Old topic but good reminder regarding sound conditioning

I had a new dog come in early this morning for phase I training. According to the handler, the dog has been sound conditioned and introduced to birds.

Now as a trainer, I can take that knowledge, accept it and move on to the next step or I can be from Missouri and have to be shown. (Missouri is the ’show me’ state). There is absolutely no question what I will do as I have journeyed down this well worn path many, many times.

Before I answer though I would like to make a point, pardoning my often times pun. Though this situation may not sound like something you would encounter it actually is similar.

We often think our dog …..     …..is at point ‘A’ but actually he isn’t finished learning point ‘A’.  He is just beginning to understand point ‘A’ so we move on to point ‘B’ and the dog displays confusion which is often thought of as being hard headed.  Sometimes, depending on where we are in training, the dog could be ruined by going to point ‘B’ too soon.  We must be sure we are sure!

Back to sound conditioning.  I always go back and check other folks work as well as my own.  If a dog is not progressing, I will back way up to the beginning and start over just to make sure the dog knows what I think it knows…to be sure I am sure.  That is something we all often fail at.  The result is a confused dog and misguided thoughts of our own such as ‘this dog is stupid’.

So always go back to the beginning and double check your work.  I will go back and make sure my new Phase I dog is appropriately sound conditioned and I will reintroduce the dog to birds, my way.

It is not a condemnation of what the owner did but rather it is a safety check.  To proceed to point ‘B’ without regard to sound conditioning  is one of those fatal or near fatal mistakes.  Dogs can be made gun shy in just a moment for sure and it will take weeks or even months if at all possible to cure it.

It is easier to cure an experienced hunting dog with pleasant memories afield that has only recently been made gun shy than it is to cure a young pup.  The young pup has never enjoyed pleasant days afield killing and retrieving birds so has no idea what you are working towards.

Final observation is that today, even with the advent of online books, forums, easy access to trainers, etc., there are still folks out there ’sound conditioning’ with the firing range, shooting around the dog while it is at rest, folks popping firecrackers, etc.  These are chancy techniques that at worst will ruin your dog and make him gun shy, possibly for life.

If you would like more info on sound conditioning your dog, see my article on my free training tips page located here: http://brittanys.com/Brittany_training.htm

Happy Huntin’ and Happy trainin’

Most Cordially,

Dave