by Jennifer Broome

[Introduction]

0:31 Announcer: GundogsOnline.com helping you get the most from your hunting dog.

0:44 We're going to start teaching our pup about cover. This pup is only nine weeks old. So a great way to introduce him to some field situations would be to some low cover, some puddle, water situations. And since I'm his leader and his buddy and he trusts me, he's going to tend to follow me through these situations.

1:03 So while it's fun to carry him around a lot, I do need to put him down on the ground and let him explore his world and let him follow me. And this is a great age to do it. We don't want to scare him or really intimidate him too much, but w'ere going to work on some cover situations here.

So as I put him on the ground, I'm just going to gently entice that he follow me. (clapping) And this is like a jungle to him. He's only about shin high to me but he's stepping in water already. He's getting his toes wet. And I'll call him (clapping) atta boy. (clapping) There you go. And he's just going to tend to follow me. I'll let him explore.

If you want to teach your hunting dogs to get into the cover you gotta get right into the cover with them. So I'll just walk around with him. I don't need to talk to him a whole lot. And he's exploring. And he's going into the water on his own. That's fantastic. If I want him in the water more, I'll go right in with him. (clapping) There you go. (clapping) And he's a youngster. If he doesn't want to do it too much at this age, that's fine. I'm not going to push anything.

2:08 Might practice a hill up here and go into some different terrain. (whistling) Thatta boy. He's getting to explore his world and I'm his confidence. He's sniffing new things.

2:24-2:33 (grass rustling)

2:34 Good for you. And the cover's going to get a little thicker here. And I'll just go right through. Easier for him. And I'm his sense of security in this situation so he is going to tend to follow me.

3:00 At this age I like to take my puppies for walks. I like to take them out in the field for 10 or 15 minutes, challenge them in a different situation. We do have some thorns right here. I don't need to go right through the thorns. We've got a terrain change. Got some taller grass. And again, he's willingly following me. And if we're able to practice this everyday for 10, 15, 20 minutes, and I can go over some small stone walls, and we actually have a duck boat on the ground over there that I might be able to climb into and he would probably follow me right up into it. Go through deeper puddles . We'er really teaching this pup to explore his surroundings.

So when it's time to start putting birds out for him, it won't be anything new. And he's enjoying it. He's sniffing things. We'll keep going through cover here. Thatta boy (whistles) come on Jack! Good for you.

3:49-4:06 (grass rustling)

4:07 Alright, kiddo. And I think we'll go back down through the water again. It's a fairly warm day. The water's not too cool. We'll see if he might want to follow me through the water. You want to get him in the water, you go right in the water. There you go. Must not be too bad if I'm in here and I'm his fearless leader. Good for you.

Pretty happy with that. I'd be a little happier if I had my tall rubber boots on but it's a great opportunity for us to both get into the water and he's enjoying it. Good for you. (clapping) There you go. Thatta boy. (clapping) Thatta boy. (clapping) Thatta boy. Just a little convincing there and a little enthusiasm on my part gets him going right through.

So for a nine week old puppy, I'm really pleased with this. It's a great exercise. He trusts me. And he's enjoying himself and that's what it's all about when you're working with your puppy in the field.

5:07 [Closing]

5:30 Announcer: GundogsOnline.com helping you get the most from your hunting dog.