photo: Steve Ford

“I just got a new puppy, what should I do?” I have gotten several of these calls over the past month. Some of them are brand new hunting dog owners, but most have had a dog or two, but want this one to be the one. I always enjoy these conversations; hearing why a hunter selected a certain breed, or an individual pup from a given litter. I usually have a couple of suggestions:

First, and by far the most important, socialize the dog. Get the dog out and around everything and everybody. I can’t emphasize this enough, get the dog exposure to every novel thing you can imagine (cars, trucks, trains, old people, young people, crowds of people, black people, white people, other dogs, cats, trampolines, blowing plastic bags, you name it). A well socialized dog is one that will be confident in novel situations, will learn readily, and will make for a pleasureable dog to hunt with have around.

Second, learn about dog trianing by reading (and watching). Read books about dog training and seek to understand the principles behind the method. My caution here is to find one method that resonates with you and stick with that method, don’t jump around trying everything you happen to be reading that day. It will just confuse the dog. One of the reasons I like books, is that the author is able to describe important aspects of training, as well as, provide tips and techniques that you might not otherwise percieve. On the other hand, I like watching training videos, because you can see and visualize the principles being taught.

Third, learn by doing. Get out and try the training methdos described. Find someone to work with you. You can spend years (and several dogs) learning it the hard way by yourself, or find someone to learn from. A training partner or club can be a great way, because it provides the incentive to regularly train. You also have several people to discuss ideas with, and to learn from. You also get to see the training of several dogs along with your own.

Finally, (and I wish I were getting paid to say this – at least a free subscription guys!) I suggest a subscription to gun dog magazine. I really like their publication. They routinely have great articles that both provide ideas and give me the inspiration to keep working.

http://www.gundogmag.com

Best of Luck with your new pup!

Sarah loves puppies. Of course, who doesn’t. These were a litter of pups at Rooster Valley Pheasants. Here are some ideas when picking a puppy: When choosing the litter, look more at the parents than the puppies. Look at the pedigree, but almost more importantly for the average hunter, talk to the owner about how he hunts the parents. Better yet, talk to some of his hunting partners about his dogs, as they are less biased. Best yet, go hunting with him a time or two. If you are wanting a puppy right now this is not practical, but if you are doing your homework a year or two out, it is possible.

When picking the individual puppy, here are some recommendations: visit often and observe all of the puppies. With only one visit, you may catch one in a sleepy mood and another well rested and revved up. Over multiple vistis you will get a better feel for all the individuals. The breeder is likely spending lots of time with them, so ask them about individual traits. Wait until the puppies are six weeks old or older to do some simple puppy tests. Younger than that and they aren’t consistent.

1.) Watch how the puppy interacts with its siblings and try to determine where it fits in the social order. You can often tell the ends of the spectrum, but I find it difficult to break it down from there. You are looking for a puppy in the middle, one that is confident, but will give up some control.

2.) Take a puppy out of sight from the others and place it on the grass and walk 5-10 yards away, get down on your knees, pat the ground and call the puppy to you and see if it comes. You are looking for a friendly social puppy that seeks your company.

3.) While away from the others observe the puppy as it investigates a new place. You are looking for an interested, animated, confident pup.

4.) Gently roll the puppy on its back and pin it to the ground and hold it and watch its reaction. You are looking for a puppy that will struggle and show some independance, but not fight you forever showing total independance.

5.) Clap your hands around the puppies and watch their reactions.

6.) Finally, hold the pup in air with one hand around its chest/belly and watch its reaction. You are looking to avoid a fear reaction.

Overall, what I look for, is a puppy that exibits confidence, enthusiasm and an interest in life. Also a pup that seems to like my attention and seeks my company. I also try to avoid puppies that demonstrate fear and those that seem too head strong or independent. Describe to the breeder your training experience, what you really want in a puppy and what your plans are for the pup and he usually help in the decision.

These ideas came from Richard Wolters “Game Dog” book and from “The Art of Raising a Puppy” by the Monks of New Skete. I highly recommend both books for new puppy owners. 

I had the pleasure of working with two beautiful weimaraners today, one from Washington state and the other from Salt Lake City. They both were very well socialized, well mannered dogs that had a strong desire for birds.

We got as early a start as we logistically could. It went very well, with each dog working quite a few birds, but by noon, it was HOT and we had to call it quits. We had a great time and you could see the dogs loved getting out and working birds.

Training birds during the dog days of summer is possible, but you have to start early and plan on finishing before noon. Another challenge with training this early in the summer is that birds can be difficult to obtain. Birds are typically too young to train with. I try to keep some older birds on hand for summer training before the young ones are fully feathered and ready to go.

Fouth of July and fireworks are fun – not so for dogs. Be careful over the next few days with your dogs outside when there a lot of fireworks going off. Even a steady gun dog can be made gunshy from fireworks. When hunting, there is the excitement of the flush and reward of the bird, but fireworks are just loud. It may be best to bring the dog in the house for the next few nights.

Enjoy your 4th. 

 Happy Birthday America!

Some dogs are just fence climbers. This particular German Shorthair, Daisy, is a 30 pound bundle of energy. She is as sweet as they come, but you have to watch her; she climbs fences better than my 5 year old boy (who climbs like a monkey, by the way).

We have to have a lid on the kennel and have it tightly wired down. Daisy hadn’t been in the kennel 10 minutes and was out again. I was dumbfounded as to how she got out, because there was a top on it. I put her back and watched her leap 6′ in the air, cling on and climb to the top and push her way through the roof fence panel edge. Needless to say, we have wired it down tight all the way around now. Now she climbs around the upper section of our kennel about like a gibbon, but can’t get out.

As for the 4′ property fence, I don’t think she really sees that as a barrier. She will leap up to where her body is 1/3 the way over, then land her front and back paws on the top of the fence and propel herself the rest of the way.

How do we deal with a fence climber, you ask? For starters, we have her kennel top tightly wired down so she can’t push her way out. The floor is wooden, so she can’t dig her way out. Then we stay out in the yard with her when she is out. Typically we have all the dogs out, so they are busy romping and playing with each other and she doesn’t have any desire to leave the yard. Daisy is a very social dog that loves to be with you. Usually when she climbs out, she is looking for you, so as long as you are around, she sticks close.

I’ve talked to several others with fence climbing dogs and the three solutions I have found are Kennels with a top, tie outs, and electricity. As for electricty, folks I talked to either used a pet containment fence, or a pet electric fence. If you use the electric fence, I suggest using the pet series rather than one for livestock, as the voltage is much lower. I also suggest using the white ribbon tape rather than a wire, since it is much more visable so dogs and kids can see it more easily. As for us, we use the roofed kennel, supervision and lots of exercise.

Let me hear your stories of your fence climber.  Cheers, …

You can’t get out too much with your dog. The other day we were out running dogs on the Parker and had a great time. The place was beautiful and the dogs loved it. It is starting to get too hot during the middle of the day to run, but mornings and evenings are perfect.

Here is a photo of another pointer we are training. Daisy is a 9 month old female shorthair who is slight of build, but can run all day long. She has a very sweet disposition and seems to want to please. She has fit into the pack very well, has been well socialized and is a pleasure to have around.

I just thought I would post a photo of one of the dogs we are training. Morgan is a very fine German Shorthair Pointer. We are thoroughly enjoying her confidence and energy. Her training is coming along very well.

The kennel box (airline crate) is one of the greatest aids for training and caring for dogs. A lot of times we forget what it was like before they were out there. Now, for between $35 to $90 you can have a well made, durable, light weight, safe den for your dog. We use them for transporting dogs, house training aid, safe zone, sleeping in at night, and a backup summer dog house.

The best way to get your dog used to them is start when they are a puppy.  Use them for house breaking the dog and as their sleeping quarters. They quickly learn to love them. They see the crate as a cozy den.

If you haven’t used them since the dog was a pup, they may be reluctant to go in. Here’s a trick. Take the dog by the collar and give the command to kennel. Steer the dogs head into the crate by the collar. If they are reluctant, wrap your arm around their hips (see photo) and lift their back legs off the ground, direct them where you want them to go and they should go right in. This trick will work for directing the dog anywhere they don’t want to go. With out their back feet to dig in and push against, they loose their fight. (The slick metal table top at the vet has the same effect.) I believe I learned this tip from one of Bill Tarrant’s books and it has served me well.

Once you get the dog used to going in the kennel by lifting his back legs off the ground, then you can just begin wrapping your arm around the dog and touching their underside, then soon you should be able to simply command and give a gentle nudge. Try it. It works like a charm.

 

One of the things I work on early in training and continue throughout the training process is walking at heel. It is so nice to have a dog that will reliably walk at heel when you are in the field walking to or from a hunting spot. Similarly, when you want to take the dog out for a walk, or go on a run it is nice to have the dog right beside you keying in on you.

One thing I commonly see, is a dog straining at the end of a leash, pulling for all they are worth and their owner bracing themselves trying to control the dog. If there are two things that commonly make a hunting dog and the hunter’s spouse at odds, it is this lack of leash control and jumping up on people. Luckily, these are things that you can cure in short fairly short order.

In order to train the Heel command, the first step is to use a lead that will ride in the correct place, high on the neck, right behind the ears. A collar is important to have on the dog (see post on March 11, To Collar, Or Not? ), however, as far as heeling the dog, they ride too low. They ride down near the base of the neck where the dog has the most pulling power (think of a yoke for horses or a harness for sled dogs – they are placed for maximum pulling). Place the lead right up behind the ears, high on the neck where you have the most control.

I really like the command lead, also called the Wonder Lead from Rick & Ronnie Smith. It looks like a roper’s piggin string, but has a rubber stopper which you adjust to allow the neck opening to spring open to the right size and no larger. This command lead is sized perfectly to stay in the groove behind the ears and skull and in front of the first vertebral process. Other devices that work well are the choke chain, prong collar, and the pinch collar (a flat and wide leather collar with dull spikes on the inside and a spring open metal core). 

The key is this: think of the leash and collar as a communication device rather than a control device. If you try to simply control the dog by pulling it into position all the time, what you end up with is a constant battle for control (dominance). Also, by allowing the dog to constantly pull, you are inadvertently training the dog that when they are hooked up on a leash, they are supposed to pull. On the contrary, put the lead correctly in position, confidently give the heel command and head out. Keep the lead slack except to pop the lead to communicate to the dog when he is out of position. Early in the training, purposely set the dog up by walking straight for a ways, then when the dog is distracted and starting off on their own tangent, turn 90-degrees and walk away giving the leash a crisp pop again letting the dog know that the are out of position. Establish clear, decisive leadership and the dog will naturally follow.