When Your Gundog Is Young Do Not Rush Their Training
The first time I decided to train a gundog, I realized that it wasn’t an easy task. I mean, sure, the training was actually quite easy and the dog took to all of it without too much difficulty and I had a lot of fun training but I didn’t have a gundog overnight. What I learned with my first gundog was that if you want a properly trained gundog without any problems, then you should expect it to take a fair amount of time.
But often that is easier said than done and everyone, me included, would love to have a gundog overnight. The reality is that all of the best trained gundogs were not trained overnight and if you talk to many handlers, they still aren’t fully trained, even after 2, 3, or even 5 years working in the field. Gundog training is something that occurs over the life of the dog and while you may have a fully trained gundog at two years of age (or younger), you should constantly be working your dog to keep them in the best condition both physically and mentally.
Okay, I had a little of a rant there but the main point that I am trying to stress is that you should never rush your gundog’s training. Generally, when a gundog is being trained, there are a lot of levels and a lot of steps that need to be worked through. Rushing through one stage to get to the other can cause a lot of problems and these are simple:
1. Your gundog is unable to perform tasks in the field. It doesn’t matter how well a dog does something the first time in a training session, if you have rushed it, your dog may not be able to do that task in the field. This isn’t because they aren’t listening but is more because the excitement has reduced your dog’s concentration and your dog will have a hard enough time remembering a well enforced and practiced command that they will be lost on commands that weren’t reinforced.
2. Your gundog won’t listen. While this may seem the same as one, it isn’t. There are commands a gundog won’t know if they aren’t reinforced but there are also commands a gundog won’t listen to if the training was rushed.
3. Your bond with your gundog is affected. Rushing through training can ruin the bond that you created with your gundog. Usually rushed training is more work and has more negative reinforcement than positive. If your gundog doesn’t trust you then he will not take your lead or commands in the field.
4. It is harder to retrain. If you miss any steps in your rush to have a trained gundog, it can be next to impossible to reteach them. Once your gundog has established a way to do something, he will not want to go back to do it right the first time. This means that it is very difficult to break bad habits and, trust me; there will be a number of bad habits arising from rushed training.
All of these problems can mean two things; one, your gundog may be ruined and no matter how much training you reinvest into your dog, they will never perform to the fullest of their potential and two, you will become very frustrated with everything, which will further hurt your relationship with your gundog.
When you do train your gundog, take the time to do so and make sure that you train according to your dog’s schedule, not yours and definitely not the hunting season schedule. If you miss a season, don’t fret because it will come around again very quickly.
Make sure you start training when your gundog is about eight to twelve weeks but make sure that it is simply a fun way to pass the time. At this age it should never be about work. Also keep the training to short periods. A good rule of thumb is 15 minute sessions, one to two times per day. You can do this every day (optimal) but make sure it is no fewer than 3 days a week.
And remember, some gundogs pick this up within weeks, while others can take months to be properly trained. There is no sense becoming frustrated and it makes even less sense to rush it.
If You haven’t seen our Gundog training DVD which Ron shows you how to train a gundog, Go to Amazon Now to grab your copy
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