Hold the Line

This episode is an outdoor ramble (verbally and physically!).... 

Here are some useful tips for moving onto marks and then blinds across water.

This is a slight bonanza of a wandering episode, where I waffle about prepping for our upcoming litter, woes around tick products, why it's a useful training opportunity to have a dog which is highly aroused... in your yard and how to train many dogs at once. It's a bit all over the place and it's got something for everyone. Sort of.

I talk about prioritising your enjoyment of the actual activity of working your dog in the field, separate to any achievements, goals or objectives. It's not about the destination, it's about the journey. I also talk about the importance of splitting your training and structuring your work with blinds. Be a lumper and not a splitter. Finally, we've moved our breeding from Roche (Weim) forwards and everything is a leetle beet manic, chez nous.... 

In this episode I waffle in response to a listener's question about using bird launchers and control at the flush of game.

This episode is an assortment of amazingly interesting things. It's like a box of Quality Street, only with a lot of The Purple Ones. 

A quah episode (question and answer)  about a dog who is under good control in training scenarios - but out of control, in trials. 

In this episode, I talk about the skill and concept which is 'lining'. I introduce my new course (creatively called 'Lining') - which you can get a discount on using code Lining30 

Why we need to ensure a split doesn't develop (hopefully this intrigues you enough to listen to more!)

This episode is not necessarily going to provide the structure some of you really want - because I don't think that's helpful, for puppies. But it will give you some broad pointers... 

This is a slightly jam-packed episode which leaps around various different subjects!

In this episode, I respond to an email from a listener about a dog which became worried about specific (unknown) elements of competition.

In this episode, I talk about feeding raw on a budget. And about the ethics and implications of selecting for dogs which experience verbal aversives as strong aversives. (Thereby circumventing the banning of certain 'tools'.)

In this episode, I waffle about trials as a form of assessment.

Roche just cut her foreleg on (we think) barbed wire. The quote for sedation and stitching was astronomical. I ramble about what is going on, systemically, and about various societal factors from poverty to capitalism in a failed attempt to make sense of any of this... 

In this episode, I talk about how to help dogs make the transition to picking up game.

How do you find a shoot? Is your dog ready to work on a shoot? What is required from them? What different kinds of shoots are there? What are the roles on a shoot? This is all things shoots 101. 

In this episode, I look at a recent research paper called 'Comparison of the Efficacy and Welfare of Different Training Methods in Stopping Chasing Behavior in Dogs' by Johnson & Wynne https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14182632

In this episode, I talk about why the best way forwards is for us all to advance together - instead of fostering division and us/them splitting.

I talk about how to stop mouthing or rolling of the dummy (it's the clicker retrieve again, this time the part of it called 'proofing the hold against food').

In this episode I answer a few listener questions and then waffle about why we need to keep shot unattached to a retrieve for as long as possible. Shot means 'sit'. Like the sit whistle means 'sit'.

In this episode, I focus on how to weave yourself and the environment together - rather than thinking about yourself as being in 'opposition' to the environment. All those juicy reinforcers out there are not a threat to your ongoing control of your dog. They are simply more reinforcers you can use to train your dog, with the caveat that they are in the environment instead of on your person.

I talk here about my experience with immunotherapy for Ren's extreme allergies. Whilst there seem to be so many people around with itchy dogs, it seems that not many have explored immunotherapy and there isn't much information about it out there.... 

I last spoke with Collette back in 2019, pre-Covid. Her life has changed in so many ways over the last 5 years, I wanted to catch up with her again and hear about her new ventures. If you want to connect with Collette, check out her websites midwalesholidays.com and completelygundogs.co.uk - and, if you're looking for a pup, her affix is Windlemoor.

I describe the way that one part of the Clicker Retrieve process ("Proofing the Hold Against Food") is a powerful tool for teaching a dog not to drop on exiting water. And I help a listener who wants to train both straight line blinds AND 'hunt it up' blinds.

Check out as well episodes:Episode 86 - getting focus from your dog outdoorsEpisode 78 - behavioural trilogy (part 3), the super-drive, hunting crazy dogEpisode 72 - behavioural trilogy (part 2), food motivation, allergies, body sensitivity and focusEpisode 58 - developing reinforcers before contact with gameEpisode 38 - puppy exercise and developing food motivationEpisode 37 - questions about transitioning the clicker retrieve to outdoors

This episode was inspired by the debate between Zak George and Denise Fenzi on Instagram recently. Check out their Stories there if you want to hear what they had to say in their own words.

In this episode, I answer a listener question about dogs trying to bring back multiple dummies. I also talk about the importance of having a rigorous training system which begins with the basics and doesn't just want to jump in with the sexy stuff... 

Did you know that HPRs in the UK are expected to handle? That means: To hold straight lines. To be cast left, right and back. Essentially, to 'be' Retrievers. Some of you might thing that sounds insane.... 

In this episode, I answer listener questions about in-a-row blinds, dealing with frustration in blinds and the use of aversives.

Check out episodes 16, 17 And take a look at my online course, Heel.

Episodes to check out are:30, 33, 34, 36, 41, 47, 48, 62, 64, 66, 85, 88Online courses covering blind retrieves are:Blind RetrievesRemote StopFirst Steps in 3HCTraining the T Drill

For more help on this one, check out episodes:82, 87See the Reliable Recall course, on my website forcefreegundog.comOr check out the chapter on the Reliable Recall in my book, Force-Free Gundog Training: The Fundamentals for Success, available from Amazons everywhere

Check out podcast episodes:57, 58, 78

For more help on this subject, see podcast episodes:8, 33, 78And online courses:Marking Focus and Attention

For more help on this subject, see podcast episodes:10, 11, 13, 14, 19, 23, 26For an online course, see the Clicker Retrieve course

For more help on this subject, see podcast episodes:5, 23, 49, 51, 57, 58, 62, 76, 87, 89And check out my online courses:Remote StopSteadyIn brief:Build an alternative reinforcerTeach the dog to recall off game before stopping/sittingTeach the dog to stop/sit to flushTeach the dog that access to the game is contingent on their response to you (if they respond, they may get it)Implement prevention (by itself this won't work without also teaching the dog what to do)

For more help on this subject, see podcast episodes:61, 85, 86 and 88For food motivation help, see episodes 54 and 72

In this episode I talk about Marking, as my new Marking course is now available! I also talk about some differences with blind retrieves when it comes to working vs competing with a dog.

In this episode I talk about:the future of gundog training and breeding in today's worldhard mouth - what causes it, what to do about it, whether you can assess for itswitching from the use of aversivesdaily routines

Answering many super-interesting listener questions :) 

I cover a few bits and pieces related not to training itself (how to train a specific behaviour) but how to conceive of various training-related issues in a broader way. Does that sound vague? Well, you'll just have to give it a go. PS I also cover water deliveries.

In this episode I waffle. About random questions I've been sent. Have a listen!

I talk about whether we should allow dogs free access to the environment or not and also chat about marking problems and lining skills.

I talk freely (extremely freely), about training a recall to flush before a sit to flush behaviour.

In this episode, I talk about how to get your dog to offer you focus and attention in distracting environments. 

I chat about the T-Drill and a few tricky corners to consider when training this drill. I also answer listener questions about accessing birds and what to do if your dog is distracted at a working test.

Listener questions about how to encourage a dog to hunt wider/more confidently; how to increase food motivation in a puppy; and how much retrieving is too much (physically).

Probs with cold game retrieves and a couple of questions about aversives

In this highly unusual episode(!), I waffle (because usually I don't, right?) about the clicker retrieve and recalls and long-lines.