Today is April Fools Day. It is a day people play harmless pranks on each other. Instead of pranking you, I am doing some follow-up about training bumpers-no fooling.

Training With Bumpers

Hunt test training season is here so in the coming months I will be posting more about our training sessions.  Whenever I post about our field training, I always get a lot of great comments/questions.  Here are some from my post In Line Bumpers.

Barbara Rivers commented “Your bumper training is super interesting. I wonder if I could get my boy Buzz to retrieve them. He loves to retrieve his chuck-it balls.”

easyweimaraner asked “do you think it would be good to buy some bumpers for easy to work a little bit with him that way? it’s not for a test, just for “a tired dog is a good dog”.

You could definitely buy a couple and try it out.  Bumpers come in different sizes and colors.

We choose the color depending on how easy or hard we want to make it for the dogs.  Remember when we throw bumpers for our dogs, we are not standing next to them throwing like you might with a game of fetch.  We start out standing next to the dog, but transition to having a helper out in the field throwing bumpers at all different angles.  A small white bumper thrown in a snowy field is more difficult to see than a black and white or all black bumper.  But an all black or black and white bumper is more difficult to see when they are thrown in a tree-lined field.  In that case an all white bumper would be easier to see.

Bumpers are a bit different to throw than a ball which is why we have the ropes on them.  I hold the rope to toss, but realize they will only go so far.  The smaller ones are obviously lighter than the larger ones.  If I was starting with a dog, I might try a smaller lighter bumper because some dogs starting out find those easier to hold.  I would also pick a white bumper or a black and white bumper (called a flasher), over an orange or an all black bumper simply because they are easier to see.

Some people put bird scent or tie a wing to the bumpers to make them more attractive, but we have never done that.  Just start in close to the dog and get them excited about the bumper and then toss it and not too far.  Encourage the dog to bring it back with plenty of praise and then lengthen from there.  Also you might want to pick a command to let the dog know they are to retrieve, such as “fetch” or I have heard “get it”.

Do They Ever Try To Pick Them All Up At Once?

Marg asked “Do they ever try to pick them all up at once?”

Yes some dogs do, especially younger dogs.

This usually happens when we are training blind retrieves and there is a pile of bumpers set out in the field.  We discourage that because we usually put enough for all the dogs and you don’t want to end up short.  Also, the dog does not need to take time “shopping” through all the bumpers so we call them back once they have a bumper in their mouth.

Of course if you use the large bumpers, it is hard to fit more than one in your mouth.

Where Can I Buy Bumpers?

We normally order our training bumpers on-line because usually you can find them cheaper or get a discount for quantity.  They are available from places like Amazon, or Lion Country Supply, or Gun Dog Supply.  You can also search “training bumpers” or “training dummies” for dogs on line.  The three brands that we buy are SportDOG, Avery Hex Bumper and Lucky Dog.  You may also find them at some sporting goods stores and occasionally at a pet store.

Will you try training with bumpers?

Have a nice weekend and no fooling today!