It seems like it has been a long time since I posted a training diagram. This was the set-up for last Saturday.
5 orange cones were set out in a line with a pile of bumpers clearly visible at each cone. The cones were spaced far enough apart so that it would be clear to the dog which pile it was being sent to for a bumper. If the dog veered off from the pile it was being sent to, then it was stopped and told “no here”, brought back to the line and resent. If the dog continued to have trouble then the handler moved closer to the pile of bumpers and sent the dog again. Once the dog retrieved a bumper from the first pile, then the handler and the dog moved to the second pile and on through all five.
The purpose of this drill is to teach the dog to run in a straight line and not to go back to the area where they had just picked up a bumper, (an old fall). Both of these skills are important in the higher level tests where the marks or blinds might be placed fairly close together. The nice thing about using five different lines is that if a dog was told “no here” on one line, once the handler and dog move to the next line, all the pressure is off the dog because it is a whole new line and pile. The other nice thing about this drill is that it is fairly straight forward and once the dog gets the hang of it, it can serve to build confidence and timing/communication between the dog and handler.
Thunder was up first. He did fine on the first line but tried to veer off on the second line. He was called back and resent and eventually did all five lines. He was a little slow off the line at first, but by the end, he was moving faster and his tail was wagging. 🙂
Next was Storm. She needed a lot of resends, but she got through it. This will be an area to work on with her.
After everyone completed the drill, the handlers and dogs started from farther back and repeated the drill, adjusting the starting distance as necessary for each dog. Once the group ran through the drill again, then the bumpers were placed on the opposite side of the field. This time there were no cones and if the dog veered off-line, it was handled to the pile. Ideally the dog would get the idea that it was to run in a straight line, just like they did on the other side of the field. Both Thunder and Storm eventually got the idea. Unfortunately I don’t have pictures because it really started to snow and I put my camera away. It was a cold day, but a great training session!
I am always so impressed by Storm and Thunder. Their skills are amazing. : )
Thanks, but you should have seen some of the advanced dogs smoke this drill. We have a ways to go. 🙂
Really cool! They look like they are having so much fun too!
They did have fun!
I can’t believe how smart Storm and Thunder are. I never realized just how much work goes into training a dog like that. Lots of work and patience on both the trainer and dogs part. Great informative post!
Thanks. But I wish they were a bit smarter and didn’t need to be called back and re-sent on this one. 🙂
Thanks for explaining. It is interesting to learn about how this stuff works and I actually got all of it this time. Although I can tell I am a little groggy because the first thing I thought of when I saw those bumpers in the diagram was mouse turds and at one point you said “resent” but for a second I thought you said Thunder “resented” being called back. Ha, ha.
Resented can be right for Thunder depending on the day. 😆
We are very fortunate because when our trainer sets up these drills, he always explains why we are doing them and what the point of the drill is. I have learned so much from him.
I’m glad you post diagrams of your training, not only do they give me ideas on how to set up different training scenarios, but on what to consider as I continue the long process of landscaping our pasture for training.
It is funny, one of the guys in our training group diagrams all of the drills in a notebook during each training session. If he has questions, he asks the trainer. I usually come home and do it for my blog, so we have our own record.
Glad I could help. 🙂
I love that you share your training techniques, this looks like something I could practice with Delilah, here is my question. When the dog starts going off line, how do you ‘handle’ them back? Do you blow a whistle or how do you get their attention to let them know they are not on task and they need to refocus?
If the dog is running straight, you let the dog roll. Praise when the dog gets to the bumpers. Then say “bring it here” or whatever command you use. In your case you would be fairly close to the piles, say 10-15 feet away. (I am assuming you are still at the very beginning.) You want the dog to clearly understand where you are sending.
Then if they start to head to another pile, you say “no, here”. You say “no” so they know instantly that they made the mistake. No whistle because you are really not going to handle them, but rather call them back and try again. Now with e-collar, if the dog veered off again, we would probably do something like say…”no”, nick with ecollar, say “here” and then when they are back at heel, reline them and resend. (What I mean by reline is we wait until the dog is looking where we want them to go and say “good” and then release them on their name.) Without ecollar, you would just use verbal, but move closer so that it is really clear to the dog. Don’t be afraid to move up. Believe it or not, this will be a tough drill for a beginner dog, (and even the master level dogs made mistakes).
One thing the trainer also stressed, is to praise if the dog does it right and not to forget to do that as well. 🙂
I really like that first picture of Storm. Very cool.
Blessings,
Goose
Thanks, she was ready to go!
We love seeing working dogs in action.. especially when they make it look so fun!!!
AROOOOOF!
Boondocks & The Love Shack Pack
Thanks, they did enjoy it. I was frozen, but they had fun!
Hi Y’all,
I haven’t been practicing multiple retrieves in awhile because of my silly Human! I say silly because she has misplaced my bumpers! She thought they were at the shore, but didn’t find them when we were there. She looked here when we came back for Thanksgiving. She’s checked all the vehicles…sigh…
Truth be told I kind of enjoy just running with her. We’re getting lots of rain so we don’t always get much running though.
Y’all come back now,
Hawk aka BrownDog
Oh no, I hope you find your bumpers. Running sounds fun, but I understand about the rain. The 2 brown dawgs have been barred from yard running because it so soft from all the rain here.
We all that rain, maybe your drought will finally be over!
Your pictures really captured Storms enthusiasm for the retrieving. It looks like she just can’t wait to get to those bumpers.
If only more people knew how much dogs learn to learn things. Everyone needs to find some kind of activity to do with their dog besides sitting on the couch. Looks like you got Jodi interested. 🙂
Thanks. Storm loves her bumpers. Sometimes she is too fast. 🙂
I think Jodi’s retrievers could do this for sure.
I love learning about this – and I love the pictures of Storm running.