hedd-wyn Posted December 19, 2013 Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 Well at this time of year it's virtually dark when I get up and ******* dark when I finish work this time of year and find it difficult getting the training in 7 days a week with the lack of sunlight. Any of you working guys find this frustrating? So how do you more experienced dog owners cope with this? Or could please shed some 'light' on something I could work on other than heel work ? The bitch is a 9month old labrador and is coming along superbly in all aspects of her training. ATB Heddwch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted December 19, 2013 Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 My own dogs are expected to work in the dark, so why stop? Sight is far from their primary sense so good to build on marking by sound, sit stays by walking back to them etc. Failing that if your dog comes inside you can do a lot of stuff indoors easier than out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedd-wyn Posted December 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 My own dogs are expected to work in the dark, so why stop? Sight is far from their primary sense so good to build on marking by sound, sit stays by walking back to them etc. Failing that if your dog comes inside you can do a lot of stuff indoors easier than out Sounds like a plan, I was a bit worried about the response I'd get on training in the dark following the 'My dog won't go into cover at night' thread, that guy got a pasting and a half! Luckily I have plenty of safe places I could take her at night without the risk of injuring her. Thanks Kent, sound advice as always Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardP Posted December 19, 2013 Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 I suffer the same as you with 5 months of going to work in the dark and getting home in the dark etc. with my first cocker i was right at a point of her moving on and i lost the light...really frustrating.... My young dog i am training i actually took this into account and bought her at the time of year that with a guess i could get thro the summer with the important stuff, and this has worked well. Things i have done to help in winter is found locally a small stable that has its own floodlit menarge and give them a drink to do some dummy work under there lights, also remember Simon Tyres talking about this to me saying before he had his facilities he used to alternate Tesco & Sainsburys car parks before he got told to leave...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedd-wyn Posted December 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 Things i have done to help in winter is found locally a small stable that has its own floodlit menarge and give them a drink to do some dummy work under there lights, also remember Simon Tyres talking about this to me saying before he had his facilities he used to alternate Tesco & Sainsburys car parks before he got told to leave...... That's a really good idea mate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magman Posted December 19, 2013 Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 It's amazing how much training you can do in a small room Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardP Posted December 19, 2013 Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 That's a really good idea mate! Where theres a will, there's a way mate.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fenboy Posted December 19, 2013 Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 my lab is coming up to 11 months and I have the same issue with daylight hours at time but I still train in the dark , your dog is still young and even if you miss a bit of training now and again she will be at a better age to play catch up in the spring if needs be so i would not worry about getting a training session in 7 days a week . Things like sit / stay / here should just be daily routine anyway and that will give a good platform for later training needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 19, 2013 Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 Sounds like a plan, I was a bit worried about the response I'd get on training in the dark following the 'My dog won't go into cover at night' thread, that guy got a pasting and a half! Luckily I have plenty of safe places I could take her at night without the risk of injuring her. Thanks Kent, sound advice as always 'My dog won't go into cover at night Does not bother me because i have a good working spaniel that i rough shoot with beat etc I asked for advice on a subject and did not get good feed back with people and so called dog trainers that think they know everything. But as far as i can see some people on this forum are rude and try to humiliate people that ask for advice. I enjoy my dog and like working with her i get results and i am happy with the partnership so i don't really care what people say on here. I also have about 6 thousand acres to shoot on so i enjoy what i do. Good luck with your new dog. Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedd-wyn Posted December 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 Does not bother me because i have a good working spaniel that i rough shoot with beat etc I asked for advice on a subject and did not get good feed back with people and so called dog trainers that think they know everything. But as far as i can see some people on this forum are rude and try to humiliate people that ask for advice. I enjoy my dog and like working with her i get results and i am happy with the partnership so i don't really care what people say on here. I also have about 6 thousand acres to shoot on so i enjoy what i do. Good luck with your new dog. Neil Thank you Neil, didn't mean to **** stir there sorry mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 19, 2013 Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 Thank you Neil, didn't mean to **** stir there sorry mate hedd-wyn You haven't stired anything and i did get a bit of stick for asking a question but i don't really listen to anyone other than the person who helps me train my dog he he.the guy is 75 years old and he has trained spaniels for 50 years and i told him some of the comments on here and hes just said take no notice. All's that i can tell you is that i shot 2 ducks of a shoot the other week and 2 dogs run in on what i shot and when i looked at my dog and my dog looked at me i was devastated because i could not reward her for being steady. So i don't go to that shoot anymore. I have the same problem as you but i now rent a big lit menage cost me £2.50 a month so i am happy. You could ask your local horse stables for the use of there menage,at the mo i am taking my dog rabbit shooting with the rimfire at night and just keeping her in the landrover while i take care of the rabbits with the night vision and then i hunt her to find them. Best regards Neil . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted December 19, 2013 Report Share Posted December 19, 2013 Sounds like a plan, I was a bit worried about the response I'd get on training in the dark following the 'My dog won't go into cover at night' thread, that guy got a pasting and a half! Luckily I have plenty of safe places I could take her at night without the risk of injuring her. Thanks Kent, sound advice as always don't send it in heavy cover then, I just use the rough fields. cost me a fair bit this year to fix a ripped ear from blackthorn- felt very guilty because a good dog will risk all to do its job if your ask Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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