The natural retrieve of a dog is important when it comes to how good of a retriever a dog will be. The more natural drive they have to play the game, the less likely they will be to be discouraged and decide the game is not fun inadvertently.
Now, that natural drive for retrieving is not created equal, some dogs have a much higher drive for it than others. However, in my experience, with many puppies of many breeds, almost all dogs have some level of natural retrieved that can be developed.
In fact, from the dogs I’ve worked with I find that with most the dogs that don’t retrieve it is not a matter of desire to retrieve, but that at some point the decided retrieving was “bad”. This is usually not an intentional lesson that was taught to them, it was taught inadvertently through small things as the dog grew up.
An example: a puppy gets into a laundry basket at home and steals a sock. Not wanting the sock to get ruined someone runs over and takes the sock away. When the pup runs for the laundry basket again they are once again told no and the basket of clothes is taken away.
Now this wasn’t a “bad” event for the pup but it is possible that the pup got the message of “don’t pick things up and run around with them”, which is kindof the whole idea with retrieving. The goal wasn’t intentionally to discourage the retrieve, but in the puppies mind that was the lesson learned.
I’m not saying don’t take the sock away. It is important for a young puppy to learn not to destroy our clothes. What I’m saying is we need to make sure we are clear in our communication with them. At the end of the interaction they need to understand that it wasn’t the action of picking something up, and running around was wrong. It was the ITEM they choose to run around with that was wrong. But that the right items are fun to pick up and run around with. Even better, that if they pick up the right items we will play with them by throwing it. If you can be clear wit
Keeping a dog steady through wing, shot, and fall, can be a very advanced piece of training. It’s important to understand how the dog is making its decisions and then train in a way that works with the decision making process instead of against it.
#birddogtraining #pointingdog
Puppy development is one of our favorite things about training bird dogs. It’s amazing to watch their natural instincts develop into an understanding of the game and how to play it successfully. They put the pieces together fast as you can see here. Only a handful of months old and rock solid in point!
(T’s Quadrunner x Erins Red Rose)
#pointingdog #birddogtraining #birddogpuppy #birddogoftheday
New YouTube video!!!
We just put up a youtube video where we show the whole process of working with a dog for a morning. Going from chasing to pointing while multiple birds fly!
The link is in our bio!
#birddog #birddogtraining #pointingdog
The hero suiting up for the big battle. That’s what this feels like to me…
#birddog #suitup #uplanddog
This is a long one but worth the watch and read! There is an important distinction between correction, discipline, and punishment in dog training. People often use the word correction incorrectly. By definition a correction should return the dog to the correct action, if it does not return it to the correct action then it is probably discipline or punishment not correction. Corrections when used properly can be a hugely beneficial training tool! The ability to take a dog that is in the act of making a mistake, and coach the dog through that mistake and back to the correct action so the situation ends with them making the correct actions rather than ending with the incorrect action goes a long way in helping a dog truly understand how it should handle that situation in the future. Food for thought.
#dogtraining #birddogtraining #birddog
Because of all the water this year foxtails have been worse that we have seen in a long time! Many other parts of the country have similar weeds that are dangerous for dogs if not handled properly so we wanted to talk about it.
Seeds similar to the ones you see in this video are common during the summer and early fall months. They starts to come off as the grass dries out in the summer and stay a problem until fall storms finally knock all the seeds off the plants and onto the ground.
These seeds will come off as a dog runs through the grass and get stuck in the webbed pockets of the toes. As the dog moves the sharp point of the seed works it’s way into the skin and can even travel under the skin of the dog up into the foot and ankle. This causes infections and abscesses that can take time, medication, and expensive vet trips to remedy so be proactive in checking your dogs feet for these seeds! Especially in the long haired breeds!
Check out our next reel to see how we make checking them easier!
#foxtails #birddog #doghealth
That’s the way Braydon! Let’s go Aggies!!
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We have a new video up on YouTube! It is a longer podcast style video where we really dive into our philosophy on training, and how our training programs are set up. Check it out on our YouTube page!
https://youtu.be/xXcDi15R0CE
