Here are three keys to dog training: keep training sessions short, focus on one thing at a time, and focus on small steps where you know your dog can be successful.

Keep training sessions short; the key here is to keep them short enough that you have your dogs full attention. Just like you or I, they learn best when you have their full attention. If you have gone 5 minutes and see that they are still with you and excited to learn, keep going, if not, stop.

One way you can stretch out your training sessions is to take a fun break part way through. In an energetic, but deliberate tone, tap your dog on the shoulder and give the “break” command to let them know that you are done with the training and they can have fun for a minute, then do something fun and energetic for one to three minutes. Do something the dog enjoys, not related to the training, but where you know what the dog’s response will be (The idea is that the dog will have fun and let off steam, but will be contained and you won’t have to chase it down or scold it for anything. Stay upbeat.) I will throw some retrieving dummies or tennis balls, run around the house, or some other upbeat activity. This activity seems to clear their head, keep them excited and help them continue with the training.

When you are training, focus on one thing at a time. It is important that you clearly understand what it is that you are trying to train. Decide on what the final product is that you want, break down the steps to get there and focus on one aspect at a time. For example, if you want your dog to come, circle you on the right side and sit at heel when you command “come”, you have to break it down into steps, focusing on one aspect at a time, then chaining them together to get the desired result.  If you are working on having him circle and sit, don’t worry that the dog may not be sitting exactly parallel to you. Polish that after you have some of the other steps down.

Finally, you want to build success upon success in your training. Success promotes learning, while failure promotes more failure. All dogs want to please; I believe it is in their pack nature. If your dog fails at task, back up and shorten the task to ensure that the dog can succeed. Always end your training on a positive note.

I strongly recommend that all my clients microchip their pets. For what it is worth, it is so inexpensive, yet it works so well. It costs roughly $30 - $40 at most vet clinics and comes with a registration for the lifetime of the pet. It is quick and relatively painless, about like getting a shot.

How it works: A microchip transponder is placed in a needle and injected just under the pets skin on the back between the shoulder blades. The device, just about the size of a grain of rice sits dormant until it is pinged with the scanner device. The scanner reads a number from the transponder. This number can then be called into a toll-free national database (staffed 24/7). The service then immediatley connects the lost dog with the owner.

The chip does a number of things; first, it helps quickly return a lost pet to the owner. Many police officers and sheriffs carry the scanners in their cars, and all shelters and vet centers have them. Further, it is policy in most all animal shelters to scan pets when they first come in, and again before any disposition (placement or euthanasia) of the animal. What’s more, in some shelters, if a dog is microchipped, they will often waive any fines or fees associated with picking up your pet, if they are microchipped. Finally, the microchip can help prove the ownership of the dog if ownership is in question.

All this is well worth $40 over the lifetime of your dog.

What is the best dog food to feed and what’s the best way to feed a dog? There is no single “right” way, but let me explain my thoughts on the matter. First, it is critical for the dog’s overall health to feed a quality dog food. For an excellent article on this see The Pet Center’s article on The Best Food for Dogs. Look for a food that is meat-based, has a minimum protein level between 26% and 30%, a minimum fat level between 14% and 18%, and contains 0.8% calcium and 0.67% phosphorus. Also, look for food which contain also contain omega fatty acids and vitamin E. Don’t substitute large quantities of low quality food (often corn or grain based) for smaller amounts of high quality food. You can’t go wrong with Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, Purina Pro Plan, or Black Gold.

Second, follow the recommended feeding amounts on the bag. Reputable dog food manufacturers have tested their products and know the correct amounts. The vast majority of dogs I see are overweight. I believe this is first, a result of overfeeding (including table scraps), and second, lack of exercise.

Third, feed twice a day. The reason I do this is to have more positive interaction with the dog. Feeding time is one of the most pleasurable blocks of the day for a dog. Make the most of it, feed twice a day. Take a moment as you feed to work on obedience, pack order, and building your relationship. Before putting the food bowl down, make the dog sit and stay. Put the bowl down in front of them, and make them wait for you to give a release command for them to commence eating. Once finished, take a minute to interact again. Alternatively, have them “kennel” or “unload.” Pet them, praise them, give them a minute to romp around the yard and a moment to empty out. Then give the bowl a quick soap and water wash in the sink.

The worst I can think of is the automatic feeders. They allow the dog to eat as much and whenever they want. This inevitably leads to obesity. Most importantly, it allows you to ignore your dog. As I have written several times before in other blogs, if you are just going to lock a dog up in the backyard and ignore it, why have a dog?

To maximize your dogs mental and physical wellbeing, feed quality food, in the correct amount twice a day. Make the most of the valuable moments at feeding times to interact with the dog.

I was talking to someone the other day and he told me that his dog was an outside dog, because living inside ruins a dog’s nose. I was polite, but I did have to disagree. He was steadfast in his conviction; living inside, around humans and indoor scents ruins a dogs nose. This isn’t the first time I have heard this either. I’m sorry, that’s another one I just don’t buy.

By and large, my dogs are kenneled outside during the day and are inside with me when I am home in the evenings. They sleep all around the bed like any canine pack should. I keep my dogs inside for two reasons. First, I love dogs. That’s why I have them, I like being around them. They are neat animals and great companions. The second reason is that the more time you spend around them, the more you build a relationship, understand each other and work together. This really pays off in the field (see Hunting Team, You and Your Dog). As an aside, pet porter-type kennel boxes are one of the best things to come along. Sometimes you just need to kennel the dogs up for whatever reason and the crate is someplace they like to go.

I will say, that most people that I have heard repeat maxims like the one above, are people who have their dog out back in a kennel with a self feeder and there is about 3” of dog manure covering the floor (worse smells indoors?), and basically neglect them for 11 months of the year. Why then have a dog?  Now, if your wife has a problem with dogs in the house, well, that’s another matter I won’t get into.

The number of young people interested in hunting is declining dramatically. This is a serious concern to wildlife agencies, and should be to all hunters. (Look at the lack of hunters in Britan and loss of many hunting privlages there.)

In the past, all Utah hunters were pheasant hunters. I’m sorry to say, that’s a thing of the past. Unfortunately, many are turning to pheasant farms. I don’t believe that’s good for the long term sustainability of hunting. It’s too artificial and too expensive to bring young hunters up in the hunting tradition. It’s the young cohort of hunters that we are not recruiting. It’s upland game hunting (dove, pheasant and rabbit)where they most often gain their passion for hunting.

My answer, Chukars! Chukar hunting in Utah has really taken off. With introductions and the Utah DWR’s chukar-guzzler program in the West Desert (thanks to Bruce Bonebrake’s efforts and the Habitat Account program) Chukar numbers are higher now than they have ever been. There is a five month season and a nice sized bag limit. Chukar hunting is not easy. You have to get out and walk over some rugged country, but man is it worth it.  Kids are young and nimble, they can hack it. So, my suggestion is to get kids out chukar hunting.

I can’t think of any thing better than my wife. Thanks for putting up with all my hunting, hawks and dogs. I love you sweetheart! If you have someone that puts up with your hunting habits and hounds, be sure to remember the flowers today. She deserves it.

To some, this is intuitive, to others it may be novel. Work the wind with your dog to improve your success in the field. The two reasons we use dogs to hunt are, their sense of smell, and their social nature (they hunt in a pack). The sense of smell in a dog is the first sense they develop. Before they hear, see, or are even aware of others in the litter, they can smell. In fact, dogs smell somewhere on the order of one-thousand times better than humans (220,000,000 olfactory receptors), and something like 14% of their brain is devoted to their sense of smell. (I don’t know how this compares to humans, but there’s got to be a huge difference.)

I was excited to see my 18 month old puppy running way out and working the wind back to me while hunting chukars on the downwind side of the mountain. My older, more experienced dog did this as a matter of routine. The first time someone told me that their dog would range out and purposely hunt into the wind back into them I was amazed and thought it was just a fluke.  Now it doesn’t surprise me, I expect it.

One of my favorite experiences that I had happen several times was when hunting in brome grass CRP fields, I had a dog tracking pheasants running with the wind. The dog, a VDD wirehair pointer, would stop, lift her head up, and run way out and around and work back on the pheasant, trapping in between us. Truly awesome, if you ask me. That is why I love hunting with dogs.

Once again today I heard someone tell me that they once had a dog that would only point roosters and ignore the hens. I was polite, but I have never bought this tale. I do enjoy hearing stories of past dogs. The dogs always get better with time. Like the dog that retrieved the pheasant that flew into next county, plus he brought back a cold brew. That dog was something else!

Let me hear some of your best stories and I will post them.

How long do you have if you have fallen through the ice and what should you do?   This doesn’t directly relate to hunting dogs, but as an avid outdoorsman I found this information very interesting. The information and picture come from the yukonman website. Watch the videos about what do in a cold water survival situation.

Follow the links to his ”Read This - Cold Water Survival” page and click on the three streaming videos or follow the links below.

Special thanks to http://www.yukonman.com for sharing this information.

http://media.yukonman.com/bchost/cold_water1.wmv

http://media.yukonman.com/bchost/cold_water2.wmv

http://media.yukonman.com/bchost/cold_water3.wmv