Plenty of exposure to birds even as baby puppies is very beneficial for gun dogs and develops pride in their work, as this happy Flat-Coated Retriever pup demonstrates.
Fri, 04/28/2023 - 2:13pm

The Soft Sell

With tentative dogs, conventional training methods are a “no-go”

Most dogs, probably somewhere in the vicinity of 75 to 80 percent, can be taught to do their breed’s historical work, or a reasonable facsimile of that historical job, using conventional training methods. 

Another five percent or so have absolutely no interest in any aspect of the breed’s historical job. They are indifferent to birds (gun dogs); small game (hounds); mice, rats or chipmunks (Terriers); livestock (herding breeds); farm work (many in the Working Group), even basic obedience and novice rally (companion dogs).

For these misfits, unless you are content to have them be total couch potatoes, for both your and your dog’s mental health, the sensible thing to do is try several different dog sports other than the breed’s historical job until you find something that does interest the dog. (Just an observation, but based on years of experience, the dogs that usually fall in this category are those that have nothing but conformation championships in their pedigrees for many generations, which may add some credence to the old “use it or lose it” adage.)

 

“C’mon out, rat, I dare ya” seems to be the attitude of this Norfolk Terrier puppy, who is learning early on what one of the most important elements of his historical job will be. 

 

That brings us to the 15 to 20 percent of the dogs that can be very successful in many performance activities, including the breed’s historical job, but for which conventional training methods are not just ineffective but can be downright detrimental to achieving success.  

What type of dog usually fall in this last category? Often they have quite “soft” temperaments, and some are only casually interested in birds, bunnies, rodents, livestock or farm work. If the dog is intensely interested in some aspect of its breed’s historical work, you are “one-up,” as, for example, there are almost no issues that can arise in training a gun dog that can’t be overcome if the dog has a high level of interest in birds. The same can be said for Terriers that lust for rodents, hounds that desperately want bunnies or other game animals, and herding breeds fascinated by ducks, sheep, goats or cattle. 

The caveat is that you will very likely have to be quite creative and not pooh-pooh unconventional ideas or methods in order to be successful with these dogs.

 

If agility, obedience or rally is in a “soft” pup’s future, it’s important to introduce him to as many objects and obstacles that he may see in the ring as early as possible.      

 

Let’s start with something that is necessary for success in all field activities for gun dogs, dock diving or advanced obedience work, and that is retrieving. In order for dogs to be reliable at retrieving, they have to go through what’s widely known as “force-fetch” training. Now, force does not mean brutality. However, many dogs are taught “fetch,” “hold” and “leave it/drop/give” commands by conventional means with an ear pinch, a toe hitch or the electronic collar. In other words, there is an element of pain involved in the process. But this is not absolutely necessary to achieve a reliable retriever, and, in fact, these techniques can be a real negative with some soft dogs, especially if they don’t already believe that retrieving is the most fun game ever for a dog to play.  

For many of the dogs for which conventional training methods are a “no-go,” one of the primary concerns for the dog is whether he feels secure learning something new and is receiving a positive reward, in the form of praise and pats or treats or playtime with a toy when he does something correctly. When teaching this basic element of retrieving, what works for some soft dogs is first making them feel a bit insecure by putting them on a table and then surrounding them with a “protective” arm to provide the sense of security they need. 

With my current dog, even making him feel slightly insecure was a non-starter. So, he sat between someone’s legs, essentially surrounded by a protective environment, during all the early training for retrieving. Since he was in a totally secure setting, or at least it was for him, he was comfortable and not fearful of what was going to happen to him. This made him much more willing to accept the process.  

However, no matter how willing a dog is, this necessary aspect of teaching a dog to be a reliable retriever is tedious, and a lot of soft dogs are very easily bored. One way to spice things up is to constantly vary what the dog is being asked to fetch — canvas dummy, wooden and plastic dumbbells, metal and leather obedience articles, plastic dummies, small Dead-Duk® trainer, squeaky toys, retrieving buck — and making each successful fetch, hold and release sequence a big deal with praise, pats and/or treats. This is because all dogs, whether they are “hard,” “moderate” or “soft” in temperament, have at least a bit of “what’s in it for me?” in their makeup. To be successful, you have to provide a satisfactory answer to this question. 

It is important to keep in mind that eliminating any negative reinforcement means that it will require a LOT of repetitions and take longer to get to the point where the dog is a reliable retriever. In this situation, “patience is a virtue” is not just an old adage — it’s a necessity. Even though you are doing the process slowly and easily, you also have to demand precision, because if you tolerate sloppiness in training, that’s what will happen in a test or a trial. In addition, with dogs for which conventional training methods are ineffective, it is particularly important to make whatever you want them to do a game that is fun for them to play.  

Does the sport you want to do with your dog involve swimming? Virtually all gun dogs except the Lagotto Romagnolo are, at some point, going to have to make a retrieve from water if you actually hunt with them or do hunt tests with retrievers or spaniels. Many of the versatility tests as well as parent-club working tests for pointing breeds also included water retrieves. Swimming is a requirement for all dock divers as well as for some of the parent-club tests for Working breeds — water-rescue work for Newfoundlands and working-dog tests for Portuguese Water Dogs are prime examples.

 

For dogs that don’t respond to conventional training methods, or that are “soft,” or both, it’s a really good idea to go in the water with them when you start doing any sort of water work, even if they are already good swimmers.  

 

For dogs that don’t respond to conventional training methods, or that are “soft,” or both, it’s a really good idea to go in the water with them when you start doing any sort of water work, even if they are already good swimmers. These dogs always need a bit of extra assurance that there are no dog-eating trolls lurking in the pool, pond or lake. Also, if your breed is one that has difficulty swimming but the dog still likes to play water games, invest in a good canine life jacket. With these dogs, safety is even more important than building their confidence and comfort level in the water.

For dogs for which conventional training methods aren’t effective, one question is always: Can they take corrections? The answer, for the most part, is “Yes, but … .” These dogs have to know exactly why they are being corrected. Many get their feelings hurt much more easily than do dogs that can be trained using conventional methods. 

 

These dogs almost always need more praise and verbal encouragement than dogs tough enough to thrive using conventional training methods. 

 

So when you have one of these “softies,” you have to make sure the dog knows he has messed up and understands that he deserves to be told that he did. Many of these dogs accept a light nick from an electronic collar much better than they take a direct correction from their person. If you need a specific example, using a Dogtra® collar at a setting of around 25 (with the highest possible stimulation for that particular device being more than 100) is frequently enough to get the dog’s attention.

A correction from a collar has the advantage of being impersonal. It lets you tell the dog that he is wrong but also allows you to appear innocent of being the one administering the correction. However, like every other method of correction, with a collar timing is everything, so don’t use one until both you and the dog have been properly collar-trained.  

 

Early exposure to the objective of the sport you plan on doing with your dog is critical.

 

No matter what form of correction works with your dog, it is important to use the least amount of force needed to get the dog’s attention. There are also dramatic differences among breeds about how much correction they need or will accept. For example, if you get on many Chesapeake Bay Retrievers harder than they think they deserve, they will pout and sulk, where most Labradors will just shake off the correction and get right back to work. So it’s important to be aware of the different levels of tolerance for your breed.  

Everything you do with these dogs should build their confidence and desire to do whatever work you want them to do. They should also have very early exposure to whatever is the objective for the sport you want them to do. For gun dogs, this means birds; for hounds, bunnies or other game animals; for Terriers, rodents; for herding breeds, livestock, and if you hope that your pup will be an agility, obedience or rally dog, the various obstacles they’ll encounter. It’s not too early to hone a baby puppy’s interest and desire for whatever the objective is for the breed’s historical job.

It’s also important to keep in mind that these dogs almost always need more praise and verbal encouragement than dogs that are tough enough to thrive with conventional training methods. These dogs always need to know “why” you are asking them to do something, and they are also really attuned to whomever is training them. This means that your attitude is vital: You can’t let yourself get discouraged, because these dogs sense that and then they, in turn, get discouraged. 

 

It’s never too early to begin honing a breed’s interest in livestock, as these Boxer pups are discovering.

 

While it is important to not train any dog if you are having a really bad day, it is critical with these dogs. If you get impatient or let yourself take out your frustrations on one of these dogs, the best outcome you can hope for is a substantial setback in training.

If your dog’s historical job involves the pursuit of quarry — game birds, small game, rodents — the best thing you can do for your dog is make sure she gets to hunt in places where her breed’s quarry is plentiful. It doesn’t help your dog nor does it boost her confidence by working her in a “game desert.” 

For gun dogs, the solution is pretty simple: Hunt them in a shooting preserve where they are guaranteed to encounter a lot of birds. If the breed’s quarry is game animals or rodents, you’ll have to get more creative. Checking with local farmers is a good place to start. They know if they have a rodent issue or if they’re overrun with rabbits, raccoons, fox or coyotes. 

 

Using a variety of objects while encouraging a dog’s retrieving desire helps make the process interesting for this Labrador Retriever puppy.   

 

Finally, the most important aspect of working with a dog that doesn’t respond to conventional training techniques is to never give up on them. Many dogs trained by unconventional methods turn out to be fine working dogs. All you have to do is find the right keys to unlock their potential, along with taking the time and having the patience to develop it.

 

 

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