something he understands... the verbal
order to "Sit!"
Repeat the whistle, hand signal and voice command enough and
shortly he'll plug in on the right circuit. In anticipation of
the voice command, he knows, he'll obey both whistle and/or silent
gesture without your having to speak to him. Then, depending
on how much you drill and set up with distractions that will
tempt him so he can correct when he yields, you'll have a gun
dog that will butt-kiss the ground any time, any place when you
signal. Of course, this means lots of field work! But it all
starts in the house, backyard, kennel, automobile or any place
you and your dog are frequently together.
You'll get an "easy training bonus" if the pup you
pick turns out to be a "natural sitter." Spaniel and
retriever pups frequently display that characteristic, which
may be indicative of a really smart pup. The sit position makes
it easier for a pup to look up at you and study your facial expressions
or follow your gesticulation. "Reading" human "body
English" is a characteristic of intelligent, eager to please
pups and dogs. When they're at all inclined to cooperate it clues
them in and gives them advance notice of conscious commands,
resulting in dogs that "catch on quick" or "almost
train themselves."
If you just say, "Sit!" coupled with that one-finger
"now pay attention," gesture each time he voluntarily
assumes the position, you may never have to lay hands on him
or force him into doing it.
For both the willing and the willful pup a restraint and award
drill that keeps pups and adults and brushed up on their manners
can be done any time and you and your dog leave or enter the
house or you let a dog out of his kennel. Anytime you think of
it, when you are at a house door or a kennel gate, before |
opening the door or gate order your pupil
sit while you open the door and to stay sit until you release
him. You may use this opportunity to teach a follow-up command,
"Stay!" or "Wait!" But if you've drilled
your pup well enough, the "Sit!" command should be
sufficient. That's the last order he got. He should stay seated
until released or sent on.
Reflexive obedience to the sit command has all kinds of field,
home and people applications in handling, demonstrating and hunting
with a dog that's a pleasure to be with because he's responsive
and controllable; situations I leave for you to imagine, a figure
out and experience. Control is no blessing in disguise. It is
a vital requirement for a decent gun dog companion. Instilling
it is worth a lot of effort considering how casually good behavior
can be acquired by a good dog it's a crime when dog owners don't
recognize or fail to take advantage of training "windows
of opportunity."
Obviously, the routines outlined are not harsh. Just a gentle
coercion done repeatedly until the pup catches on to what you
want. When he doesn't respond properly (and some of the most
promising pups have enough of the devil in them not to), once
you are sure he grasps your meaning it's safe to conclude that
he is teasing or defying you. If you are going to let him get
away with that, forget the training. There always exceptions.
But along with persistence, being consistent is a most important
rule of dog training, patience being a distant third. You don't
fool or confuse a dog in training nor make excuses for sub-par
performance. |
When a dog screws up, the mixed signal
you send when you scold or punished physically one time and ignore
the mess up the next will either confuse the dog or temp him
to try to "get away with it" this time. Either ignore
his transgressions or call his attention to deliberate misbehavior
with harsh words and a stinging reminder. A swat across the flanks
is usually effective human expression of your displeasure, and
reminding him of his duty and punishing for his dereliction.
The suggested procedures can be applied to a canine of virtually
any age, most gently with a small pup, and more abruptly with
a five to seven month old youngster and very firmly with an adult
which didn't have the benefit of early play training that framed
him in windows of opportunity and must be made to toe the mark.
A major distraction of an easy method to instill sitting on command
for both real and wannabe trainers is that you can  have
it behind you as an important part of your dog's training long
before you turn him out for serious field experience. Being this
far down the road, you can concentrate on the actual hunting
aspects of his work during the infrequent times you're able to
get him out into game cover or suitable training grounds. |
