Re: My Training - tell us yours! It was SUPER impressive to me, believe me! I would never have thought she would have managed it.
Re: My Training - tell us yours! Good girl Poppy. That'll boost confidence in both of you, great stuff.
Re: My Training - tell us yours! Well done Molly, Poppy and everyone for these great training replies. This is a great thread and really useful too As you know we are always training as all of you are but Charlie being a rescue dog has meant it has been pretty tough at times. I do have a question, Charlie is really good off lead in the woods staying within about a 30 - 50 meter distance going right to left as we walk and checking in on us but he is a running dog not a walking one On open ground he behaves differently and wants to run in 5 minute bursts but further distances. So my question is would you always walk in the woods for better results or work on open ground staying closer but we can't seem to get him to stay close as he won't retrieve so any ideas would be greatly appreciated as this is a tough one for us? Thanks xx
Re: My Training - tell us yours! Helen ,I don't know if this will help.Although I can get Dexter a good off lead walk most days I don't have a massive choice of walks to do ....not so long ago I was noticing he was ranging further away from me .......(to be honest 50 m would stress me out mainly because I can't see what he's doing if he wants to eat something yucky/dangerous like a bone : my dogs got some horrible habits ;D) I think he knows the areas we are in so well he was getting a bit too confident...so I started doing the about turn walk ,I read about it on one of Pippas articles.now if I'm out in the 'local' desert at the back of our estate,he stays a lot closer because he's never sure which direction I'm going in......although he would have no problem running off to another dog or to chase a deer,in the normal course of a walk he does check in with me a lot and doesn't like to not be able to see me....so I can play this style is walking to my advantage.....you basically never walk in the same direction as your dog....so I guess you have to not be too bothered about a pre decided route ,when he catches you up,at first you ignore him and just turn and walk the other way.....it's definately made Dexter stay closer to me.... Poppy did amazing Karen,really interesting that she learns from the other dogs too x
Re: My Training - tell us yours! Thanks Angela we do this wherever possible but the problem is on open ground. Charlie does his sit/wait before his lead is taken off he is already in an adrenaline fuelled state so when we release him he has already covered a good distance in no time at all so running in the opposite direction serves no purpose but sometimes when he is returning we head off in another direction and he does speed up. We still feel that a walk is not a walk in these areas as he seems to see the horizon and runs but returning within that 5 minute timescale without a recall, we tried recalling him yesterday when he returned caught his breath and started to run again but he ignored it so we really don't want that to happen whereas in the woods he would have recalled :'( We are finding this pretty tough still, well I am David just accepts this is the Pointer in him an he is not Hattie :-\ xx
Re: My Training - tell us yours! Hmmmmmmm I'm on open ground when I'm doing it ...but I don't have that initial burst away that you are describing.....Dexter just want to sniff everything when I let him off and was just getting into the habit of 'straying' further away following trails.....sorry Helen I'm not much help x
Re: My Training - tell us yours! You always help Angela thank you I will either just have to accept it or come up with a cunning plan!! : xx
Re: My Training - tell us yours! Helen, I think it is the pointer in him but the time away shouldn't be five minutes. That is why you need to try and walk into the wind and send him across you side to side, rather than he runs out on a cheek wind which would be straight in front of you. Walking a pointing dog is not quite like walking a Lab, I still can't get used to having my Labs with me My Liver coloured GSPs always checked on me but my Liver and White ticked ones would tend to hunt much further away; my last one who died just before Christmas, would disappear, suddenly remember she was supposed to be with someone and would then bark "help, help, I am lost" and then I would have to go and find her.
Re: My Training - tell us yours! [quote author=Stacia link=topic=8301.msg118144#msg118144 date=1413710002] Helen, I think it is the pointer in him but the time away shouldn't be five minutes. That is why you need to try and walk into the wind and send him across you side to side, rather than he runs out on a cheek wind which would be straight in front of you. Walking a pointing dog is not quite like walking a Lab, I still can't get used to having my Labs with me [/quote] Thanks Stacia, I know 5 minutes isn't good but it's better than the 1 hour + it used to be, I really don't think it's got anything to do with the wind with Charlie also I really don't want to start training quartering, too difficult and Charlie doesn't hang around long enough to command : He isn't out of sight so he won't get lost and never has, he just ranges and seems to have established a 5 minute time limit. xx
Re: My Training - tell us yours! Lovely to read all of these posts Sam started his gundog training 1-1 lessons when he was about 9 months old , I remember that first lesson with such embarrassing clarity :-[ :-[ Having told the trainer that his recall was pretty good , we met on the moors where I duly let Sam off his lead , he spotted another dog and ran, ignoring my calls and whistles , not a good start : : However , things improved and he learned quickly , it was as much about training me to be honest , we both loved it and it soon became apparent that my lad needed this training almost as much as food and drink , he is working stock and so it is in his blood . We now train about three times a week , his steadiness is rubbish at times but his ability to find is amazing and a joy to watch . His delivery needed loads of work but we are getting there now and manage a reasonable delivery about 90% of the time . I don't work Sam as such, but I`m sure he considers his sessions to be work, it keeps his brain active as well as his body . Okay, our technique is not up to the standards of the pros , but he will retrieve from water as well as in the roughest of thicket , at three and a half years of age I doubt he will ever achieve much more, not that I particularly want him to . Millie came to us as a former stray , un socialised and un trained , so what they call a blank canvas to work on . It was of prime importance to me to get her recall taught, and quickly too , and this was achieved with the help of tennis balls , she would sell her very soul for one I`m sure She used to watch Sam retrieving and began to copy him , so dummy used for Sam and a ball for Madam , it works for us and keeps her close , plus she seems to genuinely enjoy being a terrier retriever, much to the amusement of those who see her . Both a constant work in progress , especially Millie as I realise I can never sit back on my laurels and think that she is reliable , it needs refreshing on a daily basis for the little scruff pup
Re: My Training - tell us yours! Lovely Kate. Thank you. Lady is also working stock and I started her out with gundog training (can't really remember) at about 18 months old. She loves it and, as you say, I'm sure she thinks of the training as being work. The gundog training was definitely for my benefit, not hers! I used to agonise over the truth that she's not "properly" trained and has loads of faults when I compair her with what the books say and what I've seen at trials. But reading these threads about what others are doing with their dogs has reassured me that as far as I'm concerned she's good enough and can do the job but we need to steer clear of the competition arena. ;D I'm currently addressing some of the faults and it's actually been easier than I would have imagined with a 5 year old dog with lots of bad habits. Actually it's quite fun watching her think things through when she remembers "That's not how we do it now". :
Re: My Training - tell us yours! My friend popped in this afternoon with her 4 children. We weren't expecting visitors today so didn't put Harley's collar on her when I answered the door. First few mins she was excitable, but didn't jump, then played nicely in the garden with Emma (10) and Luke (12). Grace (15 months) was chasing Harley in the garden and Harley dropped the ball for her then backed away several times waiting for Grace to throw it. We came in when it started raining. Harley was brilliant inside with all four kids she followed Grace around and blocked her from climbing the stairs several times she played with Emma, Luke and Dan (15) but kept checking on Grace and giving her toys to her To us this was a massive part of her training as we don't have a lot of young children in our family or close friends - usually there is only 1 child at a time at our house and even that is rare. I am sooooo proud of Harley
Re: My Training - tell us yours! Helen, I wasn't expecting you to do any formal training with quartering It is just that if you walk with the wind in your face it tends to make a hunting dog go across the wind. But thinking about it, if he ran across you, he would still be gone 5 minutes! He sounds a super dog to me and is improving so much from when I first read about him x
Re: My Training - tell us yours! Good girl Harley - so important for young dogs to spend time with children!
Re: My Training - tell us yours! Update - the cheese training for 'roll over and let me stroke your tummy' did the trick! I was really pleased with Poppy throughout the test on Sunday - she was calm and unfazed by all the noises (horn, bells, rattling cans) and by the rocking horse with the googly eyes. She wasnt even bothered by the person walking along through the bushes in a long cape and hat (which I thought might well set her off into a barking frenzy). When she thought something was a little odd, she just looked at me for a bit of reassurance; seeing that I was not worried by anything, she was then also fine with it. She was thrilled by the gunshot; got on well with the other dogs, and was friendly but polite with the humans. She even allowed the judge to stroke her belly and stayed there while I moved a few feet away. The only thing she didnt like was being separated from me by a group of people, but she remained calm and just rejoined me as soon as possible. She retrieved like a demon, and was generally a little star. I was especially pleased, as she was a bit of a nervous puppy, and even had a time when she would bark at strangers. A year ago, I am sure the googly-eyed rocking horse or the weirdly-dressed figure in the bushes would have set her off - but now she is self-possessed and unafraid; and this I am sure is due to my and OH's careful, positive training and socialization over the months. 8) I asked the judge whether she thought it would be advisable to think of breeding from Poppy. She told me that Pops exhibited exactly the attributes she wants to see in a labrador - friendly, calm, intelligent, eager to please and with a high prey drive. She also said she looked in top condition - not too skinny, but without any fat on her. (Well, she didnt see her muffin tops when she sits down ). To say I am really, really pleased would be an understatement!! But this isn't (just) a boasting post - it seriously does show that gentle encouragement and lots of positive reinforcement is the way to go with a sensitive, slightly nervous dog. We celebrated by splashing around and retrieving dummies out of the river Rhein, with a couple of other dogs. It was a beautiful warm sunny day, in a lovely location, and we all had a lot of fun.
Re: My Training - tell us yours! What a successful day. And now we can look forward to a new thread "Pups for Pops" perhaps...
