By Chad Hines

 How the latest training equipment can help you get the dog ready, and make the most out of your actual hunts.

 Every year about this time, especially when the ads for Game Fair come out, we’re reminded that hunting season is sneaking up on us. The air may be heavy with summer, but it’s time to get the dog ready for duty on doves, ducks, geese, pheasants, grouse and any other game birds you pursue.

Unlike most other aspects of modern life, dog-training gear still looks pretty much like it did years ago. With ‘dog stuff,’ it’s more new wrinkles than revolution, although there are always a few new ideas that gain acceptance.

Rather than thinking of that as a lack of progress, I have a hunch it’s more a reflection of the fact that dogs are still exactly like they were years ago: honest, uncomplicated, frustrating, full of potential, and responding best to consistency over the long haul—rather than a modern gadget that trains them instantly.

As we head toward hunting, I sat down again with Chad Hines and Jodi Ring up at Willow Creek Kennels near Little Falls, to talk about dog training and hunting gear and whether anything was new.

Because they’re either training dogs, running dogs in competition, talking to customers about dogs, or looking through dog stuff catalogs, they are truly plugged in. As usual, a few new ideas came through—along with what I have also come to expect from them: well-reasoned advice on how to incorporate gear into training and hunting situations.

DOG BLINDS

This is one area where something is fairly new.

For years, waterfowlers have been coming up with different things from blankets to ropes for keeping dogs from running out into a flock of geese with wings set. These days, we have actual dog blinds that keep your pet concealed, out of the elements between retrieves, and out of harm’s way.

Dog blinds, say Chad and Jodi, work well, especially for young dogs that are not completely steady. They can be used in field hunting or next to a blind in any habitat.

“It is much safer to have your dog out of your blind,” says Chad. “When you’re calling and concentrating on a bunch of mallards, it’s easy to lose track of the dog. Plus, if the dog is running from one end of the blind to the other, it could possibly tip over a gun and cause an accident. It just makes sense to put the dog in his own blind.”

When it comes to training your dog to hunt out of its own blind…

“Use a pet porter or dog crate to teach the dog to kennel on command,” says Jodi, “then switch to a blind, if you want to, for hunting. The commands will transfer if you have a different blind that you use for hunting situations.

“First, teach the dog to kennel by throwing a treat into the kennel and, at the same time, saying the command ‘kennel.’ Do this until the dog kennels on command.

“Next, throw the treat into the kennel and give the kennel command, closing the door behind the dog. Then open the door slowly, and close it when the dog starts to leave, to teach the dog to stay in the kennel until released.

“Once your dog is entering the kennel on command, and understands the command, the (electronic) collar can be introduced. To introduce the collar, throw the treat in the kennel as you did before, while at the same time holding the continuous button on your transmitter with a light stimulation. This should be a level the dog can barely feel, something that doesn’t bother him much. As soon as the dog complies with your command and enters the kennel, shut off the stimulation.

“Very quickly, you dog will learn that the faster he complies with your command and enters the kennel, the faster he shuts off the collar. The kennel should be a safe place for the dog. Correction should come when your dog leaves the kennel early, not when he is in the kennel. Keep the kennel free of correction, and safe.

“Start incorporating the collar for keeping your dog in the crate. If he steps out of his crate give him a light stimulation, and the command ‘kennel.’ When your dog complies with your command and gets back in his kennel, let off the continuous button.

“Once the dog is collar-conditioned to kennel on command, you can start doing marks (retrieves) with the dog in the kennel.”

Here’s how to do this:

With the kennel shut, throw a dummy (bumper) where the dog can see it land. Then open the kennel door slowly. If your dog tries to come out and go for the dummy before you released him, push him back in the kennel, using the door, and tell him to sit.

Keep at this, being firm and consistent. When you can open the door and your dog will stay sitting in the kennel, release him for the retrieve. The retrieve, something that he wants to do, is his reward for staying in the ‘blind’ until you release him.

Then incorporate the excitement of live birds, maybe a winged pigeon, and gunfire into the exercise. At first, your dog will probably get so excited to leave the kennel and retrieve the bird that he’ll have to be taught to steady all over.

After the dog is reliable with birds and gunfire, progress to doing the same drill on more complex terrain, something close to an actual waterfowl situation. Once the dog is reliable in this kind of drill, he is ready to hunt with you out of his own blind.

Some things that could be used for this are:

* Ameristep Retriever Dog Blind.

* Final Approach Hide a Pooch.

* Pet Porter or similar ‘crate’ painted camouflage and weaved with vegetation.

(Use natural vegetation from the area you’re hunting to camouflage the dog blind.)

BEEPER COLLARS

While they’re not new, Chad reports that beeper collars are becoming more popular now that they’re being manufactured with the electronic collar and beeper in one unit.

Beepers are smaller and easier to use than ever.

“I’ve had more questions about them in the past couple years,” says Hines, “and seen a definite increase in their use.”

Beeper collars can be used for pointers or flushers, to help keep track of your dog in heavy cover during the heat of a hunt.

Chad and Jodi use the Dogtra 2000 T&B. Beeper collars typically can be set to deliver different ‘modes’ of beeping. Ruffed grouse mode, for example, is usually a beep every seven seconds when the dog is in motion, and every two seconds when the dog is on point.

“There’s a motion sensor in the collar,” explains Hines, “which senses when the collar is in motion and when it’s not. The point mode beeps only when the dog is essentially motionless, usually indicating a point.”

Here’s how to introduce a beeper collar into your training, and prepare your dog for wearing one come hunting season…

“To introduce the beeper aspect of this type of collar,” explains Jodi, “simply place a piece of duct tape over the horn (beeper), put the collar on the dog and let it beep. Slowly remove the duct tape over the course of about a week. If, at any time, the dog seems frightened by the beep, make the beep a little softer with a little more duct tape.

“Some dogs take a little more time to get used to the beeper. Usually, a more timid dog will take longer.”

When the collar is beeping without any tape over the horn, and the dog is completely comfortable with the sound, Jodi says, introduction is finished.

Once retrievers and flushers are used to the beeper, they’re ready to hunt with the beeper collar. But even after pointing dogs become accustomed to a beeper collar, “we have to go just a bit further with the introduction,” she says. “If the pointer knows the ‘whoa’ command, put him on a whoa command, and take a knee next to him. Pet him calmly, while periodically beeping the collar. After he gets used to that, plant a bird, and put him on point. Again, take a knee, calmly reassure him, and beep the collar, while keeping him calm.

“Then, that dog is ready to hunt with a beeper (collar). It’s a good idea, too, if the beeper collar has not been used for a while, to let it beep at the beginning of a hunting trip. This reminds the dog there is nothing to fear, that the beep is completely safe.”

WONDER LEAD

Another product which is not new, but becoming very popular, is Delmar Smith’s Wonder Lead.

“In our training program,” says Chad, “this lead cuts heel training time in half.”

It’s stiff, almost plastic feeling, 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 coils up to a compact size and can be brought hunting in your pocket or game bag.

“The most important thing to do with the wonder lead is keep it positioned right behind the dog’s ears,” says Chad. “There is an indent behind the ears, and just try to keep the lead in that groove. When your dog pulls, he will make his own correction, because he doesn’t like what it feels like. Try to keep a slight upward tension on the lead.

“Some dogs throw a bit of a fit when they feel the tension on their neck, because it’s uncomfortable when tension is applied. Wait until they give in, then continue heeling and give praise.

“Dogs are very sensitive to the wonder lead, so correction should be at a minimum.”

(If you’re using a wonder lead and your dog is still pulling hard and resisting the heel training, Chad says that’s a sign you don’t have the lead close enough to the ears. Move the collar up and find that groove behind the dog’s ears.)

YOUR MIND

This is the most important piece of training gear. If you keep a level head, and remain consistent in your approach, most dogs will respond with enough repetition.

It’s not the gear that trains the dog, but the person employing the gear. If you’re going to try to do it yourself, it’s important to know something about the most critical training concepts.

First, you have to think of yourself as a teacher when you’re training a dog. You have to realize that all dogs do not learn the same way. Show your dog what you want, and look for signs that the dog is getting it. Use praise to keep good things happening, and consistent corrections once you know the dog understands the commands.

Consistency is the secret, but the right gear also helps you succeed.

The right training gear can help you sharpen your dog in time for hunting season. Here, Chad Hines of Willow Creek Kennels steadies a dog in a retrieving drill with the use of a wonder lead placed in the ‘groove’ near the dog’s ears