Short, intentional and frequent sessions are the keys to summer training success
By Jordan Horak
As bird hunters, we’ve just passed the half-way point of the off-season. If you haven’t already, it’s time to start thinking about getting your dog ready for fall.
If you’re wondering what that means, it might be helpful to break it down into two categories —conditioning and training. These two main categories can make or break the start to your hunting season, and summer is a great time to get on top of both of them.
WATCH: PURINA Sporting Dog Shorts: Backyard Training Drills
Summer, no doubt, has plenty of distractions: fishing, yard projects, travel, youth sports … the list goes on. All those things can make it hard to give our bird dogs the work that they need. But with a little planning and intentionality, you can have your dog ready to go at first light of opening morning this fall.
Sound of Body and Mind
The physical condition of your dog is inextricably linked to their performance.
Dogs that are carrying a few extra pounds tire quickly in training and are not as mentally sharp as their fit counterparts, which means they will not benefit from training nearly as much as they could.
There are some terrific veterinarians connected with Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever and Purina. These folks have some excellent advice on keeping your hunting dog healthy and at a good weight. (There are some great health-related topics planned for this blog space in the future). I’d suggest following along with their advice.
Bottom line, off-season doesn’t have to mean out-of-shape season. Your training sessions will be so much more effective if conditioning isn’t a limiting factor.
A Practical Approach to Training
Now on to the fun stuff — training!
Over the years, I’ve found that the best predictor of success in almost everything in life is enjoyment. If you enjoy training your dog, you’re likely going to be successful in attaining the level of training you’re aiming for.
On the flip side, if you view training as a chore and a bother, it’s unlikely that you will be consistent with it, and even more unlikely that you’ll have your dog ready for fall.
Finding a way to make training enjoyable for you is crucial. Here are some factors that make training more enjoyable for me, and maybe they’ll help you as well.
Backyard Drills
If training sessions become a big production that involves travel, coordination with other people, securing birds, etc., they can become more of a burden than an enjoyable experience.
This doesn’t mean that I don’t travel, train with others, or use birds. But the bulk of my training happens at my home, without the big production.
Learning drills that you can do on your own time and in your own yard makes training more convenient and relaxing. It can also be extremely effective, and I for one find it extremely enjoyable to see a dog connect the dots and get better at something.
There are many skills that can be honed in a small space, and often, a small space is preferred because it helps isolate the skill being learned.
Short Sessions
It’s often hard to find a half-hour in our days, let alone an hour or more. The good news is that your training sessions can — and actually should — be short and sweet!
Often, my off-season sessions are 5 to 10 minutes in length, even with adult dogs. Multiple short sessions in a week lead to rapid improvement, but take up very little time, and keep me as a trainer engaged and having fun.
I frequently run into owners that claim to not have time to train their dog, and I suspect that often the underlying issue is that they’re anticipating long sessions. Keep your sessions short and to the point. Frequency over duration is much more effective and will keep you engaged and having fun as well.
Quantifiable Objective
Another factor that keeps training fun for me is having a small, quantifiable objective for each session.
Personally, I don’t find enjoyment in random drills with no purpose. Instead, I go into each session wanting to see progress with a specific behavior. Maybe it’s delivery, maybe it’s taking a cast, maybe it’s as simple as eye contact … but it needs to be something specific.
When I see what I’m looking for, I stop the session. There are not many things in life that are more rewarding than teaching a dog a new behavior and watching them eagerly repeat it.
What Should You be Training?
Now that you are enthusiastically looking forward to heading to the backyard for a training session, the next logical question should be what should you be training. That’s a hard question, and something you’re ultimately going to have to answer for yourself. Here are some thoughts to get you started on the right path.
Look for Weakness
Running too big? Poor retrieving? Running too close? Not getting into heavy cover? Noisy?
The list could go on and on. Those weaknesses would be a great place to start with your training this summer.
Of course, it’s tempting to go out in the yard and chuck a few dummies, pat your dog on the head, and go on with life. But your sessions will be much more productive if you address specific issues instead of taking a surface approach.
Problem Solving
Once I identify a weakness, it’s time to start getting creative with my drills.
I’ve found that most shortcomings that show up in the field can be addressed in a backyard if you use a little creativity.
An example of this would be a quartering pattern for an upland dog. While ultimately we may want that dog to run side-to-side in the field and take hand signals as necessary, we can start teaching this concept in the backyard simply by throwing bumpers out to the side and alternatively casting the dog back and forth (check out the short video clip toward the top of this post if you’d like a visual).
You may be trying to solve a different issue. No matter what, enjoy the opportunity to be creative. If your first attempt doesn’t work, be willing to pivot and try a different approach.
It would be great if there was one drill to correct all poor behaviors, but unfortunately it’s not that simple. Each dog and situation is unique, and yours may take more or less creativity than the next.
The Big Takeaway
Enjoy your summer! Get on the water, go to some games, have a party on your lawn … but not at the expense of your hunting buddy (the K9 one!). Your fall is going to be a lot more enjoyable if your bird dog is fit and working with you as a team from the moment you step into the field. Short, intentional, frequent sessions are the key. Good luck and enjoy the process!
Want to learn more? View the entire Sporting Dog Shorts catalogue of educational episodes HERE.
Jordan Horak is the owner of Cato Outdoors and Juggernaut Gundogs. He has had a life-long obsession with hunting dogs that goes back 30 years, and in that time he has trained countless gundogs as well as trial dogs for spaniel field trials. His most notable achievement was winning the Cocker National Open Championship and the Amateur Championship in the same year (2018) with two different dogs. While not currently running in field trials, Jordan spends the fall chasing pheasants in the Dakotas and grouse in in northern Wisconsin. In the off-season he enjoys developing young dogs.