Training talk: Duck Season Prep.

[BAY KINGFISHER]

In order to intiate some training talk on this site, how about we discuss drill work or other training one may do with their dog to prepare them for the upcoming season.

I like to run through some basic obedience, honoring, poison blinds, breaking birds etc. I also like to do a lot of long water marks for the extra conditioning. Also, I plan on letting Dee sleep/stay outside more in an attempt to get her better conditioned to the cold.( living on the Coast/ and being an inside dog I noticed the cold got to her last year)

One more thing, have any of yall ever done anyhting to help increase the toughness of your dogs feet? Dee tends to have some tenderness issue when field hunting.

[medic11]

You going to sleep outside also ? You know to get acclimated to the cold and all since you're from the coast.

[BAY KINGFISHER]

lol...I dont need to get acclimated, I have enough fat to keep me warm!! and Eric she will be in my workshop rather than fully exposed to the elements.

[missed mallards]

One more thing, have any of yall ever done anyhting to help increase the toughness of your dogs feet? Dee tends to have some tenderness issue when field hunting.

The best thing I ever did was run mine. Henry's paw's where extremely sensitive. Saw him tip toe over 200 yards on a downed bird last year.

Started running him through fields, roads, & so on this summer and haven't seen him once tip toe on a downed bird?

May help, I know it sure helped mine.

As far as 'training'. Been dove hunting him / training. Figured the real deal was a better alternative to the dummies and pop guns. It's a little more challenging, but it's rewards are nice. I need to clear up his steadiness and make him understand me in camouflage and the ranger on the trailer doesn't always mean he gets to go. Other than that, I think I'm ready!

[B3]

I think hunting actually un does a lot of training. Dogs gain experience doing the things they already do naturally like chasing cripples, rooting a bird out of cover,etc., but IMO hunting like running tests will usually result in degrading our hard work from before the season. I would focus on singles and blinds.

The big thing is once you start hunting is to keep your standards high on the basics.

[BAY KINGFISHER]

I def. believe in keeping the standards high during the hunting season. Dee has always been the type of dog to take as much as she can get, and she is very competitive when hunting with other dogs. Hunting with young kids has challenged her as well over the last few seasons. Just because a lot of shooting as occured doesnt always mean ducks are falling from the sky!! Overall, I have always been pleased with her hunting and she has matured a lot with age.

[GulfCoast]

I do "H" lining drills, walking baseball, and lots of singles to get ready for hunting season.

My old dog has had more procedures to get stuff out of her feet than I want to think about. I quit hunting her in one hole with a lot of spiny loqust (sp?) trees due to "thorns through the foot." I think the best way to toughen them up is marks in bean stubble. YMMV.

[BAY KINGFISHER]

I know everytime Dee gets a swole up foot I think of yall GulfCoast!! We have have had nails poke us, cuts, abbrasions, locust thorn, bean stalk etc.. but none needing surgery....knock on wood!!

[RF]

We've been training our booty off for months preparing to run for our third plate. Finished that 2 weeks ago and we are more ready for duck season than ever before. Habitat Flats, here we come!

[grnhed]

We have done a lot of dove hunting, and spent 10 days in North Dakota.

[grnhed]

GC: How do you do the H lining drills?

Also, when you do a lot of singles how are you doing them? A simple, sit, throw, send dog, make them return to heel and deliver to hand? Have someone out front throw it? Placing a bumper and then sending dog?

[B3]

Grnhed,

I consider walking singles the best way to work on marking. To do that you need a helper. Dog sits at your side and helper out front throws the mark. Dog picks it up and delivers to you. Thrower then moves to a new spot and throws again. I will usually do this 5 or 6 times getting multiple single marks in quick succession. The beauty of walking singles is you can quickly repeat a concept over and over again. For instance, you want to work on retrieving across a ditch. You have thrower across ditch throwing a mark and moving each time. You get multiple exposures to the same factor without running the dog to the same spot each time. You can use the same technique to build distance, fight a crosswind, cross cover,deal with hills,etc.

If you don't have a helper stand alone singles can be very useful. With stand Alones you sit dog and walk out in field and throw the mark yourself. It is very good for working on steadiness.

[grnhed]

Thank you for clearing that up!