Gundog Training Tips – My Top Ten

When you first start out in gundog training, you may find yourself overwhelmed by the number of books and DVDs on the subject, not to mention the conflicting advice you often receive from well-meaning members of any clubs you may belong to.

Over the years I have read a lot of gundog training books, watched a lot of gundog training videos (and lately those new-fangled DVD thingies), and sought out a lot of advice from those people whose dogs I have admired.

The top 10 of the gundog training tips I have discovered are worth repeating here. If you are new to gundog training you may benefit from sticking these training tips on the ceiling above your bed until you know them off by heart. If you are an experienced gundog trainer, you will probably feel that these are not tips, but just obvious truths… but in reality they are often overlooked because we all assume everyone knows them already.

1. Train quietly – the dog can hear you whisper at fifty yards
2. Be consistent in your commands
3. Never train when in a foul mood
4. Always finish on a successful exercise if possible
5. Thirty minutes training is a long time for a young dog – do 3 ten minute sessions
6. Always make it a happy occasion for the dog – be unstinting in your praise
7. Two successful retrieves, with lots of praise, beats five successful retrieves and a lost dummy in any one session
8. If you are hitting a problem with the training, stop. Think. Think from the dogs point of view. Come back to it on another day
9. If the dog is getting upset, stop (especially applies to training to gunshot). Come back next week.
10. Vary the training – once the basics are in, visit different grounds – teach the dog that it can work anywhere

There, for what it is worth, are my top ten gun dog training tips – put them to good use!

PS We have recently published a free eBook on gundog training with plenty of advice and tips – find out more at http://www.gundog-training.com/free-ebook.php!