Hunting Dog Training – Some Things to Consider

Men rely on hunting dogs to retrieve their kills. Without them, the hunter will have to do all the work with no the assurance that they will be bringing something home at the end of the day. To make the work easier, the hunter requires the help of a well–trained hunting dog.

However, not all dog breeds could be adapted to hunting works and only specific trainings that promote hunting capabilities would bring out the best in a hunting dog.

But hunting dogs are not garden varieties that you could have whenever you want. They are trained and trained well for the demands of hunting. And oftentimes, training for the hunting dog breeds is a tedious and extensive process that requires knowledge and patience from the trainer and appropriate attributes from the dog.

What is the right breed?

As said earlier, not all dogs are fit for dog hunting. There are actually dog breeds specializing in this work and have long history of the particular service for men. In short, they are well adapted to the kind of works usually needed in hunting.

A hunting dog which will respond best to training are breeds like retrievers, spaniels and pointers- each of which have capacities that are unique to their breeds. It is up to the trainer to hone their capacities and use them for their right purposes.

In general, hunting dogs have excellent sense of smell for tracking purposes. Also, hunting dogs should be fit for outdoor activities and could easily be conditioned for training. The best candidate for dog training on hunting is a dog that has all of the said characteristics. The most common choices as hunting dogs are Labradors, Beagles, Bloodhounds and Dachshunds.

What dog to get?

One just can’t get a full grown dog and expect him to respond well to training. The best choice is a puppy since it has just started forming its behavior. Also, you need a dog that has affinity to his handler. This would not develop on its own. So you have to personally train your dog or at least train alongside your dog with a professional trainer.

What tasks are usually involved in the training?

There are six basic tasks that a good hunting dog should master. These are as follows:

a) Retrieving
b) Marking
c) Quartering
d) Shaking
e) Following hand signals
f) Steadying

What about gun fire and scent?

There are dogs that are sensitive or scared at hearing gun fires. So it has to get acclimatized through training. Typically, this is accomplished by conditioning the dog through a procedural way of introducing gunfire along with game birds.

This training will let the dog associate gun fire with game. If the gunfire is heard, the dog will know that there is a game. After retrieving the game, the dog will expect the next gunfire.

On the other hand, tracking is based on following the scent. There are as much scent as there are games so be sure to train your dog on a particular scent. If you want him to hunt deer you should get him used to deer scent.

Dog training for hunting is much harder than other forms of dog training. However, if your passion is hunting you would undoubtedly require the services of a well-trained hunting dog.

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With so many people advertising in the field of professional dog training today, trying to determine who’s truly qualified to look after your dog can be overwhelming. What to look for when choosing a professional to help you with dog training :

1) A good reputation, ask around and get recommendations from your vet, other dog owners, or local kennel clubs.

2) Experience – Inquire about their background, i.e. number of years experience.

3) A genuine love of and devotion to dogs.

4) Extensive and up to date knowledge. Dedicated trainers keep themselves updated by attending dog training and animal behavior courses, conferences, seminars and workshops.

5) Their training methodology and handling skills. A good trainers first concern should be the dogs well being.

6) Memberships with reputable associations, organizations and training clubs.

Once you find and choose a professional trainer you will need one or two items and a few tips before you start. Here are some things that you should do and have before you begin with your professional trainer.

General Dog Obedience Tips

Training should be a positive and enjoyable experience for both you and your dog or puppy. If you are not in the right mood for training, don’t even begin.

Always reward your dog for obeying your commands promptly! A reward is anything that your dog wants and is willing to work for. Treats are an obvious reward but other rewards could be verbal praise and toys.

Several shorter sessions are usually better than one long one. Training should not involve any negative components or punishment . There should be no shouting, no hitting or smacking, no chain jerking on choke chains or collars, and absolutely no electric shocking! Each training session should be enjoyable and positive with rewards for jobs well done.

Training With Head Collars

Pulling on the lead is one of the few unpleasant experiences of bringing up a new puppy or dog. Using a head collar for dog training has become very popular over the last few years. Training with a head collar does have some advantages over the traditional training collar. Although very simple to use, it is important that head collars are fitted correctly and your dog properly introduced to the collar. Head collars are generally more intuitive to use than a traditional training collar. Head collars are very effective when controlling dogs in difficult situations.

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As a rule, agility training should start while the pet is still a puppy. However, owners can still facilitate training with older dogs. The question “when is the dog considered old for agility training” is central to choosing when to start training the dog.

Being “old” greatly varies from dog to dog, from the extent of a dog’s experience to the innate and natural tendencies it has. In short, there is no specific age at which the dog should be restrained from training.

However it is always far easier to start training with much younger dogs since their learned behaviors are still not rooted into their habits.

For choosing old dogs for training, the handler should not create the impression that the dog would no longer learn so there’s no need to waste time. The attitude of the dog as much as that of the trainer is both highly essential to faster learning. The more dedicated and patient the owner is the faster the dog learns.

There are several approaches to starting training for agility. A few of which are discussed here briefly:

Physical exercise

The introduction to agility training should start with physical exercises. If the handler has enough interest to dedicate on training the dog, the age will no longer matter for it is the condition that will rule over. Simple exercises like jumping or hopping may agitate the dog and encourage him to move a little bit. For puppies, these exercises are much easier to do since they have enough energy to use.

Let him play around

Like teaching little children, the easiest approach to agility training for younger puppies is to turn the exercises into a series of games. The majority of puppies are capable of passing through tunnels and chutes so take advantage of this chance and introduce the tunnels, obstacles and the training area itself as huge play ground.

This approach will create positive impressions on him which will also prepare him for future training.

Promote his agility

If you don’t have a sufficient area for setting up obstacle courses, it is best to use certain games that also encourage agility. Simple equipment like improvised tunnels or walls could be made to augment training.

Keep it short

Dogs don’t experience passion when it comes to activities but they have the innate desire to please their owners. This means that they don’t get devoted unless they are rewarded for good actions they have made and that you show your favor for their actions. Their attention span is also very limited so they could not continue training for extended hours.

If you want to start training your dog for agility, establish the rule that you should keep each training session and each lesson as short as possible. You don’t have to finish everything in one sitting. You should divide each exercise into sections that the dog could easily understand. Also never end with a negative note. Always ensure that the dog finishes each exercise with praise.

Training your dog for agility does not lie on how old or young he is, it lies in the foundation of responsiveness, independence, drive to work alone and to follow the command, and your desire to work with him with enough patience and knowledge of his capacities.

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Dog lovers who use the Apple iPhone will find some new help for dog owners including dog training, dog health and other great aids to help with your puppies, thanks to some of the new apps that have come out.

In watching for the best information I can get you to help you enjoy your dogs more, I came across a great post by Amy-Mae Elliot on the Mashable Blog entitled 10 Best iPhone Apps for Dog Lovers. This is a great list of really helpful apps from the likes of Cesar Millan, Eukanuba and the like, and shouldn’t be missed!

If you have an iPhone, be sure to check out her post and start using the new technologies for dog training, improved dog health and just plain fun with your dogs today!

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Some people choose a career in dog training simply because it is a popular choice however there are those who are really passionate about canines that their life’s direction has led them towards loving dogs even more.

Do you fall in the category of people who pursue career in dog training just because someone said you are great with dogs and should look into a career with working with dogs. Or have fallen so in love with dogs that you are left with no option but to fall even deeper and must work with them?

Back to basic principles…

Dog training is more than a love for dogs; it also requires knowledge and skills in handling and disciplining them and knowing the basics of their behaviors. Dog trainers usually have long history of experience with dogs and interaction with many dog owners and handlers and their pets.

What is your “dog division”?

There are two types of careers in the dog world- the pet service training and the dog training. Both have relatively high demands in the market but there are a lot more opportunities in pet dog training than service training.

The pet dog training usually involve dogs that function merely as pets and as companions for outdoor activities therefore, the usual training involved are obedience training, agility training, potty training and training to eliminate unwanted behaviors like barking and biting.

Service training, on the other hand, involves specified training on services required by people with disabilities and those undergoing therapy. Another division of service dogs are involved in chasing criminals, drug and bomb sniffing, search and rescue dogs and hunting dogs.

These are highly intensive trainings and require the handler to get sufficient preparation to lead the dog in employing its specialized functions.

Understanding of canine psychology

What do you really know about dogs – their thinking, their behaviors and their reaction to stimulus? Training adheres to conditioning the thinking of the dog to make specific responses. You should also know well the fundamentals of associative conditioning.

What about dog training education?

A dog training career requires that you have basic skills in dog training and handling. There are no degrees in dog training yet for there are no colleges and universities offering such. However, there are dog “academies” or “schools” that could provide basic training. However, the best dog trainers are often self taught and have natural inclination to dog handling.

Some have apprenticed with excellent dog trainers while others simply have the knack in training dogs. There are also a number of dog training organizations that could supplement latest information on dog training.

Comparison of working attitude with people and dogs

Dog training involves training the handlers of the dogs as well. Therefore if you are pursuing a career in this field, it is very important that you have good people skills and that you can tolerate all types of people.

There are impatient owners who expect fast learning from their dogs without taking advices openly while there are those who relatively open to suggestions. You need to cater both types of dog handlers and everyone in between. In short, career in dog training is not only limited to dog training but also an experience of people training as well.

Miscellaneous

Dog training is not limited to “training” alone; there are also certain aspects that you should be knowledgeable of like maintenance of proper dog hygiene, nutrition and grooming.

You should also have good knowledge on dog competitions, accessories and training aids. You should also be able to distinguish different dog breeds and their fundamental differences.

You don’t have to be a guru in dog training to be an excellent trainer; you only have to develop certain skills necessary in handling dogs and their trainers and to have sufficient knowledge on theories and the capacity to put them into practical application.

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We are often awed at watching fine bird dogs in movies and in action. They make outstanding bird dog work and never fail to heed their owners’ commands. Then we think- How could this be possible? Could bird dog training bring out the best in my dog?

The simple answer is yes, but you have to invest hard.

There are several dog breeds that could be trained into excellent bird dogs. Training them in obeying commands could be a good starting ground. Training professionals acknowledge the fact that dogs need to understand the language they are using in order to make the dog respond to the command. In this type of training, there are just three main commands that should be mastered by both the owner and the dog. They are the whoa!, come! and heel!.

The Whoa! Command

The most basic command is the whoa! command. This instruction suggests to the dog that he should stop and try not to move further unless he is told to do so. If the dog follows this command completely, it would show clearly how obedient and respectful he is to his master. Complete obedience is shown by obeying the command no matter how far the distance is between the giver of the command and the dog.

This command is also useful for dogs that are going too far ahead, when the dog is flushing the bird on his own and the owner wants him to stop, and when the dog wants to play around with the bird. It would also be easier for the owner to come to the dog and reward him for a job well done.

The Come! Command

This command simply suggests that the dog should approach you as commanded. The uses of this command are rather simple. Say for example, retrieving would be a lot easier if the dog would come to you the instant you tell him to do so. Also, there are dogs that are a bit stubborn and would decide to go off in different directions. Giving this command will help maintain a good distance between you and your dog in case he decides to do things his way.

The Heel! Command

If you want your dog to walk by your side, the heel! command is the most effective tool. It is normally matched with another one-word command such as “okay” or “go” to signal his release. This will let him know that he has performed favorably and he is again allowed to hunt for you.

Whenever the dog performed well, never fail to give him a tap, a treat or a praise to acknowledge his performance. Fine dogs are born with the instinct to please their owners. If you can let your dog see that he is pleasing you with his performance and you want him to repeat it, the best thing you can do is to reward him. Overtime, he will learn to repeat the same desirable action so long as you allow him to.

Bird dog training is not easy. This is the reason why there are too few dog birds around. However, if you really want to turn your dog into a really good bird hunter, you should be ready to invest some time and patience in perfecting the three basic commands used in this training.

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Training older dogs can sometimes be quite a challenge but it is not, by all means, impossible. You just have to do the right amount of research and take some extra time being patient and as well as being very consistent with them of course. Without those attributes, you are just asking for one huge disappointment.

It would be best to get yourself some books on dog training for older dogs and also to try and take some time out to do a little bit more research on the internet, there you will definitely find all kinds of different information out about this sort of thing and why it is so important to research it beforehand.

Dog training comes in many different styles and techniques and some people would rather train their dogs themselves than to pay a professional to do it for them. While others would prefer to pay a professional, either because they just do not have the time or they could not possibly have enough patience to do it themselves. As long as it does get done is the most important, not who does it or which techniques are used.

It is so very important to keep in mind that some older dogs might have a little more difficulty getting trained for many different reasons. Knowing what reasons they could be is also very important. Many older dogs tend to have trouble hearing their owner, so listening is not always the easiest task for them. This is why it is so important to educate yourself so that you do not lose your patience when attempting to train your older dog.

You should also be informed that they will probably be a little bit more stubborn as well, which can also be truly frustrating for any owner. It would be best, when you are trying to use some dog training techniques on your older dog, that you try and do it in smaller periods, spacing out the time will prevent your dog from getting too exhausted. Keep in mind the entire time you are trying to train them that they are much older and much more likely to be a little slower at catching on to your commands, so patience is so very important and of course having a really big heart helps a lot.

If you are wanting to potty train your older dog, remember that they will more than likely have some trouble along the way for different reasons. One of those reasons because sometimes older dogs tend to have bladder control issues. So, if you have been trying to potty train your older dog and have not yet been successful, this could be the issue that your dog is having.

Nobody ever said dog training would be the easiest task in the world. Being patient, loving and very understanding when you are dog training your older dog will get you a long way in the end. You will find the results very satisfying.

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Training dogs is not a hard. You just need patience, dedication and some simple tactics and you will teach them successfully.

Here are five top tips on how to train your dogs successfully:

1. To avoid your dog getting confused and so that they can learn to recognize commands easily only one person should be responsible for training the dog initially. If too many people are trying to train the dog at the same time this can stop progress in its tracks.

2. You should use positive reinforcements. If the dog does something good, you should reward this behavior so that he will know that what he did was right. If the dog cannot understand or follow your commands, never push him. Dogs are not as intelligent as humans, they make mistakes. What you should understand is that they won’t easily understand your commands in just one teaching, it takes repetition to train a dog successfully. Do not scold your dog as he might develop fear which will hinder his learning and willingness to be trained. You can use treats in order to encourage your dogs, although don’t overdue it.

3. Teach commands one at a time. Try to teach him one command after the other. If he cannot absorb it, try to stay on that command only because adding additional commands will just confuse the dog. Start with the basics.

4. In executing commands, you should keep your voice cheerful so that the dog will happily follow your commands. Dogs will respond to a low and coaxing voice. If you shout out loud, he may become startled and unresponsive.

5. Train your dog in various places. If you keep your dogs in a certain place like your home, he will not be able to adjust with the environment new people. Take him to the park or through the neighborhood. This will help your dog associate with other dogs and people.

Training your dog can sometime be tough, but it will be worth it. In the end, you will be the one to benefit when your dog is trained. You don’t know he might even save your life one day and pay back everything you taught him.

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Dog is man’s best friend for so many reasons, among them is the animal’s ability to be of great help during occasions of emergency. Like obedience training and agility training there are several principles from various types of dog training must be observed when considering rescue dog training.

Obedience Training

Rescue dogs should be obedient at all times since any misbehavior could lead to defeating the purpose of rescuing. The practice of commands like heel, sit, come, stay, and jog exercises should be satisfactorily accomplished to help ensure the obedience of the dog to the handler and his commands.

Agility Training

Agility training is not only valuable for sports dog, it is also very useful for dogs that are intended for rescue works. In its basic sense, agility training helps develop the dog physically, allowing him to perform very difficult tasks that might also be encountered during rescue operations. With the aid of a good trainer, the dog should be able to negotiate a number of hurdles included in any agility training exercises.

Retrieving

Rescue works require relatively large exercise of retrieving capabilities. In fact, it is basically retrieving a person or items that needs saving. In order to practice the dog in this type of work, he should undergo a series of retrieving exercises that might include recovering wood, leather and other objects using the “fetch” command.

Right Positioning While in Training

Positioning in rescue training basically conditions the dog’s response in relation to the requirements of a specific exercise. This could be facilitated by using a good combination of inductive and compulsive training.

Training for positioning should start early while the dog is still a puppy. There are two kinds of positioning- the heel and front position. The former basically means that the dog should stand parallel to the trainer’s left foot while the latter means that the dog should stand in front of the handler while following an imaginary line passing between the legs of the handler.

There are two methods of training the dog for the right position to take. The compulsive method and the inductive method. The compulsive method, when used for the front position, will literally guide the dog to stay in front of the handler.

When used in conjunction with another command, say “sit”, the same principle applies- the handler should help the dog stand and sit in front of him parallel to his left foot when the heel position is being asked.

The inductive method, on the other hand, requires the use of dog treats or food in conditioning the response of the dog for both positions. For example, a handler could offer a treat to a dog before giving a command. If the dog is ready and takes the incentive, the handler should give a command first such as come, sit or down first before giving the dog a treat. However, this should only be given as a reward for following the given command.

While physical guidance is used in the compulsive method, it should only be administered firmly and gently but never in a harsh and injuring manner. Any harsh manners could become counterproductive for the training.

Rescue dog training is not just a single training; it requires the dog to master all types of training while being able to use the learned behavior as second nature.

To teach your dog tricks even easy ones you need to have some small reward treats, be in a quiet suitable place and keep the training sessions to 10 – 15 minutes or your dog will start to get board. Remember, when he gets something right give lots of praise and a reward treat. Just be careful not to get him over excited or he will loose concentration.

Getting your dog to give you his paw. First get your dog to sit, then as you say the word ‘paw’ take your dogs paw in your hand, give the dog a treat, repeat this. After a few times do not take his paw so quickly, say the word, count to one then take it, you should notice he is bringing his paw up as you say the word. If he does not, go back to saying it at the same time, do it a few more times then slow your response again. After 2 or 3 sessions most dogs pick this one up quite happily.

The high five, like a lot of tricks the high five is a progression of an earlier trick, in this cast the paw trick. Hold a treat in your fingers and raise your hand slightly higher than you would for the paw trick. You dog will think you want to do the paw trick and will reach for the treat with his paw as we taught him earlier, as he reaches up you say “high five” and give him the treat. Once your dog has mastered the paw trick this one should be very easy to learn and with just a few sessions he will be doing it on hand signal rather than voice control.

Getting your dog to jump through a hoop. Before you start this one I would just like to ask you to be a little sensible and not hold the hoop too high as you do not want your dog to heart himself while doing the trick. Sit your dog on one side of a hoola hoop. Get the dogs attention on your hand on the other side of the hoop. Take a treat in your hand and give the dog the command “Hoopla” to release him from the sit. At first he may attempt to go around or under the hoop, if this happens start again. Your dog wants the treat and will soon learn that going around or under does not get it so he will soon start going through it. When he does say hoopla and give him the treat. He will soon be jumping through the hoop on the command of hoopla.

When starting with a medium sized dog, start with the hoop at about 6 inches from the ground and slowly raised it to waist height. If you have a smaller dog you might want to start with the hoop touching the ground so the dog just goes through the hoop and then slowly raise it as he gets used to the trick.