So...You Train Your Retriever On Your Own?

Thursday March 31, 2011 03:37pm

I have clients who come to me and say that they don't have a group to train with and I always encourage them to come train with my group, to try and find a friend, go to picnic trails or even pay a neighbor kid a few bucks to help out.  Of course I train with a group (or at least a few people) almost every day during hunt test season.  But, sometimes when I do train on my own I have to admit I like it...just me and the dogs.  There are all kinds of things to do even if you are by yourself!  Yes you do need to train with a group but there are many things that you can do on your own, just you and your dog, and a few bumpers.

One, you can ALWAYS do obedience work.  Obedience training is good for ANY dog and you can do it in your backyard whether it's big or small.  A lot of hunt tests are failed for something as simple as a dog that can not heel to line...or off the line.  Practice your obedience at home.  Set up holding blinds or "mock" holding blinds and work on heeling your dog through the blinds.  If your dog does well, throw them a happy bumper at the end...if your dog does poorly just start over.  Keep in mind that there are many more distractions at a trial so your dog must be PERFECT in your backyard for them to be pretty good at trials.

Two, do drills.  If you do a lot of drills and your dog is doing well make it harder for them.  If you are doing a single T pattern make it a double T pattern.  If your dog handles well have them handle with the bumper in their mouth. When doing lining drills if your dog is good at a 4 bumper wagon wheel make it 8.  If you are doing a wagon wheel with white bumpers change them to orange, in the same spots to start.

Three, run blinds.  Don't just plant one blind and run to it over and over again plant 3 or more.  Also, just because you are on your own doesn't mean you can't add marks to blinds!  Put out some chairs and have your dog run past them.  Then leave your dog at the line walk out to the chairs and add marks to your blinds. 

Four, THROW your dog marks!  Many people who train on their own do not throw marks for their dogs.  Or if they do, they are throwing bumpers from their side while their dog sits at heel or worse jumps around in front of them.  What you should do is have your dog sit in the field, walk out as far as you like and throw a mark for your dog.  Then, you can either go back to your dog and send them, or you can send them remotely from where they are sitting.  I send them remotely and then leave them sitting where they delivered the bumper to me and go out again and throw them another mark.

Comments

On Mar 22, 2011 08:01pm, Dawn Duray said:

This is a great reminder. Thank you! During the winter, I got into the habit of just throwing marks for my dog while he was at my side in my yard. I didn't realize that I was helping him develop the habit of only running out as far as I could throw. Recently, a longer mark was thrown for him and he stopped short...about as far as I could throw. Sitting him in one spot and leaving him there while I walk further away is also good "stay" practice.

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