Wildfowl_-_September_2019

42 WILDFOWL Magazine | September 2019 wildfowlmag.com

RetRieveRs

© Tony J. Peterson

of direction and this subtle part of the
relationship in backyard training will
work its way into your duck hunting
life while. The most obvious exam-
ple of this is when you’re trying to
direct your dog to a wounded duck
on the water that he either can’t see
or didn’t mark well.
Not only do retrievers learn to look
to you for direction in those situa-
tions, but they’ll also look to you to
get a feel for what you’re thinking.
We’ve all seen the amped-up Lab
in the duck blind that can’t contain
himself and starts whining or jumping
around. That dog knows he’s break-
ing the rules, but can’t help it. If he
looks at you and you’re shaking your
head at him or giving him a specific
mean-mug, he’ll probably recognize
that your disapproving look is a pre-
cursor to a correction.
In other words, just looking at your
duck dog a certain way can convey a
command. That’s no small thing and
is a testament to how dogs perceive
us and our intentions non-verbally.

WHY SILENCE MATTERS

No one wants to find themselves
screaming at their dog in a duck
blind, just as no one wants to hunt
with someone who has to scream
at his dog in the duck blind. There’s
nothing that can erode hunting en-
joyment faster than that for all two-
and four-legged participants, and
while extreme circumstances might
warrant an increase in volume, it’s
usually better to be able to go the
other way with noise.
This is why it’s important to work
in hand signals to most of your com-
mands. For example, if your dog is
taught to heel on your left side, tap-
ping your left hip with your hand
while teaching the command can be
a great way to eventually only have
to use the nonverbal command, or at
the very least, to have them be inter-
changeable and equally effective.
The same can be said for sit, come,
stay, down, and a host of other com-
mands. When teaching these com-
mands, as well as directional hand
signals for retrieves, I like to offer the
dog exaggerated movements on my
end. If I’m teaching a young dog to

swimina specificdirectionI’llextend

my arm fully while also walking in the

direction I want him to head.

If you do this to start with, it gives

the dog the best chance to associate

your movements with the command

you're giving. Eventually just the

movement should suffice for getting

your dog to do what you need him to

do, but it all comes in baby steps that

encourage and allow for 100 percent

success with each task.

Now, this isn’t meant to mislead

amateur trainers into thinking they

won’t need to make a sound the

entire time they are hunting. That’s

not how it works. What you’re trying

to do is work off of the dog’s natural

inclination to not only listen to you,

but watch you for instruction.

This will never replace your need

for a whistle, or an e-collar with a

tone option, or simply your voice at

certain points. What it will allow you

to do, after you get the dog’s atten-

tion via one of those earlier options,

istoconveya messageonhowhe

should proceed.

This is something most of us intui-

tively understand is happening with

our dogs, but maybe aren’t aware

of how important it is to actively

incorporate it into training sessions

as well as our daily interactions with

our retrievers.

IT'S ALL AWARENESS

Pay attention to how your dog is

paying attention to you when you’re

running through some backyard

drills, sitting on the deck for an eve-

ning meal, or while duck hunting.

You’ll notice that he’s working off

of your body language hundreds of

times each day, and that can come

into play during each training ses-

sion. Use it to your advantage, and

his, and you’ll have many more

options for controlling your dog

throughout the day and during each

hunting trip—all while keeping

things quiet and controlled.

Our retrievers look to us for direction, not only from verbal commands,

but they'll also look to you to get a feel for what you're thinking. Training

with this is mind will create a better dog in the field.

No one wants to scream at their

dog in a duck blind, and no one

wants to hunt with someone

screaming at his dog.