ShaggyRS6 Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Went out with Trixie for the first time today off the lead. Twice in fact!!!!! First time was with my other dog as purley a walk. The second outing this evening was training time and i have a question!!!! Trixie this has: "Sit" "Wait" (I throw the dummy i then leave the next command for up to 30 seconds) then "Fetch", bring back dummy to 2 whistles, "Dead" gives me the dummy. ***success rate 7/10*** (Not bad for only having her since Sat just gone) "Sit" "Wait" (I throw the dummy, then go and retrieve it myself, walk off in another direction, rinse and repeat and then finally tell her to fetch etc and so on. ***success rate 7/10*** NOTE *Just so happened there was a friend of mine who has a springer and he threw a dummy with wings, she had never seen one before and picked it up right away, a good sign?* What i did notice was that Trixie became bored after about 10 throws. 1 Is that normal? 2. Am I doing to many? 3. if too many how many? 4. Could it have been the surrounding? (New Field/Long Grass/Orchard/Bunnie Poo etc) 5. Anything else you can think of? Next question is about Heel. She will walk to heel on the lead no problems at all. Should I be making her walk to heel off the lead (Well) before doing the retrive stuff or can that be done in another session and still progress with the retrieve stuff?? She will stay close, but she does not seem keen to come to my side on a heel command. Think that's about it for now Cheers All!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewis Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Shaggy, First of what age is she? 10 retreive's in my opinion is far too much for any dog, especially if she is a pup. Cheer's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferretboy111 Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Yeah be careful, I bored my springer with throwing dummies and now she wont even pick up a stick or ball let alone a dead pheasant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShaggyRS6 Posted September 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 She is 16 months - I thought it might be too many Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGD Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Lee, give her another couple of weeks to bond with, and understand, you before getting into training. She'll be fine mate.... and 10 retrieves is far too many IMO, more like 3 or 4 a day in 2 separate sessions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShaggyRS6 Posted September 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Yeah fair point. I'm just a bit excited as I know I have the makings of a great dog here. So the next 2 weeks should be purely walks? Maybe recalling her on the whistle but that's it? Chuck a retrieve once or twice? Cheers so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasper3 Posted September 12, 2009 Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 Shaggy...I'm no expert.but i have done quite a bit of home work and i'm reading Joe Irvines book... my boy starts his training in 1 month as the others have said..2-3 retrieves a day.... Max..to start with in the book !!! it says "the last thing you will teach them is the Heal command" and the 1st will be the recall and sit.... the reason given about the heal command not being a priority...is you want your dog to be out in front sniffing and doing what comes naturaly... if you need your dog to be at your side ...the recall and sit command should do this..... even on a lead he will still be sniffing, i use a slip lead so when my boy pulls i just give a gentle..and i mean gentle pull back..not a yank..but still keeping the dog out in front now !!!!!!! I know exactley how you feel !!!! My boy is a working cooker.. he is 4 months old.so no gundog training yet !!!! we go to the common or beach every night... he has started to work the edges naturaly. ( on the common ) ..if he gets to far out in front ...i will give him 1 blast on the whistle ....... he sits ... 2 blasts then he recalls ..thats as far as i can go at the moment... he will retrive a toy..in his case he has a stuffed pheasn't... but i wont do more than two a day..i give him loads of praise when he does this... you say your pup has the makings of a great gundog....... just take it slowly...he will reward you by learning little bits at a time and not get bord... like I said ..I'm no expert but can see how the training plan works.... google search joe irvine ...gundog training..fantastic book ... all the best with your training ..really looking forward to hearing how Trixie progresses regards john Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShaggyRS6 Posted September 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 Cheers Jasper. That made good reading that. I have Tony Price's book (gave me a copy when i got my ESS from him) and have been reading that. I have also been speaking with Dan (NTTF). Regarding the heel, she actually does heel perfectly on the lead and like I say, she does stay close in as well. What i dont like (and dont know how to approach this) is when we go for a Walk, i.e. Her and my ESS who does not stay close in, they go hooning off together. I don't really want her picking up bad habits right away. On the other I do want her to have a difference between play (When they both go out) to working (when she goes out just with me) I am not sure if that is possible or if I am going about it in the right way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickyspringer Posted September 12, 2009 Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 don't rush the dog, bonding is the key. i'm with all the others who have mentioned above me, too many retreives is really bad, boredom sets in. my main advice would be to keep the dogs very close, you don't want the dog pulling further and further away from you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShaggyRS6 Posted September 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 Went out again tonight and as you have advised it was more a bonding session than training. We were out for an hour an a half. I tell ya!!! almost bought a tear to my eyes by the end. We done 4 retrieves over the period we were out. All were done perfectly. She never moved any further ahead than 25-30 yards. She comes back first time to the whistle and name 85% of the time. NEVER has failed to come back. She works through the long grass, picks up scents its a bloody joy to watch. I got her walking to Heel (albeit only for a couple of mins) next to me off the lead, so I am less worried about actually achieving this goal in the long run. Now the last bit impressed me, not sure if it should have done and to be honest I do not know if this should be encouraged or stopped or what. I will take you guys advice. She saw a Rabbit pop out the grass about 20 yards in front of us. She froze, looked at me and for the life of me I dont know why I said it but I just yelled fetch, she chased that rabbit down through some very hard terrain and about 40 seconds later presented me with a rabbit, she did not actually bring it all the way back to my hand, she dropped it about 5 foot short of me, very much alive, although dazed. I picked it up before it knew what was going on and dispatched it. Thoughts and comments? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortune82 Posted September 12, 2009 Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 If you are trying to train your dog as a gundog you certainly dont want to be telling her to chase rabbits!! Steadiness is the name of the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasper3 Posted September 12, 2009 Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 agree with fortune... as if you are shooting..you want your dog out the way and in a safe position..she gave you the nod that she had spotted the rabbit..she must stay ... then when you have shot the rabbit ..retrieve when told so and not before.... try as others have said..concentrate on the bonding and just a couple of retrieves...i know its hard,,because you are so pleased with what she is doing... I have to hold my puppy back..he does so much naturaly..tonight a flock of geese flew over..he was sat with one leg pointed backwards...he had a "goodboy"..we moved on slow slow slow ..is the key john Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShaggyRS6 Posted September 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2009 I hear you all Will have to restrain myself. cheers guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferretboy111 Posted September 13, 2009 Report Share Posted September 13, 2009 Agreed with everyone's comments; I tend to use rabbits and hares as training aids, if I spot one ill drive up to it and let my ESS hunt untill it flushes. Key here is to stop her chasing it, using a long line so I can correct her if she does. Ill be off in an hour dogging in, Ill take my camera maybe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShaggyRS6 Posted September 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2009 She spotted another one this afternoon. I did not use a long lead as I felt confident she would not chase if I told her not too. And with a loud no and wait she did not. Hooorah!!! I have slapped myself on the wrists for telling her to fetch the first one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren m Posted September 14, 2009 Report Share Posted September 14, 2009 sounds like you got a cracking dog there , did she come direct from tawny hill. is she part trained anyway or a total novice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShaggyRS6 Posted September 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2009 She is good, she even works in front of me left to right, right to left etc etc, she is not from Tony Price (my ESS is) and she is part trained, only the basics though, she has had no experince of hunting up until now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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