Need general hunting dog training advice

Ruffed Grouse

Ruffed Grouse

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Fellow CGNers,

Looking for some hunting dog training advice. I'll start with where we're at and then get to the questions.

We have a about a year old pup who we've had since November. He has some abandonment issues, but is coming along well. He is a lab crossed to probably malamute. So far his basic obedience is coming along pretty well (providing that the distraction of another dog isn't around). His name is Dùn (named for an Island in the Hebrides).

Dùn is primarily a pet. But I have some hopes for hunting. I think his most likely hunting role is as a squirrel tree-er. He loves to chase squirrels. Now I can't say I'm not sure he isn't trying to make friends with the squirrels, but anyhow he puts them up trees, they pay attention to him not me, and when the season opens they will be quite shootable. Also, he seems best to like to hang out sniffing the ground about 15 yards ahead of us when we walk through new patches of woods, so seems like he could be a good flusher.

I think there is probably some good chance of him being a retriever too. His fetch is coming along pretty well. He has that beautiful retriever lunge when he goes into the water after a stick. On land he brings a ball back about 95% of the time, and can sometimes stay still at my side while I throw it and not get it until I tell him to.

There are a couple of things that I need some training advise about. First, as a bunny/grouse/squirrel flushing dog I'd like to be able to direct him a bit, i.e., to go into a particular thicket or such. How do you even get a response to that kind of command going? How would I get him to start to learn to go where I point to?

Second, what advice can anybody give me for going from playing fetch to more serious work on retrieving? I have one plastic bumper and one canvas one, but have not introduced him to either.

RG

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First if you don't want him to bring yu sticks and balls when hunting then stop training him to do it now. You willl likely have to train a mixed breed twice ashard to get half the results of a dog bred specifically to hunt.
You are looking for advice on "handling" a dog which is advanced training for retrievers so the dog is best to learn to walk before he learns to run marathons. Any good retriever book from you r library will show you the steps to training a hunting dog. You are late as most retriever training starts whene they are weeks old but you stil may do it if you persist.
good luck.
 
Thanks. We'll graduate from ball and sticks to the bumpers tomorrow. I've read a lot of training articles online and watched a lot of youtube about training, but seems I could benefit from having a systematic approach laid out for me in a book. If I were to buy one, could what would you recommend?

I'm quite aware that we're behind, but he is pretty smart, and given the mess that he was (for example didn't have a name he knew was his), I think that there is some real hope.

I won't worry too much then about advanced 'handling'. I am curious, though, how do you approach beginning to get a dog to go here or there: not necessarily to retrieve, I can understand in principle how to teach blind retrieves, but rather to see if there is a bunny or bird to be flushed out?

Also, any pointers about teaching him to lie down and stay still beside me? So far the drill is first to burn some energy, and then to call him to me and have him lie down while I sit beside him. I then give him occasional praise, and if he tries to get up to run off, I gently put pressure down on his shoulders or hold the check line close, as necessary. Any time something exciting happens, like leaves blowing by, I say stay as he notices it, then reward him mostly with praise, but less and less with treats if he stays.

RG

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Get a couple of pigeons and see if he is at all interested in them if he isn't then you don't need to continue working with him.

In my opinion, take it for what it's worth, a dog that doesn't retrieve isn't any help in a bird hunting situation. I have worked with and seen all kinds of hunting dogs, best of luck.
 
oh he's keyed on on birds alright. Around here grouse seem pretty scarce, so I have not hey seen what he'll do around one. But any old bird, like a robin, he'll make a partial sort of a pointing stance with one front paw up as he notices it, and then he'll take off for it. Once the bird is in the air, he slows down his run and watches it. So that looks promising. Hopefully it won't be long before I get a job back in Canada and can go through that sequence on grouse :dancingbanana:

So I figure that between that and his ability to put squirrels into trees (and holt their attention on him rather than on me), I think we'll have a lot of fun hunting together. Certainly, I agree that I want him to retrieve, though. I'm not going to be shooting game for him to chew on (though he'll be treated in full!).

RG

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blinds

Blinds are truly blind trust so if you never trick a dog when you send him for the blind he will always believe in your instruction and direction.
Baseball diamond is used to handle a dog but generally there is a reward (dummy or bird) to reinforce the taking of the direction (again it is trust).
Place dog on pitcher mound area and you go to home plate. dog is told to stay while you place dummy at first base. Return to home plate, with right arm cast straight out to right side indicating go right say "over"
With dog on pitcher mound place dummy on second base return to home plate and signal and say "back" command with arm over head.
left over is on third base as you have already probably figured out.

Many books out there but these are a few from my website.

http://www.whitewolfbirds.com/suggested_reading.htm
 
Thanks for the advice. I'd read about the baseball diamond drill, but wondered if it then wasn't fair to use the same commands when you are just sending them in to investigate, rather than necessarily retrieve and or make a flush.

Thanks for the suggestions of the books. Actually, there was another thread on training books and last night I ordered "Tom Cokken's Retriever Training: The complete guide..." and "The 10 minute retriever: How to make a well-mannered, ..." (note I'm willing to put in more than 10 min at a time, but a few short routines to do when we get a few moments, or whatever it is that this book contains, could be useful). Each of these came up a couple of times on that thread.

Today we moved on to the bumper for the first time. He didn't understand to bring it back as well as he was doing with the ball, but otherwise it went well.

RG

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You are doing fine. Treat the dog as if he is a pure Lab and see where it goes, he may very well be fully capable of what a Lab is capable of.

To get him to search...to get him to go search where you want him to, use hand signals. Start with placing a raw hotdog in a thicket, actually drag the hotdog to make a trail leading to it....bring the dog towards the trail and point to the ground and then point him into the thicket while saying "go get'em".........something like that. After a few hotdog runs, start going with a bird wing or a rabbit foot. But, there is nothing better than getting him chasing around real game as often as possible, the backyard squirrel deal is great.

Throw out multiple bumpers for him at one time (2 or 3), he'll bring one back and then he may need your help to find the others, work him into the bumpers with hand signals and body language....he will learn to trust your advise.

To lie down beside you and stay still, continue to do what you are doing, it may take months or up to years, maturity. Just be consistent, the more you put in the more you get out.

Work together and have fun, he is capable.
 
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