Following on from my first thread, I took Monty to a friends private field. All enclosed. I thought I would let Monty off and see how he was. Now I need advice on how to approach his training. I havent started any proper obedience training yet, so all of this is what he has learnt before hand. He sits consistently and I can have him sit when I have a dummy, walk back how ever far then back and around him without him budging really. All it takes is an "Ah" if he raises and he sits again. Also after we had a good throw around, I said heel and he walked next to my left leg. Doesn't do this when hes got all his energy. Also corrected well when he pushed on. He also comes backs well with the dummy and brings it to me. Not to my hand as such but generally to me. The question is, what do I do with the stuff hes learnt. Hes obviously had some training but im not sure if its traditional training as he was back at the gundog breeder for abit. They recommended a sliplead to me and not a harness so assume they still practise traditional methods. I don't want to undo any training he has or confuse him. Would it be best to book a 1 to 1 with a trainer? I have a good gundog school down the road and they train using modern methods. Sorry for the long winded post!
Hi Chicane 1992, I would just continue to work with your dog with the methods you wish to use. It seems to be working. The one proviso: Since you think the dog may be confused by the possible change then increase your rate of reinforcement in order to instil the possible changes. Keep track of the dog's behaviour, and once you feel the dog understands your cues and techniques, move to random reinforcement. I find the Push, Stick, and Drop accounting regime to be an excellent way of keeping track of your dog's performance. Keeping a detailed diary of training sessions is an excellent input on which to form reflections.
