Just because your hound has not been in the field doesn’t mean you should preclude your four-legged buddy from accompanying you. With that said, a lot of work needs to be done first. Like any trained response you have to first do the training. Just because a dog comes from hunting lines doesnt mean it will hunt for you. Yes, the optimal word in that sentence is you! Well-bred hunting dogs are genetically disposed to have prey drive. Retrievers also have the insatiable drive to retrieve, pointers point etc. What the human end of the team needs to ensure is that our four-legged buddy doesn’t go out self-employed, or hunting for his/her own interests.

Obedience is the foundation of any good dog, and is a must for hunting dogs. A dog needs to understand that they need to listen and obey their partner in the field at all times. A good recall, sit command, and heel are needed prior to hitting the hunting landscape. Most think their hounds are great because they sit and come in their yard. The biggest thing needed from that point is to take your dog to areas that aren’t so familiar. Taking your future field partner to a park, into town and eventually into a hunting atmosphere are areas where the trainer can reinforce their commands and expectations for their future hunting pupil.

Once we have our commands down, an electric training collar is also a great aide in making sure our commands and demands are met. Taking a dog in a place with distractions is a major test of any training program. Using an e-collar to reinforce commands before hitting the field greatly assists the dog’s understanding for all situations. The easy way to think about it is that the e-collar is like a pager. When the four-legged hunting hound of fury gets so encompassed with the hunt that they forget things, we as the handler and team member can give them a gentle reminder.

The other and last part of the foundation of our training is our trained retrieve method. This entails having our dog fetch on command and understand when they are supposed to bring our prey, whether it’s a bird or big buck horn. It’s a slow process using differing methods that convince our hunting companion that they will gain great rewards by bringing back what we are hunting. It’s also a great step when looking at things through the view of conservation. If a dog brings back our downed game, it was not harvested in vain.

All of the above training principles are the same as with a young dog. The only difference is you may have years of bad habits that make your older dog a slightly bigger challenge. But in the end you will be glad you offered you four-legged buddy a chance to excel at what they were bred for!

Check out the pups in this video  SANY0001

SportingDog Adventures is in its second season on the Sportsman Channel, airing on Wednesdays at 3:00 am, Thursdays at 7:00 am and Saturdays at 5:30 pm. The show focuses on hunting dogs in the field and their high octane work. Don’t miss this week’s show as we highlight the Labrador Retrievers of Soggy Acres Retrievers.
To view a preview of the episode, check out our tease video located at this address: https://vimeo.com/46908870

Jeff Fuller began in the sporting dog industry in 1998, when he was given “Lily,” a chocolate female lab, as a gift. Since then, Soggy Acres Retrievers Kennels has grown to producing some of the nation’s top chocolate, black, and yellow retrievers with excellent lineage, many of which have gone on to Senior and Master hunt titles. More information on Jeff’s kennels is available at http://www.soggyacres.com/.

Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/SportingDog-Adventures/139893912701785
And follow us on Twitter @sportingdogtv.

About Sportsman Channel: Launched in 2003, Sportsman Channel is a television and digital media company fully devoted to the more than 82 million sportsmen in the United States, delivering best-in-class programming from the industry’s biggest personalities all focused exclusively on hunting, shooting and fishing. Sportsman Channel reaches more than 31 million U.S. television households and is available in HD (http://sportsmanhd.com). Visit www.thesportsmanchannel.com or follow on Twitter, @SPORTSMANchnl.

SportingDog Adventures is in its second season on the Sportsman Channel, airing on Wednesdays at 3:00 am, Thursdays at 7:00 am and Saturdays at 5:30 pm. The show focuses on hunting dogs in the field and their high octane work. Don’t miss this week’s show as we highlight the Labrador Retrievers of Soggy Acres Retrievers. To view a preview of the episode, check out our tease video located at this address: https://vimeo.com/46908818

Jeff Fuller began in the sporting dog industry in 1998, when he was given “Lily,” a chocolate female lab, as a gift. Since then, Soggy Acres Retrievers Kennels has grown to producing some of the nation’s top chocolate, black, and yellow retrievers with excellent lineage, many of which have gone on to Senior and Master hunt titles. More information on Jeff’s kennels is available at http://www.soggyacres.com/.

To learn more about SportingDog Adventures check out our website at www.sportingdogadventures.com
Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/SportingDog-Adventures/139893912701785
And follow us on Twitter @sportingdogtv.

About Sportsman Channel: Launched in 2003, Sportsman Channel is a television and digital media company fully devoted to the more than 82 million sportsmen in the United States, delivering best-in-class programming from the industry’s biggest personalities all focused exclusively on hunting, shooting and fishing. Sportsman Channel reaches more than 31 million U.S. television households and is available in HD (http://sportsmanhd.com). Visit www.thesportsmanchannel.com or follow on Twitter, @SPORTSMANchnl.

As a result of their breeding, steadiness is far from a natural genetic trait in a retriever. The desire to retrieve compels the dog to relentlessly drive toward prey uninhibited. Due to this hardwired genetic trait, it is vital to conclude obedience training early on in the dog’s yard prior to field progression. Doing so will lead to a solid foundation that a successful training program can be constructed on.

Once a retriever is taught control early on in schooling, the next step is to take that training out of the yard and into the field. In a blind, steadiness is defined as the retriever’s ability to stay still as prey comes in and continue to remain still until the command to retrieve is given. This control is derived from the simple enforcement of obedience. The best method of enforcement is to employ the use of an adequate e-collar after properly introducing it to the dog. E-collars ensure that the retriever listens to and responds to commands as necessary, whether near you or in a separate blind. It is imperative that the e-collar be introduced properly in order to successfully enforce commands and discipline the retriever for refusals or violations of those commands.

The introduction of steadiness is also necessary in the instance of a flush. This command is an extension of obedience that is imperative to the field. With the flush, steadiness is easily taught with the “one whistle sit command” and “chaining”. These are both fairly simple training techniques to employ. The trainer simply needs to exclaim “sit” to the dog while immediately following the order with one whistle blast. If the retriever then does not comply, the trainer enforces the command by pulling the dog into submission with the leash. Once the retriever comprehends the command and responds as ordered, steadiness is achieved and the retriever is not only ready for the flush, but is capable of being controlled when trailing game, even at maximum range.

Proper obedience training and the use of available tools will help you successfully elevate a retriever from the back yard to the field, and are essential to an enjoyable, long term union between hunter and dog. A poorly trained retriever will inevitably result in a marriage thwart with disappointment and frustration. Steadiness, control, command and enforcement are essential to ensuring a long, enjoyable and loyal union. Ill-timed or ill-advised commands put even the most ideal of pairings in peril, which is an unfortunate consequence to both involved, two legged and four legged.

SportingDog Adventures is in its second season on the Sportsman Channel, airing on Wednesdays at 3:00 am, Thursdays at 7:00 am and Saturdays at 5:30 pm. The show focuses on hunting dogs in the field and their high octane work. Don’t miss this week’s show as we highlight the Labrador Retrievers of Soggy Acres Retrievers.

To view a preview of the episode, check out our tease video located at this address: https://vimeo.com/45083006

Jeff Fuller began in the sporting dog industry in 1998, when he was given “Lily,” a chocolate female lab, as a gift. Since then, Soggy Acres Retrievers Kennels has grown to producing some of the nation’s top chocolate, black, and yellow retrievers with excellent lineage, many of which have gone on to Senior and Master hunt titles. More information on Jeff’s kennels is available at http://www.soggyacres.com/.

Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/SportingDog-Adventures/139893912701785

And follow us on https://twitter.com/sportingdogtv.

SportingDog Adventures is in its second season on the Sportsman Channel, airing on Wednesdays at 3:00 am, Thursdays at 7:00 am and Saturdays at 5:30 pm. The show focuses on hunting dogs in the field and their high octane work. Don’t miss this week’s show as we highlight the Labrador Retrievers of Soggy Acres Retrievers.
To view a preview of the episode, check out our tease video located at this address: https://vimeo.com/44736305

Jeff Fuller began in the sporting dog industry in 1998, when he was given “Lily,” a chocolate female lab, as a gift. Since then, Soggy Acres Retrievers Kennels has grown to producing some of the nation’s top chocolate, black, and yellow retrievers with excellent lineage, many of which have gone on to Senior and Master hunt titles. More information on Jeff’s kennels is available at http://www.soggyacres.com/.

To learn more about SportingDog Adventures check out our website at www.sportingdogadventures.com
Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/SportingDog-Adventures/139893912701785
And follow us on Twitter @sportingdogtv.