Question: I have a four-year-old male English Setter. I have tried to train this dog myself and I feel I have done a pretty good job, with one exception. I cannot get him to hunt closer to me. He wants to hunt around two hundred to three hundred yards away and he can be very hard to find in thick cover. How do I shorten his range?
Paul S., Attica.
Answer: Paul, you didn't mention the type of cover that is being hunted. Two to three hundred yards in flat, open country is alright with me, although I do like a dog much closer than that in the woods. I like to watch the dog in action and I get a great thrill out of seeing him come upon bird scent and work it into a point. I think the important point here, no pun intended, is that is should be up to the handler to decide what range is acceptable. An experienced handler will usually tolerate more range on a dog than a novice, who usually expects the dog to be within forty yards at all times. A four-year-old dog has established behavior patterns. He's also established his range in the field and the change that you mentioned will take some time. First, start doing the leash work described in the previous response. It will take two to three weeks of this type of leash work before the ‘stay close' command should be used in the field. Once using this ‘stay close' in the field, do not make the dog come all the way back to you.
After several weeks of leash work and some off-lead field work, I would put an electric training collar on the dog. Take the dog to an open field area where the dog is visible for hundreds of yards. When the dog is running at a greater distance than you want, call out the ‘stay close' command. If the dog doesn't respond, give him one quick hit with the collar and say the command again. If the dog yelps and comes all the way back to you, take a minute to reassure him. Pet him and tell him ‘good dog.' It's important to not scold the dog or to show anger in your voice. Gently tell him to ‘stay close' and reassure him, then give him the ‘okay' to hunt on. The electronic collar shouldn't be used as a punishment tool, but merely as an attention-getter. The intensity of the electric charge differs between dogs. A dog that yelps in pain should have the intensity lowered. You don't want to use too much power and shut the dog down, where as not enough power will cause the dog to ignore the stimulation. If your dog does shut down, pet and reassure him until he starts to hunt again.
Remember, you shouldn't expect to change this behavior pattern in a matter of days. It could very well take months. Never use the collar in anger or to punish. Never scold the dog after hitting him with the ‘juice,' but rather reassure him and show him kindness. Act as if you wish to help him and don't realize what is hurting him. The worst-case scenario is when a dog realizes the handler is the culprit. This dog will usually run away from the handler instead of to them, making the collar useless.
Charlie Linblade
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