Tur Bo Pointing a pigeon.
Watching a pigeon flying away.
Tur Bo
I haven’t written about force breaking Tur Bo for a while. The last couple of posts have been about the puppies. I have been working Tur Bo on the bench and on some birds hidden on the training grounds. I don’t have time to work all of the dogs or even work Tur Bo each day right now. Hopefully, my life will get less complicated in the next couple of weeks. Hunting season is coming soon.
I’m now the proud owner of an English Cocker Spaniel and I ordered George Hickox’s dvd “Training The Upland Retriever”. He has some new (at least, new to me) force fetch steps that will fix some of the problems I have had in the past with force breaking. Most of the time when I force break a dog, they will retrieve but they sometimes don’t like it. I don’t have a place to shoot birds to finish the force fetch. He introduces live birds to the dogs on the bench then on the ground. I have 3 or 4 force fetch dvds and his makes the most sense.
I heeled Tur Bo to the retrieving bench and he jumped onto it. I walked him back and forth petting him. I held a bumper in front of him and said fetch. Tur Bo doesn’t just take the bumper he grabs it. I had him carry it up and down the bench then took it from him. I held the bumper about 2 feet in front of him and said fetch. This is new for him. He took a step and stopped. I held the bumper without saying anything. He took another step and grabbed the bumper. I started clapping my hands and really got upbeat. He started enjoying the game.
I worked him with 2 different bumpers on the bench. I held them a few feet from him and he moved to the bumper, grabbing it. I held it above his head and close to his feet. I didn’t matter where I held it he would grab it. I laid it on the bench and he would grab it as long as I kept my hand close to the bumper. We will continue to work on this until he learns to pick it up where ever it is.
I set him on the ground and said whoa. I held a bumper in front of him and said fetch. He grabbed it. I had him hold it as we walked a big circle. When I stopped walking he sat. I said give and he dropped it in my hand. I held it above his head and he was reluctant to stand or even move to the bumper. I just held the bumper without saying anything. Finally, he stood and took the bumper. We walked another circle with him holding the bumper. I said give and he dropped it in my hand.
This time he wasn’t sitting. I held the bumper about 2 feet above his head and he reared up grabbing the bumper. I clapped my hands telling him what a good boy he is. I said give and he dropped it in my hand. I held it above his head again and he jumped to get the bumper. He’s starting to like the game. I continued to be upbeat and his tail was up and wagging. I had him grab the bumper 5 or 6 times more with both of us enjoying it more than usual.
I said whoa and put the bumpers in their box. I got on the 4-wheeler, started it, put it in gear and said okay. He was off. We went down my side of the training grounds. He hit the scent cone on the first pigeon hidden in the tall grass and went on point. I took pictures then walked in front of him kicking the cover. I flushed the pigeon he was pointing and shot the blank pistol. He didn’t move. I continued to kick the cover and flushed the pigeon that was about 20 yards behind him. He turned to watch the pigeon fly away but didn’t move even when I shot the blank pistol. I continued to kick the cover then went to him. I led him away then tapped his head to release him.
I had another pigeon hidden in the tall grass about 50 yards away. He made a pass around the end of the field not expecting to find another bird and crossed to the neighbor’s side. I hit the tone button on the e-collar around his neck and he came back. There was hardly any wind and he was close to the bird when he smelled it. He pointed and I took pictures. I walked in front of him kicking the cover, flushed the pigeon and shot the blank pistol. The pigeon came out low right over his head and he swapped ends but didn’t try to chase. I led him away then released him to hunt. I let him run before going back to the kennel.
Watching the George Hickox dvd taught me several things which is what they are supposed to do. Hickox rewards when the dog makes an effort. I have been too rigid in my training. Instead of rewarding for effort I thought they should only be rewarded when they got it right. Loosening up and rewarding effort took some of the stress out the training for both of us. Tur Bo actually had fun retrieving today. You can find the dvd “Training The Upland Retriever” at georgehickox.com.
I’ve had a few clicks on ads that are shown on these posts lately. I want to thank everyone that clicked on an ad. I make a few cents each click. When hunting season starts a few clicks might keep me on the road longer. Again, thanks a lot.
Tur Bo pointing a pigeon.
Another pigeon.
His eyes are showing his intensity.