Texas Wildlife January 2010
by
Henry Chappell
You’re basking in self-congratulation and the admiration (or tolerance) of your bemused kids and significant other. You’ve completed the steps detailed in “The Trained Retrieve – Part II,” (November 2009 Texas Wildlife) and your dog reliably holds a retrieving buck for 30 seconds or so after you’ve placed it in his mouth. Sure, his expression and posture suggest that he’s just been tortured with a cattle prod and will bolt at the first opportunity, but he’s following orders.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief encounter with dog-training glory. The real work is about to begin. We want a retriever, not a mere holder.
You’ll recall from “The Trained Retrieve – Part I” (September 2009 Texas Wildlife) that compulsion – a pathetic euphemism for pain inflicted by the trainer – must be applied so that the dog will open his mouth and accept the buck. He learns that the only way to stop the pain is to take the presented object, whether buck, dummy, bird, or whatever, into his mouth. Over time, he learns that retrieving isn’t optional.
There’s no way to sugarcoat this. Trainers use various methods to induce sharp, but non-injuring pain. Some highly regarded writers engage in comforting sophistry by claiming that the trainer never hurts the dog but the dog can hurt himself by refusing to comply. Don’t buy it. Take full responsibility, empathize, and keep pain to the necessary minimum.
The great Delmar Smith prefers the “nerve hitch,” a length of 1/8-inch nylon cord clove-hitched just above the dog’s carpal joint and half-hitched around the two center toes so that the trainer can elicit sharp pain by pulling. In theory, the chief advantage of this method is that the dog associates pain with the cord, not the trainer. The major drawback for the amateur is that the dog’s head must be controlled by a short lead attached to a wall or fastened to a training table fixture.
Nowadays, sophisticated trainers and an appalling number of bumbling, impatient technophiles use electronic collars, which allow precise control of the dog’s discomfort, or “stimulation,” in the clinical parlance of marketers and enthusiasts.
Although electronic collars offend my inner Luddite, I own one and admit that it saves a lot of steps. More importantly, when used responsibly, the e-collar is the most humane training aid ever invented. Used improperly it’s a torture device. Therefore I can’t recommend it as a tool for amateurs embarking on their first trained retrieving programs.
I recommend the ear-pinch, probably the most common method among amateurs and pros alike. It gives the trainer excellent control of the dog’s head, and though many experts would disagree, I believe the inherent human-dog contact demands responsibility and encourages empathy, especially when the dog is a beloved companion. There will be trauma; you deserve your share of it.
Lead your dog to your trained retrieving area. (See Part II) Whoa him at heel or on the training table, if you’re using one. Hold the training buck in your dominant hand. Slip the fingers of your other hand beneath the dog’s collar, palm up. Fold the dog’s ear back so that it rests on the collar above your fingers. Holding the dummy just ahead of the dog’s muzzle, command “fetch,” and pinch his ear against the collar with your thumbnail. You’ll have to bear down hard this first time. He may whine a good bit before he yelps.
(Damn right you can feel his pain, panic, and confusion running up your arm and into your heart. Call it to mind whenever you’re tempted toward laziness or parsimony on your side of the partnership.)
As soon as he opens his mouth in protest, slip the buck in and immediately stop pinching. He may snap at your pinching hand. This is pure reflex; don’t take it personally. Give him a little slap with the back of your pinching hand, not your buck hand. More likely, he’ll frantically mouth at your pinching hand but, god love him, won’t bite you. Use the opportunity to slip the buck into his mouth and cease pinching.
He’s in familiar territory now. He knows you want him to hold the buck. Swallow the lump in your throat and praise him in a calm, soothing tone. Command “give,” and take the buck.
Repeat the process twice more, and then call it a day. Put the buck aside and make a huge, happy fuss over your dog. The rest of the day, call him often and love him up. Reassure him that you’re the same old, loveable, reliable boss -- the fount of all good things.
Train every day at least once, twice when possible. Keep sessions under 10 minutes. Your dog will begin to anticipate the pain of the ear pinch, so you won’t have to bear down nearly as hard as you did the first time. By the third or fourth day, he may be opening his mouth before you can say “fetch.”
When he’s reliably taking the buck, it’s time for him to learn to reach for it. Some dogs pick this up right away. Others balk. Hold the buck a few inches in front of his muzzle and command “fetch.” If he reaches to take it, great. Let him hold it for a bit, then lay on the praise. If he doesn’t, pinch his ear and press him toward the buck while inching it toward him. Keep applying force until he takes the buck, even if he panics and fights. He’ll catch on.
Gradually increase the distance until he’s reliably reaching a couple of feet. If he backslides, simply regress to the point at which he’s successful, then start moving forward again.
Now he must fetch from the ground or table. Place the buck on the ground and command “fetch.” Keep your pinching hand in position. He may comply. If he doesn’t, pinch his ear and close the distance by raising the buck slightly and pushing his head toward it. Keep at it until he takes the buck. Gradually increase the distance until he’ll take the buck from the ground without your hand beneath it. This could take several days.
When he’s reliably taking the buck from the ground at his feet, increase the fetching distance. Don’t throw the buck at this point. Place it on the ground in front of the dog. If he balks, apply force and move him toward the buck.
During this phase, introduce other objects such as canvas or plastic training dummies of varying weights. Heel him around the house and yard while he carries the object. If he drops it, issue a sharp “fetch.” Pinch only if necessary.
When he’s retrieving to the end of a 20-foot lead, start him off-lead on short retrieves in a fenced yard or room where he can’t get away. Be prepared for minor relapses. End every session with success. At this point, his retrieves may still look uninspired. Don’t worry about it.
Gradually increase distance until he’s fetching to 50 yards or so. Now you can start throwing dummies. It’s time to get excited. Hold the dummy up and encourage him to jump for it. Carry on and make a fool of yourself. His tail will whip again; he’ll dance and leap like a pup, rip into cover to fetch whatever you’ve thrown or shot. His natural retrieving desire has reemerged, but now it’s bolstered by discipline. If he balks or get’s distracted, just touch his ear. He’ll focus in a hurry.
Miraculously, he’ll come through with no hard feelings. Cold reductionists will shrug and mutter about animal cognition or human ability to breed abject canine slaves.
Anyone who has loved a dog knows better. One needn’t be religious to experience simple, corporeal grace.
We can never fully deserve it, but we should always try.
(Sidebar)
NOT SO FAST…
Now that you’ve read this far, do yourself and your dog a favor and read a little more. Although written for amateur trainers of dock-tail European pointing breeds, The Training and Care of the Versatile Hunting Dog by Sigbot Winterhelt and Edward D. Bailey, offers an excellent beginners’ guide to the trained retrieve for any breed. The slim volume can be purchase from the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association for $15.50. www.navhda.org.