Training Your
Retriever for Double Duty
By Charlie Jurney
If you own a
waterfowl dog, chances are that sooner or later you’re going to
ask it to perform upland duty. It might be a pheasant hunt as a
sideline to your Dakota duck hunt, or maybe an afternoon of
quail hunting after a morning goose hunt. Most retrievers handle
their second job pretty well. You can help your dog perform that
job even better.
Hunting a
field in search of scent is a lot like retrieving; it’s a
natural instinct. Your job is to awaken those instincts and
control the actions of Pup until you see him responding.
Training Pup
to quarter can and should begin as soon as you bring your future
star home from the breeder. Long daily walks will present him
with many new smells, sounds, sights and adventures. Pup will
want to go exploring, but it’s unlikely he’ll range too far from
you. As pup is bounding around in front of you, start
communicating to him that you like his actions with a happy
“Hunt ‘em up!”
While Pup is
running through the fields as happy as if he had two tails, your
initial job is to follow him. Pup must learn that his place is
in front of you. If he decides to run behind you, turn and
follow so he’s always in front of you. I’ve seen older dogs
struggle with this concept. They thought the safe place for them
was at heel. With patience, they all came around to become good
upland hunters. As young dogs, their hunting instinct was never
nurtured. Avoid this by starting early.
As pups grow
older, they tend to become more independent. One day he might
decide to venture off on his own. Pup is bold now and ready to
challenge your authority, so be prepared. Hopefully, you have
already started some obedience training, and pup understands the
“Here” command so you can call him back each time he ventures
too far. With enough repetition, pup will learn how far he’s
allowed to stray. This distance is determined by how well you
shoot and what type of birds you are hunting.
I also
encourage you to use your whistle at this time. Give a tweet on
the whistle each time he ventures too far and before you know
it, Pup will be turning on his own when he reaches that
distance. Now we’re getting somewhere – Pup is happy while
hunting, but under control.
I’m a big
believer in buying the best pup you can and letting his natural
genetic encoding tell him where to hunt. However, there are
times when you need to cast Pup into a specific area that you
think or know holds birds. To do this, Pup must learn hand
signals. Unlike blind retrieves, casting in the upland hunt is
not a precise exercise, but a steering of Pup into a general
area.
A dog will
easily learn to cast in an upland hunt if he will come when
called. Start by commanding pup to “Hunt ‘em up.” He goes out in
one direction, you veer off in the other. As he is about to turn
on his own, give tweet on the whistle, causing him to turn and
come toward you. When Pup looks up at you, hold out your arm,
pointing in the direction you’re heading. Start walking a
zig-zag pattern through the field on your daily treks. If pup
zigs, you zag and if he zags, you zig. Each time he turns,
either on his own or after you call him, hold out the correct
arm and cast him in a new direction. With enough repetition and
conditioning, Pup will cast in any direction.
What if Pup
decides he would rather run around the cover instead of punching
into it and hunting? We need to show him that the cover is a
good place and not something of which to be afraid. Do this by
walking into the cover and call him in there with you. If he
likes you and will come when called, this shouldn’t be
difficult. After he enters the cover, encourage him to hunt in
an upbeat tone. When Pup finds enough birds in the cover, you’ll
have a hard time keeping him out of there.
What if he
shows little interest in the field and is lethargic in his hunt?
Try spicing up the field with a few birds, either freshly killed
or live flyers. Hopefully, this will jolt Pup’s interest. Spread
the birds out on both sides of the field to encourage Pup to
hunt the sides. Walk down the middle while pup hunts the sides
and retrieves the planted birds. Make a big fuss over him each
time he finds a bird, and then cast him off to hunt again.
You’ll find
more information on all aspects of hunting dog training in the
“Training Information” archive at
www.sportdog.net.
Charlie
Jurney, owner of Beaverdam Kennels in Terrell, N.C., is a
professional retriever trainer. He is the author of the Finished
Dog training manual and CD-Rom. For more information, visit
www.finisheddog.com.
