dogs until they are two years old. Why? There are so many variables in a live hunting scenario that can lead to bad habits or unwanted circumstances. This year, 9 month old Wildrose Duke is traveling to North Dakota for his first duck hunting trip. Duke gets to experience most of the sites and sounds of duck camp, but he will be in his kennel during the actual hunt. After the hunt is over, I will let Duke out of the car and let him walk around the blind area. We also will do some marking drills with actual ducks. This gives Duke the feeling of a duck hunt, but I am in control of all of the variables, ensuring his success and an overall positive experience. Hang in their Duke, your time will come!
After a month of trailing memories which have gone very well, I started adding in some circle memories with 5 1/2 month old WIldrose Duke. The first time I ran this circle memory, Duke ran out for the bumper in the same circle that we had just walked. So, I had to step back a rung on the training ladder and reset the drill as a straight trailing memory through the woods. After two successful trailing memories, we re-ran it as a circle memory and he did it perfectly. This is a great example of problem solving as a handler. When things don’t go as planned, how do we respond to help rebuild the dog’s confidence.
Finally, after a cold spring, we had some warm enough temps to heat up the water for our younger dogs. It’s always fun to see a new pup introduced to water. We never push young dogs to do more than they are 100% comfortable with in the beginning.
In this video, Wildrose Duke , makes his second water retrieve. With that natural water entry, ducks beware!
We have some incredible dogs that we are working - water is warming up and our dogs are excited to work.
Enjoy watching some of the dogs we have the pleasure of working with here at Wildrose Midwest.
Sitting to the flush is something a lot of dogs struggle with, but is a very important skill for our upland dogs. We teach the dogs to sit for their own safety when the gun goes off, for the gentleman’s aspect of deciding whose dog will get the retrieve, ano oh yes, sometimes the bird will actually fly away. After Duke gets his fill of denials lying all around him, I bring out the pheasant wing on a wooden dowel and simulate a flush in front of him. At 5 months old, I don’t work with the wing too often, but this is a very high level of denial for a young dog.
You never can have too much steadiness in a puppy. While 5 month old Duke (Yellow lab) has a lot of drive, he is also doing a good job watching denials. If he is steady and doesn’t break on any denials, his reward at the end is getting to hold one of the bumpers while I pick up the others. Duke is too young to have formal hold conditioning, but by shaping his early retrieves on Cato boards he holds the bumper well. We will work on keeping his head steady.
Here’s a video describing the ‘sit’, and the progression that we put our pups through here at Wildrose Midwest. Some additional points that didn’t make the video:
* you always want the action first, followed by the command - don’t continue to say ‘sit’ pleading for your dog to sit. When they sit, follow that with the command.
* using Cato boards, we don’t use the command of ‘place’ until after our pup demonstrates that they are secure in the ‘sit’ - place will come, progress slowly.
Often times I see people trying to go to fast, give to many commands/concepts to their young pups. Progress slowly, there should be no rush with a young pup.
Good luck in your training!
