trained to be chained up) and clipped her
to it. Then I walked around her issuing the
‘stay’ command and telling her she was a
good girl for staying put. She was a lot
more relaxed.
Within two sessions, the clip was off and
she was staying well with a couple of
little corrections. Too easy. After that, I
started changing the area and gradually
upping the time and distraction. I think
I did only four sessions on specifically
training the command and then I simply
combined it with other stuff I was doing,
like having a beer on the deck or working
in the workshop; anywhere I could keep
one eye on her and correct quickly by
simply reissuing the command if her body
language said she was getting fidgety.
Within a month I had her stopped
rock solid in front of the other dogs’
kennels in the morning when she
was amped up as I let the other dogs
out. Small point here – once she had
been solid for a bit there, instead of just
releasing her and letting her flog off after
the others, I would call her to me and give
her a pat. Then when she was settled, I
would release her.
The other thing I did with the ‘stay’
command was to bring her inside and
teach her to stay on her mat. That got
her in and around the family and around
a lot of sudden movements and loud
noises which helped (I think) to condition
her to that sort of thing and ensure she
developed a calm, robust nature.Out of Home
Training
The next example is ‘out of home
training’. What does that mean? Your
dog should be walked at least once a
day and preferably twice. Dogs need to
exercise both their heads and legs. My
wife Liz and I have a routine of walking
our dogs and having a good catch-up at
the same time. When you’re out walking,
there are so many opportunities to teach
and reinforce the very things you will
need your indicator dog to do when
you’re hunting. I regularly put a ‘stop’ on
Sami and make her wait for us to draw
level before I release her.
I also regularly issue the ‘in front’
command for a proportion of the walk
and have her doing that all the way
home, for example. Sometimes I’ll make a
point of adjusting my speed and stopping
to get her to match what she does to me.
All done while doing what you should be
doing every day without the need to take
an extra twenty minutes for that when
you get home. Put that time into walking
further with your dog – better for you
both.
The priority is to get the basics right
and keep repeating and reinforcing
them. I am always making minor
changes to what I do as I learn more. Next
issue we will go hunting with Sami and
talk about the good and the not-so-good.
Till then.
Cheers, JohnnyOn farm walks I put her on the
long lead and we started to work
on the 'walking just in front' bit.
She soon picked that up and it
was combined with what we
did anyway each day. As she got
older and more compliant the
long lead got shorter.August / September 2019 ~ NZ HUNTER MAGAZINE 39trained to be chained up) and clipped her
to it. Then I walked around her issuing the
‘stay’ command and telling her she was a
good girl for staying put. She was a lot
more relaxed.
Within two sessions, the clip was off and
she was staying well with a couple of
little corrections. Too easy. After that, I
started changing the area and gradually
upping the time and distraction. I think
I did only four sessions on specifically
training the command and then I simply
combined it with other stuff I was doing,
like having a beer on the deck or working
in the workshop; anywhere I could keep
one eye on her and correct quickly by
simply reissuing the command if her body
language said she was getting fidgety.
Within a month I had her stopped
rock solid in front of the other dogs’
kennels in the morning when she
was amped up as I let the other dogs
out. Small point here – once she had
been solid for a bit there, instead of just
releasing her and letting her flog off after
the others, I would call her to me and give
her a pat. Then when she was settled, I
would release her.
The other thing I did with the ‘stay’
command was to bring her inside and
teach her to stay on her mat. That got
her in and around the family and around
a lot of sudden movements and loud
noises which helped (I think) to condition
her to that sort of thing and ensure she
developed a calm, robust nature.
Out of Home
Training
The next example is ‘out of home
training’. What does that mean? Your
dog should be walked at least once a
day and preferably twice. Dogs need to
exercise both their heads and legs. My
wife Liz and I have a routine of walking
our dogs and having a good catch-up at
the same time. When you’re out walking,
there are so many opportunities to teach
and reinforce the very things you will
need your indicator dog to do when
you’re hunting. I regularly put a ‘stop’ on
Sami and make her wait for us to draw
level before I release her.
I also regularly issue the ‘in front’
command for a proportion of the walk
and have her doing that all the way
home, for example. Sometimes I’ll make a
point of adjusting my speed and stopping
to get her to match what she does to me.
All done while doing what you should be
doing every day without the need to take
an extra twenty minutes for that when
you get home. Put that time into walking
further with your dog – better for you
both.
The priority is to get the basics right
and keep repeating and reinforcing
them. I am always making minor
changes to what I do as I learn more. Next
issue we will go hunting with Sami and
talk about the good and the not-so-good.
Till then.
Cheers, JohnnyOn farm walks I put her on the
long lead and we started to work
on the 'walking just in front' bit.
She soon picked that up and it
was combined with what we
did anyway each day. As she got
older and more compliant the
long lead got shorter.August / September 2019 ~ NZ HUNTER MAGAZINE 39