I wouldn’t
hunt birds without a dog. Losing hit birds drives me crazy, as it would any
ethical hunter, and without a dog it happens too often. I learned a lot
training my own dogs, but I also put up with some dogs that chased rabbits and
chewed up birds. My desire for better gun dogs led me to a professional
trainer, an idea I had resisted because I believed professional training is for
dogs that never see the inside of a house because they are a tool, not a friend. I found out that a good trainer will train
dogs to suit the owner, but some old-school trainers still think that letting a
dog be a house pet will spoil him for hunting. I keep my dogs in the house
because I enjoy the companionship, but I expect them to behave. Keeping them in the house strengthens the
bond between us, and leads to a well-trained dog that is a joy all year, not
just during the bird season.
Obedience
training is the foundation of hunting training, and a hunting dog should come
when you call him, heel, sit, and stay. These commands also come in mighty
handy when you are trying to move all your gear and two big Labs into a hotel
room. Many owners don’t spend enough time on basic obedience, either because it’s
not as much fun as the hunting training, or because they don’t want to fetter the
dog’s free spirit. But I don’t want to share my home with a dog that is an
ill-mannered nuisance.
Life in the
home presents temptations that a kenneled dog doesn’t face. Professional
trainers worry that sending a dog home with the owner will lead to the dog
becoming “untrained”. Bo Allen, trainer for Stealth Point Kennels in Meeteetse,
tells the story of a Lab he trained and sent home with the owner. Upon being
released in the house, the pup promptly retrieved an expensive, tasseled
loafer. The owner didn’t want his shoes chewed up, so he whipped the pup.
“That pup never
brought anything to that guy again,” Bo says. “He would retrieve for me, but
not for the guy who whipped him for doing what he was supposed to do.”
An
old-school pro might think “that’s why you don’t keep them in the house.” But
the savvy owner who lives with hunting dogs sees daily training opportunities
that reinforce skills the dog already knows, and help keep the
dog from becoming “untrained.” I would have
suggested that this owner gently, and without much emotion, tell the pup “leave
it”, take the shoe, and give him a hard plastic chew toy, such as
a Kong. That way the dog learns that holding stuff is OK, but not the boss’s
shoe. He learns through positive reinforcement. If you repeat this process
enough, the dog learns that “leave it” means “put that down.” It helps the dog
distinguish between stuff we want and stuff we don’t want. That transfers
really well to the field when your dog encounters something dead and disgusting.
Learning to spot daily training opportunities helps the dog be a better hunter,
and makes life at home better for everyone.
Another daily training opportunity at home is feeding time.
Like most Labs, my two are total chow hounds. As soon as I moved to the
cupboard where the food is kept, they both would go nuts, stepping on my feet
and jumping up on the cabinet. It took a while, but I finally realized that I
should master this situation rather than being a helpless victim of my own
dogs. I started making the dogs sit, and wait, while I prepared their dinner.
It took a few repetitions, but they learned that the quicker they behaved, the
quicker they got to eat. Positive reinforcement creates a feeding time is that
is no longer a destructive free-for-all. This also transferred to the duck
blind, because their desire to get the bird isn’t that different from their
desire to get the food. Helping them learn to control their desire helped them
learn not to break and chase decoying ducks, which scares the ducks, destroys
the blind, and might lead to a dog being shot accidentally.
Taking
advantage of daily training opportunities keeps my dogs safer, and puts more
birds on the table. But, of course, hunting with a dog is more than just
getting birds. It’s a partnership, and a happy, well-trained dog makes for a
joyous partnership at home and in the field. A good dog knows the rules and
understands the boundaries. And a hunter with a good dog never goes hunting
alone.
