Retrievers: Lessons in the Field

Most trainers would likely agree that the best way to get your retriever ready for hunting season is to keep him from becoming untrained during the off-season. In other words, insist that he be a good canine citizen, obedient and responsive to commands at all times, and give him enough drill work to keep his field training fresh. Opening day shouldn’t be the first time in nine months that he’s been sent for a retrieve.

Still, in the heat of the moment, when the guns start barking and the birds start falling, even well-prepared, veteran retrievers can make mistakes. “The thing about training,” says Allan Klotsche, the proprietor of Wildrose Midwest in Sheboygan,
Wisconsin, “is that it’s predictable. You know what can go wrong, and at the first sign of trouble you can toot the whistle, stop the dog, and start over. When you’re hunting, though, life’s not that predictable. You’re in a different environment and there’s a lot of frenzied action. And that’s when, if you’re not careful, bad habits can be created.”

Klotsche recommends that, during your dog’s first season, you focus exclusively on handling him. “Take him hunting,” he explains, “but leave your gun in the truck. Concentrate on his blind manners and only send him for retrieves that you’re confident he can make. You want to choose situations that favor the dog.”

You should also use this time, Klotsche stresses, to work on concepts that will help keep your dog steady and prevent him from breaking, which is undoubtedly the most common in-season problem. These concepts can be summed up as “delay” and “denial.” The former simply means that the dog must wait before being released for the retrieve; the latter means he understands that not every retrieve will be his to make. Eventually, he learns that the retrieve is his reward for staying steady. Reinforcing these concepts through repeated drills and in hunting situations goes a long way toward making steadiness a lifelong habit.

What if a supposedly steady dog breaks anyway? Let him complete the retrieve, advises Klotsche, but don’t give him any praise or positive reinforcement. Be completely neutral and certainly don’t punish him. The next time an opportunity to retrieve arises, make sure the dog remains steady. Even if you have to physically restrain him, make him wait for three or four minutes and then send him for the retrieve.

“He has to demonstrate to me that he can sit quietly and patiently,” Klotsche explains. “If he can do that, he’ll be allowed to retrieve that duck. If not, I’m going to pick it up and deny him the opportunity.”

Klotsche also takes advantage of lulls in the hunting action to do some drills (he brings along a bumper in case no birds are available), and he always concludes a hunt with a 10- to 15-minute training session devoted to ironing out any rough spots that might have cropped up in the dog’s performance.

Another problem that can rear its ugly head over the course of the season is whining. If a firm verbal correction such as no or knock it off doesn’t work, Klotsche recommends taking your dog 10 yards or so behind the blind and staying there until he stops whining and settles down. At that point you can use your praise marker, such as good boy, and return him to the blind.

“Dogs are very place-oriented,” he explains. “That blind is where he wants to be. By removing him until he’s quiet, he learns that he has to earn the right to be there. You may have to repeat the lesson a few times, but eventually he’ll get it. What you don’t want to do is keep telling him no if he’s not responding to it. At best you’re conditioning him to ignore you; at worst he’ll start thinking that whining is a surefire way to get your attention. Along these same lines, you don’t want to be touching your dog all the time in the blind and indulging in what I call indiscriminate petting. In a hunting situation, you should reserve your praise for situations when it means something.”