| | | | | |  |  | | Dave Hughes |
Pointing Dog Pointersby Dave Hughes
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.
The poorly trained dog might be just as steady to wing and shot as the well-trained one but will look cowed and intimidated. He might tuck his tail between his legs or lie down to escape some expected punishment. A dog that is properly trained, however, is eager and enthusiastic. He points with high style and watches bug-eyed as the bird escapes but does not chase it. Training a dog to show this kind of style without robbing him of his natural love for the hunt is the goal of proper training.
Fortunately, using a combination of old and new methods, proper training today is easier than ever.
The most fundamental of the old methods involves the use of a check-cord to teach the dog and maintain control of him during training. The check-cord is nothing more than a long rope with a snap on one end that attaches to the dog’s collar. Commercially available check-cords are generally better than home-made ones because of their higher visibility and resistance to wear and tear. A word of warning about check-cords: if you’re going to be handling the cord a lot, wear a good pair of gloves to prevent rope burns. Also, if you’re going to let go of the check-cord at some point during the training, make sure the dog is wearing a beeper or tracking collar so you can locate him if he becomes entangled in the brush and can’t return to you. (I normally avoid letting the dog run loose in this way while using a check-cord.)
Once the trainer has shown the dog what to do by using a check-cord and through repetition, he’ll most likely have a dog that performs perfectly--as long as it’s wearing the check-cord. A good percentage of dogs will return to their old pre-trained behavior once the check-cord is removed. A far easier way to reinforce the dog’s training is with a more modern method: the electronic collar (or E-collar for short).
The E-collar allows the dog to run free while allowing the trainer to correct misbehavior the moment it occurs. Simultaneous correction is critical because a dog associates any correction with the action it performed most recently. For example, say a dog takes off after a deer and returns to his angry trainer after a five-minute chase. The trainer then punishes the dog for the offense. Now, the trainer thinks he is correcting the dog for running the deer, but does the dog realize this? No; the dog thinks he’s being punished for returning to his trainer because that’s what he did immediately before being punished. The lesson? A trainer who lacks the means to correct the dog the instant misbehavior occurs is actually training the dog not to come back to him. The E-collar allows the trainer to enforce commands, to correct misbehavior instantly, and to teach the lesson he or she wants to teach.
Unfortunately, some people still seem to think that the E-collar is inhumane. Some of this sentiment comes from the misuse and unreliability of early types of E-collars. The rest is a product of ignorance. After all, electricity has been used for years to control livestock, and, more recently, in-ground electronic fences have become popular with pet lovers throughout the world. Many first-time dog trainers are amazed to discover how infrequently they have to deliver correction with the E-collar. When they do have to correct their dogs, they find that the E-collar isn’t cruel or inhumane at all.
In fact, compared to some methods used in the past to train dogs, E-collars are almost gentle. In the bad old days, dogs were shot at with slingshots or chased with horses. Both techniques often resulted in permanently maimed dogs. If a trainer became frustrated and just gave up, he might turn the dog loose to be hit by a car or, most cruelly in my opinion, simply tie it to a box until it died.
The first E-collars were designed for one purpose: to break hounds from chasing unwanted game, usually deer. They had only one level of stimulation, and it was high. These E-collars, which could be used only for breaking, eventually gave way to improved models featuring different stimulation levels. These improved models still had a severe fault, however: the stimulation level could be changed only at the collar. For example, if a trainer were out with his dog practicing the "Here" command, which usually requires only a very low level of stimulation, and his dog jumped and chased a rabbit, the trainer would have no way to deliver a more attention-getting correction. Away goes the rabbit, and away goes the dog.
It was not until Ed Rader (now the Field Operations Manager for Innotek) designed a collar that allowed the trainer to deliver different levels of stimulation from a remote transmitter that the E-collar became a truly powerful training aid. For the first time, the trainer could deliver correction from virtually any distance immediately after the misbehavior occurred.
Not that the E-collar has made the check-cord obsolete. Actually, these two training aids complement each other quite well. When I’m working on the "here" command, for example, I first put an E-collar on the dog just to let him get accustomed to the feel of it. I don’t even carry a remote transmitter. Simultaneously I use the check-cord to reel in the dog while giving the "here" command. I repeat this training several times a day for several days.
When the dog shows that he understands the "here" command but may not be so quick to carry it out, I begin using the E-collar to deliver correction. I use the lowest stimulation level necessary to make the dog turn his head when I hold down the correction button. If the dog gives any vocal indication of pain, I know I’m using too high a stimulation level and move to a lower level. Having established the proper correction level, I repeat the "here" command and hold down the correction button. If the dog responds immediately, I release the correction button when the action is completed. If the dog hesitates, I reel him in with the check-cord while holding down the correction button, again releasing the button when the dog completes the action.
After a two or three days of training with both check-cord and E-collar, most dogs learn to respond to the "here" command without any prompting from the check-cord. I then use the E-collar by itself to reinforce the command. After the dog successfully completes this phase of training, I use the E-collar only if the dog fails to respond promptly. The final phase of training is to remove the check-cord entirely and practice the command in the field, calling the dog from increasingly farther distances.
As you do this, keep some basic training tips in mind. Work on only one command at a time. Keep lessons short, about 10 minutes each. Practice every day if possible. Make sure to end each session on a positive, successful note even if you have to go back to a previously mastered step.
Of course, the E-collar isn’t the only modern aid that can simplify the training job. Perhaps the next most valuable is the electronic bird launcher. These ingenious devices hold a bird in place and then launch it into the air by remote control. Using a remote-controlled bird launcher, or a set of them, the trainer can determine the location of the bird and the timing of the flush. Nothing is left to chance.
I personally knew Jack Stuart, the Michigan trainer who invented the Stuart Game Bird Releaser, and admired him immensely. That being said, I never favored those early launchers; they were too loud when the mechanism was sprung, and many of my dogs were flinching and blinking them. I got so frustrated with them that I vowed never to use one again. Years later, I tried a different model that proved to be much quieter, but it was so small that a large pigeon couldn’t be used. Nothing happened to change my low opinion of launchers until Ed Rader showed me the Innotek Remote Bird Launcher. From that day on, I’ve never been without at least three of them. They are relatively quiet and roomy, and to top it off, I can operate them with the same remote transmitter that I use to control my dogs’ E-collars. Now I don’t have to fumble around with different remotes. (As I used to do with our TV and VCR remotes before I got a universal controller. Seems like I was never holding the right one when I needed it.)
Remote launchers are a wonderful adjunct to training, but I never work a puppy on one for his first bird. Instead, I throw pigeons or harnessed pigeons or let the dog frolic among raised quail until he gets bird crazy. Only when the pup becomes bold and chasing and needs to be staunched into a point do I use the launchers and check-cord. I work the dog in relatively open fields, being careful to hide the launcher in the clump and throw some grass on top of it so the dog can’t see it. If there isn’t a nice, steady breeze blowing across the ground to move the scent, I wait for another day when there is.
I’m always careful to maximize the dog’s success on his first day with the launcher. I work the dog downwind at right angles to the breeze, keeping a taut check-cord. When the dog first catches wind of the bird, he usually points or turns his head and body into the breeze. I stop the dog with the check-cord—I don’t jerk him but just hold the cord taut so the dog can’t move any further. If the dog lunges, I flush the bird and stop the dog gently after a short chase, letting the check-cord ease through my gloved hands. The dog will be able to see the bird at a distance, but I don’t allow an all-out chase. (Incidentally, I remain silent throughout all of this.) When the bird is long gone, I call the pup to me and work over to the next launcher. I don’t overdo it; two or three launches a day is enough.
When working with a launcher, a dog often flash points and lunges toward the scent in an effort to capture the prey. The moment the dog begins his pounce, the trainer should flush the bird. This teaches the dog that his pouncing only results in the bird’s escape. Meanwhile, the trainer gradually decreases the length of check-cord so that the dog’s chases get shorter and shorter. Chasing is fun to the pup. By convincing him that his movements cause the bird to escape and by removing the pleasure of the chase, the trainer forces the dog to point more and more as tries to figure out how to catch that bird. In this manner, the trainer in due time brings the dog’s pointing instinct to the surface.
The key for the trainer here is patience. Progress will be slow and uneven, and care must be taken not to rush things along. These are critical moments, and harshness will only cause harm. The trainer must have faith and not get frustrated. His or her efforts will be rewarded in time.
Naturally, there is a lot more to training a pointing dog than these brief paragraphs can possibly reveal. I can say, however, that it is easier to train a dog today than it has ever been. Electronic training aids in particular are tremendous shortcuts. The trainers of yesteryear were masters of their craft, but they could not bring near the number of dogs to perfection as can the trainers of today. Moreover, dogs that once would have been considered untrainable "outlaws" can be brought back within the fold by many of these new aids.
Finally, each year more and more hobbyists and amateurs than ever before are able to train dogs. I know because they’ve beaten me at field trials! Just goes to show that when technique meets technology, any dog can be a winner.
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