Feature
from July/August 2007

When to Call a Pro
Training our own pointing dogs is rewarding – but sometimes we need professional help.
by Tom Carpenter

any pointing dog owners get great satisfaction training their own hunting companion. Other people take their dogs to professional trainers. Either way, even with a dog you thought was trained for life, things can get out of hand. Lessons are forgotten; behaviors change; bad habits develop.

While it’s important to know why a problem surfaces, it’s more important to fix the situation promptly. A spoiled hunt is no big deal. But ruining a good dog – by not promptly correcting undesirable behaviors, habits, or actions – can happen much faster than we think.
Fixing the issue yourself is always an option. But do you have the right tools – in terms of training strategies and equipment – to do the job? More importantly: Do you have the time and patience to be successful in correcting the problem and preserving your relationship with your dog and your dog’s trust in you?

If the answer to either question is “maybe” or an outright “no,” it may be time to get professional training help. But how do you know when to call the cavalry? And what training challenges are most likely to require the skills of a professional trainer? Here are insights from four successful, full-time pointing dog trainers on how to know when you need a pro, and what specific training challenges you are most likely to face.

Know When: Evaluate Yourself
While it is important to understand the specific problems that develop with pointing dogs, the professionals make it clear that knowing your own training capabilities and limitations is more critical. Time – your time – is the biggest factor.

“We are all anxious – even pro trainers – to see results, especially when a problem needs fixing,” says Dale Taylor of Premier Gundogs Training Kennel in Hallam, Nebraska. “But you have to take time and be patient. A pro has this time and patience. If you are rushed and anxious, you may create more issues than you solve. Repetition is what teaches dogs their lessons, and that takes time.”

Ronnie Smith, of Ronnie Smith Kennels in Big Cabin, Oklahoma, who, along with famed trainer and PDJ columnist Rick Smith forms Team Huntsmith, echoes that thought. “A dog is a reflection of its owner. If you are confused and indecisive, that is how your dog is going to react to the training you attempt. Time is so precious, and that’s what a dog needs.”

The desire for fast results can get you into trouble. “The worst thing you can do is lose your temper with a dog,” says Dan Hendrickson of Phantom Kennels in Abilene, Texas. “One outburst can cost you months of productive training. Everything is on a time scale. Don’t rush. A professional trainer has that time.”

“Know your dog,” advises John Mooney of L’Escarbot Kennels in Hampton, Minnesota. “With some breeds – like the French Brittanys I breed – heavy-handedness worsens the situation. But that really goes for any individual from any breed, and I train them all.” Hendrickson agrees: “Just as with people, some dogs are mentally tough and some are not.” The latter can and do make great hunting dogs – if you recognize their personality and train them with their sweet dispositions in mind.

The message is clear: When you see a problem coming on, your first evaluation must be of yourself. Do you have the time to fix the issue? If it’s got you upset and you want to fix it now, going to a professional trainer may be the smartest thing to do. It’s like taking a deep breath, remembering that life is long, and investing in the long haul instead of gambling on a quick fix that could backfire.

Know When: Consider the Situation
If knowing yourself and your capabilities is the critical first step to deciding if you need a professional trainer, at what point do you actually make the call for some help? When does a minor imperfection or annoyance in the dog’s behavior become a real problem that needs attention and correction?

Sometimes it’s hard to see the imperfections we’ve caused or created. “And most issues are in fact manmade,” says Taylor. Inattention to detail, lack of hunting time in the field, focusing on the day’s bag and not the dog’s performance – all these factors can start you and your dog down an undesirable path. “But you don’t need to feel bad about it,” Taylor continues. “The mistake is made. Just learn from it. Nobody was born with the knowledge of how to train a pointing dog or fix performance issues that come with them.”

“It is probably time to call the trainer when your hunting buddies start telling you that your dog is a problem,” says Hendrickson only half-jokingly. Making the call earlier is probably smarter, but most of us can’t always see our dogs’ shortcomings as clearly as other people do. Hendrickson advises making this evaluation: “If the dog isn’t helping you get birds but is costing you birds, it’s time to make the call to a professional.”

“Any good pointing dog hunts for you, not for itself,” explains Mooney. “You just have to be smart enough to know when she has started going on her own and forgetting about you.” To Mooney, the “big three” basic training factors here are: coming, whoaing, and retrieving. If you start having problems with these, don’t let the issue fester.

Smith adds important insight on training young dogs: “You really have two windows of opportunity with them,” he explains. “One is that four- to six-month age range. You have to get them exposed to game, give them that drive for prey – even if it’s meadowlarks.” Everything else will come easier if you give a young dog enough time in the field now. If you don’t have the time, a professional trainer will. “The dog will come on if the breeding is there,” Smith adds.

The first hunting season is critical, too. “That dog has to see an adequate amount of game during that first season,” Smith says. “Sure they’ll point later, but they won’t be the bird-finding machine that they would be after a lot of exposure to birds during their first season.” If you don’t have regular access to game, you might want your dog spending a good amount of time with a trainer now.

Know What
A training issue can emerge around just about any aspect of hunting with a pointing dog. Here are some of the more common problems that our panel members are asked to fix in their training fields.

Whoa. This command is essential for any pointing dog. “Whoa keeps a dog under your control,” Taylor explains. But he warns that you need to be careful how you train or re-train for it “If you get too hard on a bird dog and teach it ‘whoa’ while it’s on birds,” he says, “the dog associates the command with the birds, feels bad, and lies down, and then you’ve got a problem.” Problems with “whoa” may best be left to a pro.

Heel. “Heeling has everything to do with good hunting and being a well-disciplined dog,” says Mooney. “There are so many hunting situations where you want that dog under control, heeling without a leash.” For example, sneaking up to a field full of pheasants, or trying to swing downwind of a spooky grouse you’ve been working. “Of the ‘trained’ dogs I see, ninety percent don’t heel well,” concludes Mooney. “You need to get your dog heeling now if he already isn’t.”

Come. “Come” or “here” need to be continually reinforced, and a dog feeling particularly cheeky might start challenging you. “If you’re getting frustrated, don’t run to an e-collar immediately,” Mooney says. “An e-collar has to be used right. Use it wrong just one time, and you’re back to where you started from.” It comes back to the time and patience issue – virtues that a pro can provide if you’re getting upset. “A dog will eventually challenge you on come,” adds Taylor. “I like to try to think like the dog, and then tweak the training to the student.”

Gunshy. “I have a beautiful little setter with me right now,” Hendrickson reports. “The dog is young, hadn’t been hunted much, the owner took him out with a bunch of other hunters, and all the shooting overwhelmed him. This is not the number one issue I see, but when it happens, you have to get it fixed right, and right away. The time and facilities that a pro has can often get the job done better.”

Blinking. The behavior goes by different names, but Hendrickson defines it as: “When the dog has pointed a bird, looks back and sees you coming, then leaves the bird and moves on, that is blinking.” Similarly, a dog might lie down, crouch, or sit on point. “This is usually because the dog has had too much pressure put on it,” the Texas trainer explains, “and he associates pointing birds with pain or stress. These are often manmade issues,” he concludes, and another person might be best to implement a fix.

Retrieving. If your dog is not a natural retriever, you may not want to attempt the forced (conditioned) retrieve process. “This is very much a learned skill for most dogs,” says Taylor, “and it takes much time and patience. Teaching ‘fetch,’ ‘hold,’ and ‘drop’ gives the dog so many opportunities to challenge you. If you do it wrong, you can get that dog to the point where it doesn’t even want to pick up a bird. Once you start the training process of forcing the retrieve, you have to finish it,” Taylor concludes. “It can be tough. A pro may be your best bet.”

Range. “Range can become a problem,” says Smith, who commonly sees the issue with dogs that come to his kennel. “Owners either keep their dogs too close because they don’t want to lose them, or let the dog go too far and then spend most of the day hunting their dog and not birds. You don’t want to get too tough on them,” he continues, because you want them to hunt hard. “But you do need to give them their head for the country you’re in.” It’s a fine line that a pro can often walk for you.

The panel mentioned several other issues as well. Creeping on point or flushing birds can be a tricky problem. So can breaking at the shot, if you are concerned with it (some hunters are not, preferring their dog to quickly pounce on tough, wild birds like ringnecks that might run). Honoring is another skill taught by pros – often because they have the real dogs around to serve as examples, and to back to.

f you have the time, patience, tools, and knowledge, then completing a training program and fixing any problems that crop up is a rewarding aspect of owning a pointing dog.

But some issues are too deep for our laymen’s skills. Or sometimes life just gets too busy, and time for the dog takes a low spot on your family’s priority scale. Either way, a professional trainer represents a solution that is much better than ignoring the problem and letting it sap enjoyment
from your relationship with your dog and your hunting.

Going to a professional trainer for help isn’t surrendering or failing. Rather, it’s recognizing reality and investing in your dog.

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