Widgeon is a black male who will be 2 in may. He is one of those 'grey area dogs' who is mainly pet but will accompany me on regular weekend trips carrying out vermin control and during the season working on shoots and coming with me to the marsh wildfowling. Due to certain circumstances (mainly my fault) he came on a local pheasant shoot with me last season. I would describe his working style as 'semi-self employed, he worked for me fairly well but also had spells of working for himself!! Although he learnt a lot and was on the whole a benefit he also picked up some bad habits, which I am having to work on now. I have got him healing and am proofing this now. My next hurdle to overcome after the on-lead is the off-lead heal/staying close. I plan to use the long lead and entice him to stay with me by using treats and regular turns/stops. Does this sound like a reasonable plan or do people use a 'better' technique? I'm slightly struggling after him wondering off and finding birds to flush or retrieve - so massively self rewarding.
Re: Off-lead close it sounds like you are wanting to reward his voluntary checkins with you with a C&T. Sounds like a great plan to me, and one that certainly makes you more exciting to hang out with!
Re: Off-lead close My dog will "bumble" with me, and stay close - I've done that by rewarding him over many hours for doing so and for not taking off after balls, other dogs, and wildlife (he's not inclined to hunt though). But it's a vague concept, he can wander, but not very far, and it's not the easiest thing to proof. So sometimes he will run off a little way after something exciting, which would be more of a problem if he were inclined to hunt. If I want him not to leave, I ask him to walk at heel off lead and I'm proofing that against balls, birds etc. etc. I think it is a clearer thing to train and proof against distractions.
