As a professional trainer,
each season I see ama
teurs, even those with considerable experience, making some
fundamental mistakes in training and handling.
Here's my list of the most common mistakes that all of us make
from time to time.
Failure to give a counter-command. You order your dog to Heel
or Whoa but fail to give the release command (counter-command)
when you are ready for the dog to resume walking or hunting.
Without a release cue, you confuse your dog and actually encourage
sloppy performance, if not outright disobedience.
Failure to develop "quiet power." Screaming and yelling
and losing your temper, your dog will feel the tension and anger
in your voice and the lesson will be for naught. Strive for an
atmosphere of quiet, calm working. By the same token
Asking instead of telling- (A pet peeve of mine). The command
is Here, not Here? (Note the question mark). The command is Whoa,
not Whoa? You don't have to scream or shout. Be decisive in tone
and delivery and sound like the leader of the pack. (Which you
are, or should be!)
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Inconsistency-Don't allow your dog to think he can beat
you at your own game. Make him understand that he must respond.
Every time your dog "beats" you by not responding,
a bad habit is being formed. Every handler gets "beat"
now and then. Just make sure that most of the "victories"
are yours, not the dog's.
Temper, temper! It's not easy, but it's essential for the trainer
to be
in control of his or her temper during training. Losing one's
temper may undo careful weeks and months of training. If you've
had "one of those days," then don't train that day!
Remember that the best trainers train without emotion.
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E-collar eagerness. Make sure your dog
understands what you want him to do before stimulating him with
the E-collar. Whether used on the dog's flank or neck, the dog
must know what is expected of him and become accustomed to the
neck or flank point-of-contact before introducing the E-collar.
Establish point-of-contact by use of the "chain gang"
tie-out, the half hitch around the flank, and the Command Lead
on the neck well before transition to the E-collar.
Reading problem-Become intimately familiar with your dog's tolerance
level so that you may "read" his sensitivity to correction.
And in all cases, do not correct more than necessary. If you've
had to come down hard on him, be sure to take a break from training
and buddy-up with him before resuming training. He will have
forgiven you and you may even forgive yourself with the passage
of a couple of days or more.
Grudge hangover- If you continue to berate or scold after having
given a correction, or hold a grudge, your dog is apt to develop
a bad attitude toward commands and correction. Once the dog has
been corrected, get on with the lesson and get over it! But give
yourself and your dog a day or two to put it behind you.
Lack of mutual trust- We want to be able to trust our dog to
hold point for as long as it take for us to reach him for the
flush, right? But ask yourself-does your dog trust you? If you
continually arrange things so that your dog has little or no
chance of success, chances are |
