Teaching your dog the basics

It's always easier to train than to retrain. If you want to develop a quality gun dog, analyze the training process and start from the beginning and progress toward the finished product one step at a time.

Sounds easy, right? Well, it is, provided you really start from the beginning and build a firm foundation of behaviors which are reviewed, reinforced and rewarded.

The time to begin is when you first get your dog and teach him his name and make him aware of your acceptance of him as an individual, thereby imprinting on his mind the notion that his purpose in life is to nurture and preserve this acceptance.

After he knows his name and realizes that he belongs to you, begin the yard training in which you focus on teaching your dog to heel, whoa and come when called. All the while you're doing this, however, you're building a relationship with your dog which is based on love, acceptance and fulfilled expectations.

Each step of the training process is satisfying to you and your pup because you both gain satisfaction with each task learned. Because all complex activities build from the basics, thorough yard training is crucial to long-term success.

Heel

The best way to teach your dog to heel is to let him learn that the collar and lead will not hurt him. If he is a pup, let him wear the collar and simply drag the lead around for a while.

Once you're satisfied that the lead doesn't distress him, you can hold the end and walk your dog around, making sure that he enjoys the experience.

When you start training your dog to heel, use a conventional leather or nylon collar. Then switch to the spiked force collar, provided your dog is big and strong enough to handle this device, a wonderful means by which you can keep your dog from lunging ahead, balking and reacting to distractions around him.

It is customary to heel the dog on your left if you're right-handed and on the right if you're left-handed.

To get your dog moving forward, give a slight tug on the lead. This cause the tightening spiked force collar to exert pressure to his neck.

You want to make sure that the collar stops causing discomfort once the dog complies. For this reason, it's important that the collar be properly put on the dog. The collar should slide through the end ring in such a way that the collar will loosen up once pressure is relieved.

When you start heeling, give the command, "heel," to get the dog moving forward. Proceed several steps this way. When you plan to stop, command "whoa," thereby reinforcing (through repetition) your command that the dog stop on "whoa" and then resume walking when commanded "heel."

Do this over and over again, praising frequently when the dog properly response to the commands. If the dog doesn't want to stop on "whoa," apply pressure by tightening the spiked force collar. If he doesn't want to get moving on "heel," give a slight tug on the lead.

Just be sure to check the collar, making certain that it loosens up each time the dog complies. Do not jerk harshly on the collar, because your dog will soon respond when given slight tugs caused by your wrist action.

You don't need to pull and jerk hard with your whole arm or body, unless yours is a grossly undisciplined older dog who was never taught to heel. Always apply just enough force — not too much. Try to keep your lessons enjoyable for both the dog and yourself.

During this stage, is it is important that the dog learn that he must always comply with your orders and reap the satisfaction of your praise when he heels and and whoas nicely for you.

To obey routinely is vital because future training sessions will be more complex. Let your dog get into the habit of abiding by your orders. There is tremendous carry-over value in all subsequent lessons. 

If yours is a flush dog (retriever or spaniel other than a Brittany), you can have the dog sit when you stop. If you wish to teach the command "Hup" to a spaniel, you can give this command in place of "whoa" or you can command "sit."

In no case, however, should you encourage a pointing dog to sit at this stage. Teaching "whoa" instead will facilitate teaching the next lesson.