So my Brittany Spaniel will fetch all day long in my back yard or house but has no clue / interest once we get out into the park. My goal is to get him out in the field for some gun dog training but if won’t fetch a ball / trainer, we will look pretty silly won’t we.
How do I get him to fetch in the field when the ball I throw has to compete with all the scents of the park?
Should I get some bird oil and put it on the ball / trainer to make it enticing?
Andrew
Andrew–training a bird dog is a high art. And it depends on what you want to train them to do.
Like duck hunting dogs–you pretty much just want them to quietly sit or lie down until you hit a bird, and then go out, bring it back and hopefully don’t mangle it in the process. I guess the same would be true for dove shooting. They are already airborne, and you just want your dog to find them and bring them back without mangling.
A Britney I would think you are training to work an area of a field to find birds in the bush/high grass, say, quail or pheasant, and lock up in a point, then move in slowly on your command to flush the bird without attacking it, wait while you shoot it, and then bring it back without mangling.
Dogs learn this best from working with older already trained dogs, but you don’t need to do it that way. I had some fun, and very minor success, with homing pigeons. You have to get them when they are babies, or they will go back where you bought them, though. You leave your dog in the truck and plant the birds out in the field (you have to get them dizzy by swinging them, then tuck their heads under their wings and stick them in the bush). Then go and let your dog out on a lead and work him/her back and forth until he/she finds the bird. Then you let them go in step by step to the command of “eeeeeasy” and stop them with “whoa”. Eventually you will have your gun, but do not shoot the pigeon and don’t shoot your dog, or the Vice President.
You will also have to train the dog so it isn’t gun shy. You can do this by taking him to a skeet range and leaving him well back from the shooting. Then gradually being him up.
No way you can train your dog like a professional, but if you are going to try, get some books/video that are specific to bird dog training.
Make sure it is fun, and don’t get mad at your dog. If things aren’t going the way you would like, it is probably you, not the dog.
How do I get him to fetch in the field when the ball I throw has to compete with all the scents of the park?
Andrew,
My wife and I got into the field training/Hunt Test game with our two Goldens four years ago, so we know a little but are still novices in some areas. Your best resource for hands on help might be from a nearby hunt club. We’ve found many people in our area with 20+ years of experience to be very generous in helping us learn. You should be able to find club listings on AKC, UKC or similar organizations’ websites.
As for your specific problem/question, I have a few thoughts. “training” sessions must be disguised as fun and short in duration. Your dog’s attention span/focus for retriving is fleeting. This is especially important for young dogs. Training too long can easily negate any gains of the session. There are really no negative consequences of ending a training session too soon. If you quit while he is totally into it, he will be even more into it at the next session. Just make sure you quit with positive energy so he doesn’t perceive the end of the session as a correction. Your goal is to be successful almost 100% of the time. In this case, that means that you quit while he is still excited about the ball/bumper instead of going until he loses interest and has incomplete retrieves. If there are distractions (people, new places, exciting smells, etc) you risk setting yourself up for failure … so don’t even try to overcome distractions unless you are sure you will be successful. You will later add distractions in a controlled fashion one at a time when you and the pup are ready. Right now, you are not successful retrieving in the park, so don’t try it. You are only reinforcing an unwanted habit which will be progressively harder to break. Take advantage of his food drive. Even in retrieving breeds not all dogs have an automatic passion for retrieving. You need to start at square one and build the components of a good retrieve one piece at a time. If your pup responds well to food rewards, you can use treats to shape the behavior. Once you light the fire, the food can be eliminated. Use a ball for informal play retrieving with you or other family members. Get a dedicated training bumper/dummy for formal training sessions. These are available in sizes and materials appropriate for your dog’s size/age. This bumper will only be used by those that are committed to the training program that you establish. Your dog will come to learn that when he sees this bumper, nothing else in the world exists except for you (his handler) and retrieving this bumper. If you do it right, he will have amazing retrieving drive.
This list is far from complete and only shows that it’s not as simple as it looks. The more serious you are, the more intricate the training program becomes. The key is to get some help to lead you through the steps and then follow a program that provides fun for both you and your dog.
Need some more info
How old is this dog?
Will it hold a point?
What are you wanting this dog to do…point? Retrieve? both?
What are you planning on hunting?
Here is a list of books: