Thunder
Meet Thunder, a 15-month-old pup who will be with me for 4 weeks of training. Her owner has already laid the groundwork, so my job over the next month will be to enhance her skills and work her towards the goal of being ready for field tests and picking up during the season.
Day 1
Pack Drive
Creating that intial Pack Drive is so important before you start any form of training.
Patience
Thunder has very low excitment threshold, meaning she gets over excited and bored very quickly when asked to just sit and wait.
Nice Retrieves
Thunders Retrieves are pretty good but again she can get excited when she picks the dummy. This means her play drive goes up and her willingness to bring it back (Pack Drive) goes down.
Day 2
Cato Board
Starting the day off with some patience work and positioning work using the Cato Board
Increasing Thunders Patience with the Dummy
Thunder gets worked up too quickly and starts to retrieve the dummy before she should. This behaviour reinforces itself, and we need to stop it from becoming a habit. We can't let her keep practising this behaviour.
Day 3
Building a better Cast
Thunder works on your movement, she moves the moment you go to cast out her rather than waiting for the command back. Practicing this exercise however has its down side as it can and did reduce her drive so there has to be a balance.
Exercise to Practice
To keep a dog focused, alert and steady I use this exercise, it may look like I am acting like an idiot but it can be very effective when a dog works on your movement rather than command.
Day 4
Ehancing Thunders Whistle Work
Utilising both whistle and verbal cues is important in any training, but it is especially important in gundog training.
Starting the Multiple Retrieves
We have been steadily training Thunder towards retrieving multiple dummies. Just a few days ago, she instinctively went for the last dummy she saw being thrown. But today, she nailed it and retrieved the one I directed her towards.
Day 5
Today we have continued with building Thunders Drive and Impulse Control around the Dummies.
Day 7
Wanted to delve deeply into Thunder's disengagement today and her drop in drive to see what I can use to increase that drive.
Day 8
Continuing to Build Drive
So we introduced Thunder to Feather today but it did not go that well but we did see an increase in her drive
Medium Drive
Thunder is never going to be a high drive dog but if we work hard to maintain this current drive she will she will continue to be a medium drive.
Day 9
Non Negotiable
I have to make the retrieve Non Negotiable, so a little bit of creative thinking and we have seen a massive difference today
Keeping the Retrieves Interesting
Thunders Drive only dropped a few times today so we where able to really push forward a challenge her with some nice interesting retreives
Day 11
Tidying Up the Commands
In the coming weeks, it's really important that we focus on tidying up Thunder's commands. .
Still Working On the Stop
We are still practising Thunder's stop whistle, using it whenever we can to ensure it becomes really solid and ingrained.
Day 12
It's the consistency of the drive that we have been looking for in Thunder, and today we have finally achieved it.
Day 15
Slow and steady wins the race as they say, and that's exactly where we are with Thunder. I don't mind slow, and I certainly don't mind steady, as long as she is doing what I have asked her to do.
Day 16
Nice Drive
Got some lovely consistent drive from Thunder today.
Building Her Up
I know I talk to her a lot, boosting her confidence, and it works. That's what it's all about.
Last Week With Thunder
Bringing the Reinforcement Back
Today was the right day to bring the reinforcment back into our Training with Thunder...
from Another Angle
Its always difficult to film yourself working with a dog but here we show it all from a different angle....
Update on Thunder
The last few days have been a wash out with the weather but we have contined to do the work with Thunder regardless...
Moving On
Its not a problem when her drive drops as we can use a game that encourages her to build the drive back up again
Thunder Has Gone Home
So Thunder has gone home, I was very pleased with the transfer. I am going to miss her but I know that she is going to move forward now and can't wait to see what the future holds for this little girl.
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The World Of Gundogs
Explore the fascinating world of gundogs, where each breed holds a rich history and a dedicated purpose. This book isn't just another gundog training manual; it's a gateway to understanding breeds that have stood by us both in the field and at home for centuries. It makes a heartfelt plea to preserve these unique breeds, whose traits and behaviours are treasures of a bygone era.
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