Dog Training Collars - A Helping Tool
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Here's a great way: Put the dog on a 6-ft leash, and wrap the leash once around the dog's flanks, loop it under the wrap, and pick it up as if you were going to walk the dog. Don't wrap it or pull it tight, it's not necessary. Take a pheasant wing (available at sporting goods stores) and toss it in front of the dog, out of reach. Keep a hold on the leash and give the "whoa" command. The dog may try to lunge at the wing, but the "hitch" around his flanks will stop him. Give the whoa command a few times (if the dog is a pointer, gently stroke his tail up into a pointing posture...he'll soon start doing this on his own with a little help from you here) and praise like crazy! Don't ever pull on the hitch, the dog will do the work. You may have to try this a few times before you get it right...the hitch should NEVER hurt, just immobilize the dog like a groomer's loop would. Practice this way for a while, and when you feel he's ready, try it without the leash. It really doesn't take long this way, and it is totally humane.
When you feel your dog has a complete understanding of the whoa command, it's time to take him out with a 30-foot check cord. Give the dog his space, and then practice with him on the cord. If he regresses, return to the hitch a few times and try the long cord again. When you feel the dog is totally trustworthy and ready to be off lead, try to find a large fenced area first. These dogs are smart, and they will keep testing their limits, I always use baby steps with training, to ensure a reliably trained dog.
If you stick with this, the dog will be "whoa" trained in short order. Good luck!
Why Is Dog Training The Best Thing We Can Do For Our Dogs?
- I have a 10 yr old rescue Black Lab also,
I do hunt with my dog we hunt pheasants....
I have not seen anyone in my party that uses "halt or Whoa" when working their dogs out in the field.
All of our dogs are trained professionally and are trained with great respect to the dog and to us.
I have started to train some hunting breeds and I have noticed that every dog is different in the way they chose to be trained.
The experiences you have with dogs even though they are of a herding type dog, is and should be the same technique you would use with a hunting breed. With your dog she is very intelligent and wants to do what is bred into her. I would just find a reputable up land bird trainer to understand more of what is expected of your dog....
Tasha did like to run away allot, she would just bolt out the door and chase the rabbits that were in our yard, so what I did was I would put her at a sit stay and make her wait until I said it was OK to go, then of course she ran like a deer to get those rabbits. Then during the day while we did a walk or our chores I would again put her on a sit stay or even a stand stay and when I said "OK" she was released from the command.
Your dog may be bolting because of her energy level is so high....find something to let her release that energy. - I know this is probably not the "right" answer, but my Dad and grandpa always just took the dog with an older dog with them. Beagles for rabbits and pheasants, Lab for birds. The instinct lead the dogs and the older dog somehow "taught" the younger dog. It wasn't like a formal trainer coming to work with a dog. They just did it from instinct.
- I know you don't need your dog to actually be a bird dog, but since the instinct is strong anyway, have you considered training and doing competitions for it?
If you been around herding dogs and seen them trained at all from the first time on the herd on up, you know that it takes time to mold that instinct and get that dog to work with you as a team, rather than flying solo (I am working on this with my herding dog now). I am confident that there are alternative methods to being forceful, but I gotta say that in the case of my Border Collie, soft corrections don't work when it comes to her natural instinct. That drive is SO intense, that you just have to do more than you would in obedience training. Harsh corrections are mandatory, but it does not phase her like it would if I used it in obedience training.
I have learned that training a dog on top of their natural instinct is entirely different than the basic obedience. - I rescue English Pointers and use the halt and whoa command. I use leads up to 200' long doing as the other person said, keeping a wing just out of reach and calling out whoa. The key is once your dog has learned this, they may not whoa without the lead. So I leave the lead on and work the dog with it dragging the lead, so that if they do decide to go for it I can chase the lead making it easier to catch my dogs. As the dog respects the whoa command, you can shorten the lead. I adopted out one rescue who will bolt if he does not have a lead the is short enough yet long enough to just bang around inbetween his back legs. He thinks that he is still under his handlers command, this family also did not want to use an electric collar. I also place a wing on the end of a fishing pole and cast off and my dogs will whoa and hold point until I let them "flush" the wing. You may want to look into a few pointer training videos, the methods are less aggressive since the breed is so sensitive to correction. Also in some cases, an e-collar may be the only way to train your dog and ensure consistent performance. I am not sure what area you are in, but I amsure there is ahunting group that can also help you out. San Diego has a huting group that meets every Saturday morning at Fiesta Island. Pleasanton has a group that goes out on a private ranch and does training for free the last weekend of evey month. Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions. Carrie
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