The Ryman Setters Forum › Forums › Training › Off season training › Reply To: Off season training
I enjoyed this thread and wonder how things are going for you JC with your youngster? And Mark, given your recent success at the RGS Fun Trial I’d say your retrieving training was a success for sure.
I am kindof like the shoemaker whose kids go barefoot in that even though I think that Whoa is a great and useful command, I don’t teach it. I should start, it’s just as important as the Come command and I recommend for anyone with a pup. But I was outside messing with our dogs the other day and when Flint came around I said Whoa! and lo and behold he froze. I could see him slowly move his eyes around and I realized he was looking for a dog on point. I tried it with Kate, my other juvenile delinquent, and she did the same thing. I had to think, how did they know Whoa? Much of our hunting time now is spent on the prairie where we run 3-4 dogs at a time, so backing is normal and frequent. Sometimes the dog on point is hidden in brush or grass and when the other dogs come in for back we say Whoa to keep them from accidentally bumping the bird. So apparently they learn it in context and quickly learn it means there’s a point and a bird. Before this I have always been solely a grouse hunter where I typically run a dog alone so there aren’t the opportunities for backing, but I remain in awe of bird dog instinct and how quickly dogs learn and demonstrate skills when given opportunity.