By Chad Hines
This is about basic dog training gear that will make it easier to train your hunting dog by yourself. Here’s how to know if this story is for you:
• If you look up from the paper and see an overweight dog that doesn’t know its name, sitting on the couch watching TV.
• If your dog flattens every person in the yard in 30 seconds, causing you to let the dog out only when the coast is clear.
• If the idea of bird hunting sounds fun, but you wonder if you’d be better off leaving the dog home.
We sat down with Chad Hines, owner of Willow Creek Kennels near Little Falls, to come up with a list of essential gear for the average hunter who wants to train a bit more precision into the family pet that doubles as Wonder Dog when hunting season rolls around.
WHISTLE
Almost all dog trainers use whistles, and you should get at least one. If you don’t know what kind, get the Roy Gonia Special, with the pea. Orange or clear, it doesn’t matter. Within reason, it also doesn’t matter what set of signals you set up with your dog. But most people use one blast to mean sit, or check back for a hand signal. A string of whistle blasts means come in to you. “The main reason to use a whistle,” says Hines, “is so the dog can hear you from a longer distance.”
ELECTRONIC COLLAR
Some folks still think of e-collars as tools of torture, but they are exactly the opposite. Used properly, they build a degree of reliability into your dog’s performance that makes hunting a pleasure—and can save the dog’s life should it take off after a deer and head for a busy road.
“Keep the (stimulation) levels light,” explains Hines, who has gained a reputation for innovative training methods. “Watch your dog as you press the button. If you aren’t getting any reaction, the levels are probably too light. But if you turn it up too high, the dog can look confused and you will not be getting the results you want.”
Generally speaking, all good dog training begins with a teaching phase, where you show the dog what you want, and help it succeed. You don’t make ‘corrections’ until a dog knows what you want, and chooses to ignore a command.
But after a dog has learned a command (such as sit), you can expect it to comply every time. E-collars let you make corrections from a distance, helping you remain consistent. Hines occasionally sends a trained dog home, then gets a frustrated phone call from the owner a few weeks later that the dog doesn’t obey any more. Those dogs often come back to Hines for refresher training. “A lot of times,” he says, “it’s because they don’t have a collar, or they don’t know how to use it properly.”
CHECK CORD
This is a fancy name for a rope, perhaps 30-50 feet long, that you attach to the dog’s collar during training sessions. Once the dog is accustomed to dragging the check cord behind, you can leave it on for an extra degree of control.
“It’s not for hunting,” says Hines, “but they’re good for training, because you can get ahold of them and pull the dog in and show them what you want. It helps the dog succeed.”
You’ll notice Hines doesn’t talk about yanking hard on the check cord. Dog training does not have to be harsh, just instructional and consistent.
WONDER LEAD
This is a specific product, used by top trainers to teach obedience. It’s a very stiff, almost plastic feeling lead, like a lasso rope. You put it over the dog’s neck, and it tightens up behind the ears. A washer slides down to keep it in place.
“It’s not hard on you or the dog,” explains Hines. “(With one of these) I can get almost any dog heeling perfectly in five minutes. When the dog pulls against you, it tightens right behind the ears, so they don’t want to pull. All you have to do is pull up real lightly on the cord, and they pick their head up and stay right with you.”
This lead has replaced choke collars for many trainers, Hines included.
WHOA BOARD/PASTE BOARD
Cut a 2-foot by 3-foot piece of 1/2-inch (or thicker) plywood, and use it as a training aid. You can frame it, if you want, with 2x4s, to get it sitting off the ground.
“Dogs are place oriented,” says Hines, “so you can have pointers whoa on the board, and retrievers sit on the board. They learn that they have to stay there until they’re released. Every time they try to get off the board, you steady them and show them you want them to stay on the board.”
Hines has numerous boards on the ground during a training session, and moves them around to help dogs learn the concepts.
BLANK PISTOL
Assuming it’s legal to fire a blank pistol where you train, it’s a great tool for introducing young dogs to gunfire, and to simulate shooting during any retrieving drill.
If you shoot most of the time when a bird is thrown or flushes, the dog learns to associate gunfire with the bird, which is a good thing.
DUMMIES
Used in retrieving drills. Plastic ones are preferred, because they’re tougher than canvas and don’t soak up water. Orange dummies have traditionally been used for teaching blind retrieves, because dogs supposedly can’t see them as well.
You can use tennis balls if you want, but avoid using sticks because your dog may hunt up a stick after you down a bird. (Tennis balls can be hit with a baseball bat, a poor man’s way of knocking it out farther than you can throw; many dogs learn to stop and hunt at the distance you can throw, and don’t learn to drive any farther than that.)
BIRDS
Pigeons are a staple, especially with young dogs. If you don’t have a source, put an ad in the local paper, under ‘Wanted: Pigeons.’ Expect to pay about $4 apiece unless you find entrepreneurial youngsters who will take less.
Bird Launcher
Remote controlled bird launchers cost about $300, but you can get a manual model that releases when you pull a string, for about $50.
BACKER
Pointing dogs have to learn to ‘honor’ another dog’s point, and this façade of a dog lets you set up drills for teaching your dog to honor.
Silhouettes sell for about $30, or you can simply cut the shape of a dog from a piece of plywood.
“Paint one side white and one side brown,” says Hines. “Set it out in the field someplace where the dog can just come up on it and suddenly see it from about 20 yards away. When your dog sees it, whoa the dog. When the dog steadies launch the bird, shoot the pistol and send the dog for the retrieve. They get a retrieve every time they honor.
“When they’ll honor the white side, switch it over so they learn to honor the brown side, too.
Notes: If you’d like help training your dog or correcting specific problems;
Contact - Chad Hines at Willow Creek Kennels in Little Falls, Minnesota,
Phone: (320)360-3603
E-mail: willowcreekkennels@hotmail.com
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