Hi all.... again!
It was so much easier reading this blog over the years, Ali what have you done? ( only joking)
The Gundog Club training guide is a well written piece and will hold most of the basic building blocks for your dogs training. There are a few other books that are now available (not when I needed them!) that take into account the differences of HPR training rather than general gundog training. One I found very informative with answers there in black and white, to problems I had with my first munster, that took me years to find out for myself, and lost a lot of hair in the process! Is `The Versatile Gundog' by Guy Wallace, he also brought out a follow up `The Specialist Gundog'. Both go a little deeper into the mental processes of the HPR and will give the trainer a little more insight into why these dogs need a different approach.
I have written a fair bit on other sites, and always mean to copy and file them away for future compilation, but at the end of the day I always think others write training tips so much better, and my skill, for want of a better term, is not in the training but in the `reading' of dogs, and I wouldn't know where to start in putting that into words. I have written the WAPSUK, which is a natural ability testing scheme, similar to what they use on the continent, and this is now moving into practice.
As I put in my introduction post, I showed, worked, tested and trialed my first munster,in the search for knowledge, but we had reasonable success, given I was swimming against the tide and not knowing how to swim! She won several tests right up to and including Open, and had several FT awards including ALL Aged. My second munster died at a young age just when he was doing well in tests ( I use GWT's as personal training assessments not as competitions) There then followed a period where I had no dog to compete, so I was more involved with Judging and NAT's, which drifted into the period that our FT's were in turmoil and I was not prepared to participate in them. My next munster had to cope with me moving alot and starting my own business, but she still managed to win the working munsterlander of the year trophy two years running. ( GWT's had now become a chill out day and get away from customers day, but I still keep my eyes and ears open ) My latest dog has done well in tests but I decided to spread my wings and train him for deer work and learn how to make these dogs truly `versatiles' ( its work in progress) I do like the Trial circuit though and the crac, so I guess my next one might just have to be trained properly!!
Teaching the SIT/STOP at a distance:
The sit is taught from day one, remember this is a `command' initially it is taught as fun and must always be rewarded, however once the command is given it must always be acted upon, the dog must sit. I teach three signals for my two commands, vocal, hand and whistle, The voice and hand or whistle and hand are taught simultaneously by me ( although most novice trainers teach one at a time). You want to practice the sit and the signals as much as possible when the puppy is young, what your aiming to achieve is an instinctive response from the dog. i.e. the dog acts without first thinking about it, and this can only be done through repetition.
Remember to increase the distance from you slowly and stay within your ring of control. Also don't repeat too often in one session, as the dog will start to preempt. If the dog disobeys the command, DONT repeat it, quietly go to the dog put the lead on and take it back to the point where the dog was when you gave the command, then repeat the command and make the dog sit and reward. Normally I walk the dog on the lead and give the command a few more times to reinforce the lesson.
For older dogs that start to `resist' the sit, be it the `slow motion sit', or the `I'll just finish what I was doing before sitting if you don't mind!' sit, or the I'll just take a few more steps before I'll sit. I will start keeping them sitting longer, usually as a multiplier of three. i.e. the time taken for their arse to hit the floor from when I gave the command, multiplied by three before I release them from the sit ( this focuses the mind beautifully of a hunting dog, especially if you then walk past them onto unhunted ground!) Note this is often a symptom of the dog being at the limit of your control ring so pay attention to the distance, work the dog closer and give the command, if it gets quicker release immediately and the dog soon learns that a quick sit gets a quick release and again your well on the way back to it being instinctive. I forgot to mention, you must release a sit command, don't let the dog decide when to break it, and you won't need the `stay'.
Can I have my tea now?
Peter