For the next 9 or 10 days it will be too cold to hunt (if the season was open) or work dogs. Quail seasons are still open in some of the southern states but at this time I don’t have any plans to go. With all of the cold weather that could change.
Sally buried in the weeds.
Mann honoring Abby.
Mann on point with Abby honoring.
A lot of years ago I attended a training seminar put on by Rick and Ronnie Smith at Chandler Oklahoma. They didn’t get in to the “Whoa Post” or I missed that portion but I saw a couple of guys use it and I thought it was too cruel. Later I attended a short seminar that Sherry Ebert put on and she said that English setters, most of the Continental breeds and some Elhew pointers should not be trained on the Whoa Post.
That just reaffirmed what I believed. Everything else that I learned from the Smith seminar was good, I just didn’t like the whoa post concept.
During this bad weather I wanted something to read and got on Amazon and ordered a dog training book and if I ordered another it had free shipping. I, also, ordered Training Bird Dogs With Ronnie Smith Kennels.
When I got to the part about the whoa post I was shocked. The way Ronnie uses it, it isn’t cruel at all. In fact I went out and put some whoa posts in and started working Boss and Abby on them. I don’t know whether the people I saw use the whoa post in the past were doing it wrong or the way Ronnie uses it has changed but I owe them an apology. The way it’s taught in this book is not cruel, in anyway.
The book, Training Bird Dogs With Ronnie Smith Kennels, says to use a soft 1 inch rope on the whoa post. I went to Tractor Supply and the largest rope I could find was 5/8 inch. I bought a hundred foot roll and a large snap. I thought I would put the rope around their flanks and hook it to their collar then just re-use the same rope on 3 different posts.
I re-read the section on the whoa post and went back to Tractor supply and got 2 more snaps and made a couple more ropes for the whoa posts. Now all 3 whoa posts have a separate rope.
I have worked both of these pups, Abby and Boss, on heel and whoa, a lot. Boss wants to heel whenever I have a leash or check cord on him. I thought I would do a little quartering work before we got to the first whoa post. Boss would only go a few feet ahead of me then try to get on my left side and heel. After just a few minutes we headed to the whoa post.
Boss with a pigeon in the tree above him..
Both of these dogs have been on the chain gang as well as having been tied to posts and fences. Boss stood still and let me run the soft rope between his back legs, put a half hitch around his waist and hook the snap to his collar. I tapped his head and said, “okay” and we started away from the post. He was a little ahead of me but when the rope started to barely tighten around his waist he stopped. I walked out to the end of the 20 foot check cord. Boss wasn’t moving but he wasn’t looking at me.
The author of the book tells what to look for. I watched for Boss to sigh, lick his lips, move his legs to a more comfortable spot or maybe just soften a little. He looked to his left for a while then to his right for a few seconds. He was tensed up and after maybe 45 seconds of me doing nothing I saw him soften and some of the tenseness go out of him. As I started to him he licked his lips. He still didn’t move when I stepped up beside him. I stroked his sides, unhooked the flank rope, stood for a few seconds, tapped his head and started to the next whoa post.
An Arizona sunrise.
There was quite a bit of slack in the rope at the next whoa post. Boss stood really well while I hooked him to the next rope. I tapped his head to release him and started away. He wasn’t very far in front when the flank rope started to tighten and he stopped. I walked out to the end of the check cord and waited. Again, he looked to his left but after just a few seconds he looked back at me and licked his lips. I went to him, stroked his sides, unhooked the rope, stood a few seconds then tapped his head to release him.
When we got to the third whoa post he stood for me to hook him up. The rope was just barely putting any pressure on his flanks when he stopped. I went to the end of the check cord and waited. On the third post it only took a few seconds for him to lick his lips. I went to him, stroked his sides then unhooked him. I stood beside him with out moving for a few seconds then tapped his head to release him. I check corded him around a little bit then turned him loose before going back to the kennel.
I keep Boss pretty close when I’m working him around the house. During the season when we got home from a hunt I parked in front of my house and turned all of the dogs loose and they went back to the kennel, all except Boss. When he didn’t show up at the kennel, I called him as I cleaned pens and fed dogs but he didn’t show. I got the 4-wheeler out and rode all over looking for him. I drove the roads around the house and no Boss.
This is the wall between Mexico and Arizona now, where I was.
I left his kennel open where if he came back he could get in and find his food. I looked for him up until about 10:30 pm. No Boss. About 7:00 am the next morning I heard the dogs barking and looked toward the kennels and Boss was running around. I put him in his kennel but he wasn’t hungry or thirsty. I think someone took care of him over night.
I thought he had learned his lesson but I led him to his kennel for a while. I really thought he was over running off but another time I let him loose with the other dogs and he left. This time after feeding the other dogs and cleaning pens I rode the 4-wheeler up front then all around and no Boss. A little later I was still on the 4-wheeler and noticed some activity on the highway in front of my house. I went up there and Boss had stopped traffic. A guy was holding him. I thanked him and took Boss, on the 4-wheeler, back to his kennel. Now, even in training, I won’t turn him loose without an e-collar and GPS collar.
I put a check cord on Abby and heeled her out of the kennel. I worked her on quartering for just a few minutes. She has had a lot more heeling than Boss has but she will really pull on a check cord. She should be a sled dog. After just a few minutes I was afraid one of my arms would be longer than the other so we headed to the whoa post.
Sally on point.
All of my dogs have been on the chain gang. I don’t take them off the chain gang until they settle down and stand still. This helps on all of the rest of the training but especially on the whoa post. I hooked her to the whoa post then started away. She thought she was being check corded and wasn’t expecting to hit the end of the whoa post rope. When it tightened she stopped and I went to the end of the check cord.
She stood for a few seconds then tried to move away from the whoa post. Then she did some flip flops. Then a few turns to the side. All the while I just stood and watched. Her fight was behind her. I was well out front.
After maybe 45 seconds she decided she couldn’t win, so she stood still. I held the check cord and waited. She was looking straight ahead but down. I continued to wait. Finally, she raised her head and licked her lips. I went to her. She didn’t move. I stroked her sides, unhooked the flank rope, tapped her head and check corded her away.
Abby pointing a quail.
She saw the next whoa post but she didn’t get very close. I stood close to the rope and called her to me. I had a hold of the check cord and thought I might have to pull her to me but she came right away. I hooked the rope to her and when we got to where the flank rope was tightening she stopped. I walked to the end of the check cord and waited. This time there was no rodeo. She stood still. I waited until she licked her lips then went to her. She didn’t try to move. I stroked her sides, unhooked the flank rope, stood for a few seconds, then tapped her head to release her.
She went to the third whoa post like she had been doing this forever. When the flank rope started tightening she stopped. I walked to the end of the check cord and waited. This time she moved her feet to get more comfortable as she stood. As I started to her she licked her lips. I stroked her sides, unhooked the rope, stood a few seconds then tapped her head for the release. I let her run for a little while then took her to the kennel.
Abby honoring Sally.
I was going to work them on the whoa post again before I wrote this but it’s 21 degrees right now and 19 degrees is the highest temperature over the next 8 days. It may be a while before I can work dogs.
Please, if you want to work your dog or dogs on the whoa post don’t do it from my experience here. Buy the “Training Bird Dogs With Ronnie Smith Kennels”. I got it from Amazon. He explains it in a lot better fashion than I did and this is a really good dog training book. It’s well worth the cost.