Sadie on the bench.
Sadie is not stressed.
Most of time the chain is slack.
A friend has a young English setter that sometimes lies down on point. I’m not a pro trainer but I wanted to see if I could break her of this habit. Her name is Sadie and her owner said she finds a lot of birds but only lies down some of the time. When he brought her over we worked her on pigeons and the only time she tried to lie down was when the owner went in to flush close to her. When he circled around to come in to her front she stood tall.
I’m not using the owners name because, in my opinion, this problem is caused by something that has been done to her. One thing that could cause this is to yell, “whoa” over and over when the dog is on point. Especially, when the dog hasn’t been whoa broke and Sadie hasn’t been. Something else may have caused this but it’s a sign of stress.
When my dogs go on point I don’t say anything unless they try to move. If the dog tries to move and I say “whoa” one time and he tries to move again he is disobeying a command. He needs to go back to yard training. To tell a dog that is on point to “whoa” is like telling a dog standing on your tail gate to “up”. A dog on point has all of it’s concentration on the bird it’s pointing. If you say anything to him it breaks his concentration.
The first morning I heeled her to my retrieving bench and had her jump onto it. I hooked her collar to the cable that runs the length of the bench. I turned my back for just a moment and she came off the bench. Getting back on she kicked a box that I had my retrieving dummies in off the bench. I had a hot dog that I had cut in about 20 pieces. I walked her up and down the bench but she wouldn’t eat any of the hot dog.
I didn’t let her sit or lie down. I stopped and petted her but if she tried to sit I would run my hand under her belly and lift her back up. After a little while I would see her butt start to drop but then she would stand back up. I spent about 10 minutes walking her and petting her then took her back to the kennel.
The next morning I put an e-collar around her neck and one around her flanks. I didn’t turn them on. I wanted her to get used to wearing them. I heeled her to the retrieving bench and she tried to jump on. I hooked both e-collars to the cable on the bench. Now she can’t sit even if she wants to. I walked her back and forth on the bench. When I stopped I gave her a piece of hot dog. Today she ate the hot dog. Most of the time there was slack in the flank collar. Sadie is really smart. She’s figured out that she can’t sit on the retrieving bench. I put her on the ground.
I have some quail in a flight pen. I walked her close to the pen and she pointed when she got the smell. I walked beside her and she tried to lie down. I picked her up and petted her. She stayed up only going down a little in front. I walked to her other side and she didn’t go down. I petted her on the other side. After a couple of minutes I heeled her to the kennel.
The next morning I put the e-collars on her neck and flanks and heeled her to the retrieving bench. With just a little help she jumped onto it. I hooked both e-collars to the cable that runs the length of the bench. I walked her up and down the bench feeding her the cut up hot dog when ever we stopped. She didn’t even try to sit. After about 5 minutes I put her on the ground.
I heeled her to the quail pen and she went on point. I walked around her and she tried to lie down. I picked her up and petted her telling her what a good girl she is. She tried to lie down a couple of times and once when she went down I led her away then brought her back. She pointed again and let me walk close and pet her. I started to walk around her and she started back down. I picked her back up and petted her then led her away.
I have an elevated 2×6 whoa board with a chain that drops down from a cable. I stood her on my whoa board, hooked her to the chain and walked away. She came off. The drop chain just lets her back feet touch the ground. I helped her back on and petted her. I walked away and she came off the board. I helped her back on then walked beside her. I petted her telling her what a good girl she is. I walked away and she came off again. I helped her back on and walked away. I had a trailer close and went to it and sat down.
After a couple of minutes I went to her and walked circles around her. I went real close on both sides and out front then to the rear. She didn’t move. I went back to the trailer and sat for a few minutes. When I first put her on the board her tail was clamped down but after a while her tail was coming up. I went to her and walked circles around her. I went as close as possible to her sides. She didn’t move. I put her on the ground and heeled her back to the kennel.
Sadie is a really smart dog and in just 3 mornings I have seen a change. I always let all of my dogs out into a big pen while I clean the kennels. When I come to Sadie’s gate she lies down so I go to the next dog and don’t let her out. After each dog I go back to her gate and she lies down. After letting all of the dogs out I would clean a kennel and then go to her gate. Finally, after letting 3 dogs out and cleaning 3 kennels after going to her gate she was running toward the back when I got to her kennel. I opened the gate and she came out. The next 2 days I went through about the same thing. Today when I went to her gate she was standing up. I let her out.
She has to understand that she will get no attention when she is lying down. The only time anything good happens she is standing up. I am enjoying working with her and if I don’t break her from lying on point he still has a dog that finds a lot of birds. A lot of people would be happy with a dog that finds a lot of birds no matter what they look like.
Her tail is clamped down
Tail still clamped down.
Finally the tail comes up a little.