Dog Training Collars Articles

Teaching Backing

In the world of fine pointing dogs, a gentleman’s shooting dog is expected to back, or honor, the point of its brace mates. A dog that fails to back another’s point and rushes in to bust a bird or steal a point is the equivalent of a street urchin eating caviar with his fingers at a black tie affair. Many a re-invite has been forfeited due to an ill-mannered pointing dog that refused to back.

Teaching Your Dog The A-B-C's

People always ask me how long I’ve been associated with dog training and I have to answer them that it’s been before I was born. You see, while I was still being carried by my mother she took me to a field trial. I was raised in the country where you’re around dogs and horses and I found that I loved to train animals. Back then we used some trial and error, but through persistence the animals eventually responded to our commands.

Pointing Dog Pointers

Like many sportsmen and sportswomen, I find few sights as breathtaking as a dog on point. I’ve been fortunate to make a living out of training pointing dogs for hunters and to compete in pointing dog competitions (or field trials, as they’re called). Contrary to what many believe, field trial dogs are highly trained—but the training must be done properly. Trial dogs must be trained in such a way that they still retain their enthusiasm and style.

Preparing a Retriever for Duck Hunting

It’s never good when someone takes a young retriever duck hunting for the first time and then doesn’t understand why their pride and joy is picking up sticks in the water and grabbing the decoys and bringing them back instead of retrieving ducks. If that dog has never been in a duck blind before, it’s understandable to me, but hunters are always asking themselves, "Why isn’t my brand new well-bred, super expensive retriever sitting there like he’s supposed to, and retrieving like he’s supposed to; heck, he does it perfectly in the backyard."

Stopping on Runners

It is late afternoon in early December. A mild breeze is blowing as two hunters meander down a tractor path bordered by a woodlot on one side and a partially harvested cornfield on the other. Two dogs work the edges of the briars for one last rooster as the hunters ease back toward their vehicles. Suddenly, the dogs strike scent and, with guns ready, the hunters cautiously approach. Seconds later the rooster bursts from cover as one hunter raises his gun smoothly, swings in front of the bird and ....