What to do after a bad day of
training.
Written by Michelle Linnane
Anybody who has trained dogs has had a bad
day of training. As much as everybody tries to plan out what they want to work
on, they can still have a bad day. Maybe you ran your dog on a triple that was
over your dogs head and you handled on 2 or 3 birds, or you did a blind that all
the dog did was give cast refusal after cast refusal. Either way it you had to
use many collar corrections. It is not uncommon for trainers not to
realize the hazards of the test and got in to trouble before you had any idea
that you were in trouble. But it happens. It does not mean you are bad trainer,
or a bad person, it has happened to everyone at one time or
another.
Here are some tips and
suggests that will help after a bad day training. Following these tips can help
you get back on track. What you need to worry about before you go back out in
the field again after a bad day.
Let me say one thing right
now, if your dog is in a training program were he or she has success
of 75% the time one bad day will not hurt them. If you are worried about
the dogs attitude follow the guide lines below. Also much depends on your dog’s
temperament, training attitudes and how they handle correction. If
you have waited till the dog will not look out on blinds or marks you have
waited a little to long to worry about attitude. Please remember there is no
magic fix for dog training. I can not say this approach will work with every
dog, but I really don’t believe it will hurt. It is a question of doing less
harm.
I train three dogs and I need to explain
the experience level and temperament of each of the dog.
Bud
Black male 7 years old who has points toward his AFC and has his
CAFC. He is a very good marker, and hard running with a good training attitude.
This dog is very soft and does not handle a great deal of
pressure.
De
Yellow female 4 years old that has an
open jams and completed amateurs in US and Canada. This dog also loves to train
and can get blown up with a harsh collar correction for that day but comes back
strong the next day no grudge.
Foxy
Black female 2 years
old is sensitive and runs the big dog blinds and marks. I am very
carefully with her and do not give too much collar corrections. This dog is a
prime candidate for an amateur to get into trouble, she is intellect, sensitive
and learns quickly and I often over whelm her.
How
I got in trouble on day
I set up a inline triple and had the
middle bird down last. Bud had no problem Foxy and De had to handle. De and Foxy
I handled to long bird, as they both broke down and went back to the middle gun.
I gave a collar correction with the handle.
We repeated this same test in three different fields that
day and each time it got worse. De did the test fine, she had no problems and
did not repeat her earlier mistake. The next two times I ran Foxy
she did the exact same thing on both set-ups. I picked up middle bird
first and then sent for short bird next and which she over ran and just kept
going I handled her back into the area. Now I have run the same test in three
different fields and had to handle on all three and gave a collar correction on
all three. Now I have just had failure three times with this dog and I am mad at
myself, and I am worried about my dog.
What I should of
done
Looking back I feel, I should gone back to singles with Foxy
on the second test and more than likely the third test. This was one of many
mistakes I made this day, but I can not change what I did at this point. Looking
back on what happened that day I did not think about how the first correction
affected Foxy. As I have said before she is sensitive and I have a
tendency to over whelm her which I think I did this day. Also I
could have had gun help instead of handling which something else I feel looking
back I should of done. With Foxy I normally never handle more than once in a
day, I go to singles for my next test. As I have said I did not think very well
that day. Also when my older dogs did it correctly I also go back to
singles with them on the next test. The last one I did a double and a single.
The point being they need singles to keep them watching the
bird.
What to do
the next time you train.
It does not matter if you got into trouble on
blinds or marks, go back to marks they give momentum. Short marks are the
best. If you got in to trouble on water go back to land. You should
go back to singles. I don’t care if it my open dog or my young I go to a place
with very little cover were the dog can see the bumper or the bird. Short
marks, are good for attitude, once the dog has success at least you will fell
better. I find a soccer field or baseball field. Use jumbo white dummies that
the dog can see as he leaves from the line. Give them 8 or 9 marks walking
singles. You start in one end of the field and the person throwing the bumpers
walks 10 yards or so and throws another bumper. You can do this for the
next few times.
Then when I train with a group again I would do
all singles if the singles are over 100 yards I walk up to make them shorter.
Remember short mark can be good for attitude.
Use birds if you can. Also if
the cover is high when your training salt the area (have bumpers or birds spread
out in the area of the fall), so the dog has an easier time of finding the
bumper or the bird. Another thing you can do as the dog is running out to the
mark throw another bumper silently. I would not do this too often, but it will
not hurt once in a while.
Marks Water
If I had a
bad day training on the water and I was worried about water attitude this is
what I would do. I would get some pigeons and shoot them over the water and then
put the dog away. I would shoot maybe 5 or 6 birds. At that point they see that
are not getting into trouble.
Next time I train on water I would
try and do boat marks in open water. No angles just straight out and back. I
would try not set up anything that the dog would cheat. I would use jumbo
white bumpers and do singles. Again start out short and then go back to longer
marks depending on the dog attitude. Also Dokens seem to show up better in the
water sometimes as they have a bigger body mass then a bumper. If the dog
starts to cheat see if the gunner can throw another bumper or throw a stone
instead of handling. We are trying to make the water a friendly place.
Blinds Land
I have about
5 different three legged patterns set up around my training areas. These fields
are flat, with no cover or hazards. The first of my 3 legged patterns blinds
that I do with my dogs are about 60 to 70 yards. I have others that are over 250
and 300 yards. I am a big believer in DL Walters three legged lining
pattern. I would go back to patterns blinds or school blinds. My dogs know those
patterns cold. But I need to say I still do a great deal of cold blinds, but not
after a bad day of training. I would take my dog out the car or truck and have
them walk out with me to plant the blinds. Sometimes you need to go
backwards before going forward. Don’t be afraid not to TEST your dog!
Blinds Water
I would again shoot pigeons like I
described in the water mark section. Also I would TEACH the dog school blinds or
go back to my school blinds. Use shackled ducks if you can. If you can not use
shackled birds then use white bumpers that they can see. Also don’t do long
blinds at first. Keep them short for a while. Also keep your blinds in the water
don’t ask them to go over points. Keep them very simple. You could
also do marked blinds were the dog sees someone place the bumper
down.
I hope some of these suggestions help, but
the key is to know your dog. Being able to read your dog is the most important
factor in any training. But if you have had a bad day going to singles and
easier marks should not hurt any dogs. More than like they will not learn
anything other than they are not going to get into trouble today. If they
understand that then you have gained.
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