Stumbling with the red dog

Todd Duncan Tennyson

Todd Duncan Tennyson

Well-known member

Took the boy out for a stomp today, had to wear my river cleats because it was so slick out. We did a bunch of bumpers and he did pretty well, but he's starting to get a notion that it is a game of tug of war. and run away with it. I guess I'll have to not lean into his notions and be firm. He's only a year old. The main thing is that we got out for a stumble in the snow together.

Be good,

Todd
 
He'll hunt. We already walked behind the firing line at the gun range, and he is snoopy on anything that flits or flitters from the brambles. I think he'll probably outlast me. I am going to do my best to get him right with the show. He's a good dog, and I am going to work him as best as I can do, for me.
 
Remember to catch him doing something you want him to do and praise him instead of correcting from something you don't want him to do!

Advice from Robert Milner, one of the best ever.
 
Todd,
On training dogs I have no sage advice or words of wisdom. What I can tell you is that I became a water fowler largely because of my GWP, Berta. Our first year of pheasant hunting hunting together was a huge success except for the fact Berta was not so much of a retriever as she was a locator. The trick to getting your bird was looking for the plume of feathers rising from the CRP. My wife and I tried everything to encourage her to do the right thing. Training with dummies she was flawless in her retrieves but in the field only occasionally would she bring a bird back to hand; but not before it was well chewed. Then one day I got an idea. I reasoned that Berta could not maul a bird while she was swimming and that she had a choice: sit in the boat and do nothing, or make retrieves. The rest as they say is history, Richard. image000000(7).jpg
 
I'm not a pro trainer, but I have had a bunch of red dogs. If he starts the chase me game, turn around and walk away from him. He won't be able to stand it and will run after you. When he gets close, bring him to heal. Don't be in a hurry to grab the bumper, let him hold on to it. Then tell him to drop or release. Hold it for a moment and then give it back to him and then have him drop. Shower him with praise - he should feel like the bride to be at a bridal shower!!! You want to make healing and dropping more fun than chase. Do it religiously when you see the behavior - in the house, the back yard, and of course, in training. We use rolled up "dog towels" in the house and practice a couple of times a day. Force fetching will clear this up as well.
 
As I thought more about this, you may have to start without a bumper, on a lead. Practice recalling him to heal while on a check cord. If he stops, turn around and walk. When he gets close, turn to him and squat down. Give him praise. When he has that down, practice it off lead, until he is solid. The goal is to build the behavior and make it muscle memory. You can add a whistle in at the very first step (on lead) and he will pick it up. Once he is solid, then go back to the check cord and start with the bumper. The goal is to stair step him into what you want him to do.
 
Todd Duncan Tennyson said:

Took the boy out for a stomp today, had to wear my river cleats because it was so slick out. We did a bunch of bumpers and he did pretty well, but he's starting to get a notion that it is a game of tug of war. and run away with it. I guess I'll have to not lean into his notions and be firm. He's only a year old. The main thing is that we got out for a stumble in the snow together.

Be good,

Todd
Click to expand...
By now you should have taught him to sit/stay I hope. When he returns with bumper give him the sit/stay command. Then take bumper from him introducing a leave it command. If he doesn't leave it roll your hand into mouth so he's forced to leave it in your hand. Training retrievers or any dog for that matter is building on lots of small sequential accomplishments. You need to have him under control for him to learn how to do things right. I think you need to learn a bit about training. As someone mentioned Water Dog is about as simple as it gets and if you follow it you'll have a basic well trained retriever. There are many programs since that book that go into depth on training . Force fetch is one thing that needs to be done but Wolters Waterdog doesn't address that at all. Pick a program and follow it and you'll be amazed just how smart a dog you've got. Training the trainer is the hardest part in retriever training.
 
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