Post by HighCotton on Oct 9, 2011 14:18:27 GMT -5
Life is full of lessons. And I got a few myself, today. Since I had to put my my main dog, Cotton down a few weeks ago, this season has been a bit uncertain for me. But today, changed a lot of my thinking. We started Cotton's son, Rock (a little over a year old) on birds today and even introduced him to the gun.
No pictures, as today was not about photos, rather dog work.
I know that one of the greatest disservices I could undergo is to think "I've got this down." But some days like today, I need to be reminded and humbled.
Today was as much about training me as my pup. I had asked Rick Alexander, a good friend from the Amo Bird Dog Club (CBDC) to give me a hand in training Rock. I believe I received a half an hour of instruction and constructive crticism before the pup ever hit the ground. And so I told myself to "Listen to the Master." He's trained a heck of a lot of dogs.
And the results from this morning were phenominal. We made great gains. We went from a pup that was wild in the kennel to a pup that received awesome reinforcement on "whoa", "come", and the whistle commands in the field to scenting birds to loving the sound of a gun. And that is just for starters. After about 20 birds, I must say that Rock never gave a rock solid point for more than maybe 10 seconds. That probably would have frustrated me until Rick came over so excited and said, "Larry, He's gonna be a good one! Don't get frustrated. Don't get impatient. Rock has been on overload all morning and he is loving this. Enjoy the journey and don't push him. Every dog is different. His trigger may trip the next time out (meaning that rock solid, slam-it-home point). Or it might take a few more trips than that. It's ok. Let him roll and have fun. Just reinforce the basics. He's definitely gonna be a good one...just like his Daddy...Maybe even better!!!"
Thanks for the help Rick. You made this an awesome day!
No pictures, as today was not about photos, rather dog work.
I know that one of the greatest disservices I could undergo is to think "I've got this down." But some days like today, I need to be reminded and humbled.
Today was as much about training me as my pup. I had asked Rick Alexander, a good friend from the Amo Bird Dog Club (CBDC) to give me a hand in training Rock. I believe I received a half an hour of instruction and constructive crticism before the pup ever hit the ground. And so I told myself to "Listen to the Master." He's trained a heck of a lot of dogs.
And the results from this morning were phenominal. We made great gains. We went from a pup that was wild in the kennel to a pup that received awesome reinforcement on "whoa", "come", and the whistle commands in the field to scenting birds to loving the sound of a gun. And that is just for starters. After about 20 birds, I must say that Rock never gave a rock solid point for more than maybe 10 seconds. That probably would have frustrated me until Rick came over so excited and said, "Larry, He's gonna be a good one! Don't get frustrated. Don't get impatient. Rock has been on overload all morning and he is loving this. Enjoy the journey and don't push him. Every dog is different. His trigger may trip the next time out (meaning that rock solid, slam-it-home point). Or it might take a few more trips than that. It's ok. Let him roll and have fun. Just reinforce the basics. He's definitely gonna be a good one...just like his Daddy...Maybe even better!!!"
Thanks for the help Rick. You made this an awesome day!
