As the snow starts to melt and our minds turn to next fall and the dog work to come, sometimes it’s hard to know where to start with spring training. The last name “Smith” should be familiar to anyone who’s spent even a small amount of time in the pointing dog world. The Smith family has spent two generations working thousands of dogs through a method of replicable techniques that result in bird dogs that are well adjusted, confident, and driven. Ronnie Smith provides trainers, owners, and dog handlers with a refined, developed, and proven methodology for training. Here are his tips for working with your dog whether you’ve got a new puppy or a seasoned gundog.
- Crate train your puppy. This gives him a den to feel safe in and allows you to start teaching him to be calm when he is inside a house and around people. Being consistent with crate training will help in the house-training process. Teaching your puppy that he is safe in his den alone will also help prevent separation anxiety.
- Be consistent in your expectations. Do not ask your dog for a set of behaviors during training sessions and then ignore his behavior later when you are distracted with something else. Dog are always learning!
- Develop the behaviors that you will expect of your dog later in life. If you want your dog to sit reliably beside you in a blind, work to build a consistent sit as a young puppy. If you have a pointing dog, work on having him stand proudly (not sitting) any time he is handled. This will also help your vet when your dog is in for a visit!
- Recognize your dog’s strengths and his weaknesses. Build on his strengths and help him overcome his weakness. If your dog constantly gets the wiggles, work to have him stand or sit calmly before interacting with him. If your dog has a short attention span, continually work to build his ability to be attentive.
- Respect your dog as the magnificent canine that he is. Don’t handicap him by applying human traits to his behavior.
- Build your dog’s mental problem-solving skills. This will not only get him in a learning frame of mind, but will also help him feel less stress when encountering new situations and problems. This can be achieved with daily training and interaction and/or using an agility course to challenge your dog.
- Reward behavior with positive reinforcement, but make sure to not give reward that causes your dog to do the opposite of what you just asked. If you have asked your dog to sit or stand do not reward their compliance by petting that causes them to move and bounce out of position.
- Dogs are masters at communicating with body language. Dogs do not communicate using the English language. Communicate with them using their language, not yours.
- Dogs are pack animals by nature. Be the pack leader your dog needs by always remaining calm, fair, consistent, and being subtle in your interactions.
- Do not allow your dog to jump on you. Dogs recognize this as alpha behavior, and it changes the relationship you have with your dog.
- E-collars are a great way to communicate cues with your dog. Teach the desired behavior first then overlay a low remote cue of the e-collar to your dog’s perfected behavior. An e-collar allows you to maintain low level cues and keep track of your dog at the same time. Your dog needs to understand basic commands before being collar conditioned. If you’re unfamiliar with e-collars contact a professional trainer (like Ronnie Smith) to set up lessons or learn more.
- Keep training sessions short and always end on a positive note! A training session often doesn’t need to be more than 15 minutes. Make a little progress, ensure that your dog is in a positive state of mind, and end the session. These short sessions can be repeated multiple times a day.Ronnie Smith
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