Post by Bridget on Oct 13, 2008 20:13:45 GMT -5
I have an older black labrador retriever, named "Snickers", hehe!
During the summer and fall, I've been working with him on his commmands and flushing.
Three or more days a week(give or take), I take him out to a nearby field and let him run around on a 20-ft leash(I'm not holding the leash, it is just incase I need to grab him quickly!) He absolutely loves bologna! So, I take little tidbits of bologna and use this as my training tool, as well as lots of praise.
So far, he's gotten his "sit", "down", and "up" commands down pat.
I'm currently working on his "come" command. I yell come come come! to get his attention, raise up my hand with the tidbit, and he *usually* comes bounding back for the bolonga! (When I only have a few tidbits left, he sometimes won't come and will just stick to running around and sticking his head down holes in the ground.) We are slowly resolving this issue, as he's starting to become more responsive to me.
As far as flushing goes, when I took him on a walk last year he flushed a bunny or two-but that was purely accident! When I walk him along the nearby field, he will find a hole, stick his nose down in it, breathe heavily, and then start digging at it, totally focusing on making what ever is in that hole come out!
As for an old dog who hasn't had any prior training, to me, he's coming along rather nicely!
I'll try tp update this thread on his training every now and then!
PS-my brother has a border collie that I was considering trying to train to flush for falconry and such, but when I was walking him one time, he spotted a bunny and ran the opposite way with his tail tucked inbetween his legs and his ears flat. He was scared of the bunny! I think I'll stick to training my retriever, hehe!
Hopefully by the later 08-09 season, I'll be able to have Snickers flushing with my RT!
Bridget
During the summer and fall, I've been working with him on his commmands and flushing.
Three or more days a week(give or take), I take him out to a nearby field and let him run around on a 20-ft leash(I'm not holding the leash, it is just incase I need to grab him quickly!) He absolutely loves bologna! So, I take little tidbits of bologna and use this as my training tool, as well as lots of praise.
So far, he's gotten his "sit", "down", and "up" commands down pat.
I'm currently working on his "come" command. I yell come come come! to get his attention, raise up my hand with the tidbit, and he *usually* comes bounding back for the bolonga! (When I only have a few tidbits left, he sometimes won't come and will just stick to running around and sticking his head down holes in the ground.) We are slowly resolving this issue, as he's starting to become more responsive to me.
As far as flushing goes, when I took him on a walk last year he flushed a bunny or two-but that was purely accident! When I walk him along the nearby field, he will find a hole, stick his nose down in it, breathe heavily, and then start digging at it, totally focusing on making what ever is in that hole come out!
As for an old dog who hasn't had any prior training, to me, he's coming along rather nicely!
I'll try tp update this thread on his training every now and then!
PS-my brother has a border collie that I was considering trying to train to flush for falconry and such, but when I was walking him one time, he spotted a bunny and ran the opposite way with his tail tucked inbetween his legs and his ears flat. He was scared of the bunny! I think I'll stick to training my retriever, hehe!
Hopefully by the later 08-09 season, I'll be able to have Snickers flushing with my RT!
Bridget
