The basic concept of Cognitive Dissonance in plain words is that the brain, even in dogs, cannot tolerate conflict. Therefore, the conflict is resolved with behavior that over- rides the other behavior involved, thereby di- minishing or weakening the other behavior in the future.

The basis of selective exposure is that people are most comfortable in familiar sur- roundings and situations, and so it is with our dogs. That is why we simplify a marking or handling concept, teach, and test. If necessary, we repeat the process again. That’s why Carr developed his five-step process to help a dog learn. The steps a trainer should follow are:

1. Simplify and teach the concept.

2. Test performance of concept.

3. Repeat test with appropriate pressure.

4. Repeat test without pressure.

5. Repeat test with praise andt hen sans praise.

The five steps create conditions of dissonance and strengthen the behavior the trainer desires. Sometimes, the handler will have to regress to previous steps, if the dog fails to properly perform. Failures generally occur in the steps involving pressure and praise. If a failure occurs in the step involving pressure, back up to the first and second steps again.

A trainer does not necessarily have to go through all five steps in one training session, even if you are working in the yard. Use good judgment and avoid grinding or nagging the dog. Watch his tail. If it starts to droop, you can bet learning is being impaired. Continue that particular session to another day. Also, use the same five-step procedure for other difficult concepts in the yard or the field.

Selective exposure is also the reason a dog should be exposed to as many different envi- ronmental situations as possible. A training session or trial/hunt test on home grounds differs from such an event elsewhere. Take steps to expose your dogs to various factors—plush alfalfa fields, stubble grain fields, irrigation rows, cut or husked corn rows, ditches, creeks, hills, hay bales and so forth. Also, dogs love a good hike in strange territory, and it helps condition them to different trial/hunt test grounds.

A pro once taught me to watch the ears of dogs. On a marking test, for example, he said to imagine that the arc of a memory bird is exposed on film in the dog’s brain, but the picture doesn’t develop until the dog is lined up for the retrieve. Then, watch the ears. With most dogs the ears will twitch--a little, a sign of “I remember”, and that is the time to send the dog.

Something like that also can occur when lining a dog up for a blind. If not a twitch of the ears, maybe a slight leaning forward for just a moment, as if the dog is ready to pounce. That is the time to clue the dog. Some handlers use “good” or “that’s it”, when the dog is lined up properly and focused down the “channel”. Do something to confirm to the dog that is what you want. T. J. Lindbloom once said that he clucked his tongue once or twice to confirm the line to his 1979 NFC-AFC McGuffy!

A well-known pro taught me how to watch for what really is post-decision dissonance on water blinds, especially when there is strong shoreline suction. He notes which way the dog turns back to answer a whistle, especially a second whistle. If the dog turns back to the same side to which it was cast after the first whistle, the dog is still with the handler. If the dog turns to the opposite side, that may in-dicate a cast refusal or bad scallop is coming, especially if the next cast doesn’t have enough authority. It indicates that the dog’s momentum has shifted toward the shoreline.

In training, one might re-establish control by hesitating before the next cast, making the dog tread water to break the momentum. With some dogs, the handler might have to use a short come-in whistle, then a sit! In a trial, one might hesitate and then give a cast similar to one used to get a dog off a point, an over with a hard verbal over.

In training or in a trial it is crucial that the dog takes the next cast. If the dog had turned back clockwise to its right, another righthand cast with maybe a half-step and a verbal would have reinforced the decision to go straight back. As it is, because he turned to the left, that indicates the magnetism of the shoreline is now stronger than the magnetism of the original line.

We can posit that post-decision dissonance also is involved in both a “no-go” and a spin. When the handler releases the dog on a mark or blind, some condition or the dog’s emotional status at that particular time creates dissonance with the dog’s instinctive prey drive and his learned behavior. Most of the time, in my opinion, a “no-go” and a spin are man-made.

Lastly, strange, but many pros say the same thing about dogs, and Carr was adamant that amateurs praised and petted their retrievers too much. Praise and touch are important aspects of training. Carr’s criticism was that amateurs only reassure themselves by praising and petting the dog outside of a structured training session.

Whenever we think of behavior traits in retrievers, we should consider the word “at- titude” as a tendency to react in a certain way. The behavior and mental attitudes in our dogs have a lot to do with the art of retriever training.

Those of us who have trained retrievers know they have cognitive powers, and that it varies among individual members of the retriever breeds. Some are just plain smarter than others. Some even seem to be sagacious. Many of them can “read” the trainer better than the trainer can “read” them. I believe the best of them exhibit behavior that goes beyond Pavlov conditioning. They might even “think” in terms of imagery, a form of non-verbal thinking.

That brings us to the mental “capabilities” of retrievers, the enhancement of instinctive behaviors and the teaching of learned behaviors—those things that go into the tendencies to react in a certain manner. Those capabili- ties involve three basic characteristics: The dog’s prey drive, defensive nature, and its social bonds and emotions. That is what dog training is all about; there is nothing new. These things have to be kept in a proper balance, or we can create critical issues.

As I have mentioned in previous articles. I have recently taken up the game of golf, since I know that the best way to get good at a sport is to take lessons from a professional instructor, I am taking golf lessons on a regular basis. Since I am an “E-class” golfer my instructor finds my game to be a target-rich environment. This means that during every lesson. he can easily find multiple things that he can teach me. Given this, he always reminds me that when I address the ball. I can only have one swing thought.

I cannot he thinking about my grip, stance, backswing or follow-through when I am trying to hit the ball. The human brain simply can’t process all of this information simultaneously. Even if it could, I would he trying to execute my shot with my conscious mind What I need to do is to narrow all of this down to a single swing thought and then let my subconscious mind execute the swing.

A single swing thought serves two purposes. First it turns down the conscious side of our brain. Second, it gives the conscious mind something to keep it busy. Since our conscious mind can never be turned totally off, we must give it something constructive to do. A single swing thought can do this for us.

A shooter’s pre-shot routine should incorporate a single swing thought for the same reasons. When we call for a target, we cannot he thinking about all of the things we need to do correctly in order to hit it. At the same time, we know our mind will be thinking about something, so it might as well be something that will help us accomplish the task at hand.

Therefore, our single swing thought should always be something positive and should always be process-based. Reminding ourselves to focus hard on the leading edge of the target is a perfect example. Encouraging ourselves to be aggressive with the target is powerful for some shooters. Telling ourselves to commit to the break point can pay huge benefits. The choice is up to you.

What we must avoid at alt costs arc swing thoughts like the golf cart behind us or the loudmouth beside you. And we can never let our swing thought be results oriented, like “I must break this target.” Having any of these type thoughts in your conscious mind when you call for the target is a guaranteed way to miss.

So. what is your single swing thought? It might change situationally and probably should be different when practicing versus competing. But you must have one. Incorporate one into your pre-shot routine and watch your scores go up!