Question: I am training my young Lab, six months old, to take blind retrieves. I am having trouble keeping the young dog focused on the task and getting him to take a line. He tends to quarter instead of lining and will only go about twenty yards from me before he gives up and comes back to my side. Do you think I should ‘force break' him? He has never refused a retrieve. Any advice on how to keep him interested and on line?
Don K., Port Huron.
Answer: I don't force break a dog that retrieves well, unless you are running competition events. Then a single dropped bird could ruin your whole day. I do ‘structure' the retrieve with the dog after it has finished teething. Next month, I will teach you how to properly ‘structure' retrieving for the dog by breaking retrieving down into four easy steps. I do not use shock collars for this nor do I start twisting the dog's sensitive toes or pinching it's ears. The method works, is done in your spare time, and is not hard on the dog.
After getting all the details from Don, I was able to put him on the right course. First, he was expecting too much from the young dog. His lines were too long and the time spent per training session was more than the young dog could handle. I had him reduce the session time from two hours to one hour. Young dogs, like kids, cannot stay focused for extended periods of time. It is best to stop the session with the young dog eager for more then to drag a session on so long the pup becomes bored. I also advised him to add more praise for the dog when it was returning with the bumper. Pups love lots of praise and will work harder and longer when lavished with praise. Don was using a harsh, demanding voice that the young dog took as dominance. The results were a pup who lacked confidence and would drop the bumper and slink back to the handler when commanded.
Secondly, I advised him to start over from square one with the blinds. A blind retrieve, or unseen retrieve as it is called in Europe, requires a dog with confidence that will take a line from the handler and stay with it until either a bird is found or the handler stops the dog with the whistle and redirects the dog to the spot. In US competition, the dog is directed to the fall by the handler. In Europe, the dog is allowed to hunt the bird when in the general area. Square one for teaching blind retrieves is an open grass field. Start the dog on simple marks. Throw a single bumper fifteen yards while keeping the pup at your side. Do not dominate the pup to stay in place. Rather be firm but gentle, use a leash if you have to. I don't worry about complete steadiness until later because I want the pup marking well and having fun. Now send the dog for the retrieve with gusto. I use ‘back'. The louder you say it, the further the retrieve will be. Give him a line with your hand. I do it right off his nose. When he gets to the bumper, lavish him with praise. Be animated, slap your leg, clap your hands and give him the return whistle. I use repeated whistle chirps with hands out-stretched at my sides. When he gets back to you, take a second to give him more praise. Do two retrieves at this distance, then double it. Do two at thirty yards, then extend it to forty-five yards. After two at forty-five yards, extend it to sixty yards. Throwing a bumper sixty yards is no easy task. You will need a helper. Once the range is further than one can throw, have your helper show the bumper to the pup and run it out to the distance needed. Have the helper get the dog's attention and then throw the bumper up to help the pup mark it. Now have your helper back ten to fifteen yards from the bumper, but directly in line with you. This will help when you extend out even further. Two at each distance, then end it. I like to get the pup looking and thinking about retrieves out to a hundred yards in open cover first, so if his attention is distracted he will still be able to see his mark.
If at any point he loses interest, give him a short, easy mark with lots of praise and end it. Pups will have days where they just don't feel like working. In this event, take him for a long run and call it a day. A half-hour run before a session will help the pup stay focused. After doing this several times, you may move on to the wagon wheel type set-up. Place three bumpers twenty yards out in three different directions. You are still in the mowed grass so the pup can see the bumpers. Give the pup a line to the bumpers, one at a time and send him with a back. Do this twice and stop. Repeat several times over the next week, extending the bumpers five yards each new session.
Your new attitude and the lavish praise given over this two-to-three week period should help keep the pup in the game and eager for more. Now move to light cover that is twelve to fourteen inches high, just deep enough that the pup cannot see the bumper from the starting point. Throw one bumper thirty yards and send the pup. While the pup is returning with the bumper, have your helper hide one at the same spot where the last one fell. After the thrown bumper is retrieved, send the pup with a ‘back' towards the old mark. If he stops and looks at you, this is called ‘popping'. Encourage him on with a ‘fetch'. When he finds the bumper, lavish more praise on him. Do this twice and stop. Lengthening the distance must be done slowly. Keep him at thirty yards for at least two sessions. Then lengthen the distance by five yards for two sessions until you are at a hundred yards. I mix dead birds in, usually chuckars, to help spice things up, especially if the pup starts refusing to retrieve the occasional bumper. If the pup refuses to retrieve most of the bumpers or birds, I'll check his teeth and gums to check for any problems. If there are no signs of problems in the mouth, I stop all retrieving for a week and allow the pup some play time instead.
Charlie Linblade
Mighigan Wing Shooters Hunt Club
Michigan Pheasant Hunting
Michigan Bird Dog Training
