Welcome to Jethro's Journey
Week One
Introducing Jethro
Jethro is in for 4 weeks foundational Gundog training and we will be going through everything from lead walking, on and off lead heel work, whistle control and retrieves .
Starting with the Lead Walking
It is always one of the first things I look at when I start training, that not to say we can always stop the dog pulling but we minimise the impact the presure of the pulling has on the dogs training sessions..
Day 2 with Jethro
Its all about the focus, getting Jethro to understand that I am the source of everything for him. The aim today was to start the process of getting him to be calm, relaxed and patient.
Focusing Jethro
There are a few drills that I will use to focus dogs in the early stages of the training. I like drills but I tend not to over do it as they can have the opposite effect when training. But Jethro did well today and I am pleased with his progress.
Day 3 with Jethro
Although we had to repeat the same process as yesterday to calm Jethro, but he did well today. We made some great progress with him on and off lead.
Off Lead with Jethro
Trusting a dog off lead can be challenging and nerve-wracking, even for an experienced trainer. Ultimately, I made a decision to trust Jethro off lead today after careful consideration of both his focus and the distractions.
Two very different sessions with Jethro
So I split today into two sessions which seemed to work for Jethro, this mornings session was at our training ground at Potterspury.
The Afternoon session with Jethro
This afternoons session was over at Cogenhoe, it was short (around an hour and a half) but very powerful and successful, he nailed it.
Day 5 with Jethro
Today was a day of dodging the rain; unfortunately, we had to cut the session short when the heavens opened. However, before that happened, Jethro truly impressed me with his remarkable abilities, despite his young age.
Week Two
Introducing The figure 8 lead
Jethro pulls on the lead, he is not to bad but his lead walking can be a little challenging. There is no pleasure in training or working a dog when as soon as you put them on lead they pull you arm of, so this had to change...
Moving forward with the Patience and Retrieves with Jethro
Jethro's patience has come a long way in just a week so we will continue to move that forward along with his Retrieves
Keeping Jethro Focused
The importance of patience and steadiness can never be understated.....
Focus and Send Back Drills
I saw some real moments of greatness today with Jethro but I have to keep reminding myself he is still very young.
Last Video until Saturday
Again today I saw some real moments of greatness so I want to give him a few days off the training to see what he has actually retained.
What did he Retain
After a few days rest to be honest I am pleased to see that Jethro has retained a lot of the information we have imputed over the las few weeks. Sit stay still needs a bit of work as he wants to be with you but everything else is pretty much where I want it to be at this stage.
Continuing distance work and Retrieves
Once Jethro had settled today I continued on with his distance sit on whistle and his retrieves.
Jethro has amazing natural marking and depth perception skills
When it comes to marking and depth perception then I don't think you can beat Jethro and he is just coming up to 7 months old..
Mixing up the Retrieves
Mixing up the retrieves keeps Jethro sharp and alert, at his age its still quite hard for him to concentrate for to long...
Week Three
Jethro has amazing natural marking and depth perception skills
When it comes to marking and depth perception then I don't think you can beat Jethro and he is just coming up to 7 months old..
Mixing up the Retrieves
Mixing up the retrieves keeps Jethro sharp and alert, at his age its still quite hard for him to concentrate for to long...
Swapping Retrieves
Swapping Retrieves is a common issue especially in young dogs and if not addressed early on can become a real problem as they get older..
Multiple Retrieves
Using the clock face drill we have started to introduce multiple marks and retrieves to Jethro..
Long Distance Retrieve
Having been working and training Gundogs for over 20yrs I seen some very good dogs but Jethro's memory marking and distance retrieves at his age is something else..
First time on Feather
If you are going to be working on the field at some poing you need to introduce them to feather. I personally use Pheasant Pelts from Sport Saint which are ideal for the first time on feather.
Continuing the LDR Work
I want to continue challenging Jethro's marking and long distance skills, but not to many as he is still young and I don't want him to just think all retrieves are at distance.
Week Four
Starting the Blind retrieves with Jethro
When it comes to marking and depth perception Jethro is doing really well. But today to keep things interesting for him we started a few blinds.
True Blinds
Not since I worked with Cyrus have I seen a dog so natural in thier ability at this age....
Distractions
In training you can set up distractions as part of the drills you are practising, however there is nothing better than natural and unexpected distractions....
Continuing with the Lead Walking
Everyone is different when it comes to lead walking which is why I do not do lead walking video's or workshops. For me its nurture rather than train the heel...
Continuing with the Casting
Casting a dog out for a blind retrieve is one of the most difficult drills to master. But there is a few hacks and techniques to help, one being the use of food...
This is what I call Trust
Sending your dog to go out of sight to hunt for the bird/dummy and retrieve it directly back to you!!! Yes that requires 100% commitment from your dog and trust from the handler....
Last Training Session with Jethro
So thats it, today was the last actual training session with Jethro as he goes home on Monday morning. I have had so much fun developing this little lad and I will be keeping a close eye on his progress...
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