Training Your Hunting Dog

Whatever the breed of dog you have, you'll find that training him is a challenging, yet rewarding experience. The challenge lies in training your dog well, and the reward is that he becomes your best friend who will love you unconditionally. No matter what your dog's job is, whether he's your hunting or working partner, or just your buddy, a well-trained dog is a thing to be proud of.

Properly training your dog takes patience but, it also takes praise! When your dog does something that isn't acceptable, then you must be patient and when he displays acceptable behavior, you should be liberal with your praise. Remember, you took on the responsibility of training your dog from the minute you selected him and decided to bring him home!

Alpha

Dogs are by nature pack animals. The “Alpha dog” is the leader of the pack. In order to get your dog to obey your commands, you must convince him that you are the alpha dog. You may think that you're being cruel, mean, or harsh, but your dog doesn't think so. He wants to follow a strong leader. He needs guidance to be able to understand what behaviors are acceptable, and what are not. Humans naturally lead by instinct, which is why dogs and humans have been able to coexist for thousands of years. If you have more than one dog, they will establish their own heirarchy amongst them. The important thing is that they know that you and your human family members come first.

Become the alpha dog by demanding your dog's full attention and giving firm commands. Always stay calm and in control. Be consistent with your command words so that everyone in your family uses the same ones. Use the leash as a tool to tell your dog that you mean what you say. Set boundaries that he cannot cross and make his limitations clear to him. Use noises such as claps and loud vocalizations to get his attention, but never yell in an angry tone. Above all, give plenty of praise and reward when he does the right thing. Positive reinforcement is the best way to get your dog to obey your commands and earn your trust.

Crate Training

As the owner of a brand new puppy, your first goal is to house train them. This will usually entail the use of a crate – especially given that this is one of the quickest and most effective methods. You might see it is inhumane to lock your pup into a crate, but the reality is that allowing your puppy to run free without supervision is potentially more damaging to your dog over time. Even if you use a crate, it's important that you ensure that your dog gets plenty of play time, socialization and that you allow sufficient time for his bathroom needs. Crating your puppy while you are not home, or when you are getting ready to call it a day will help him understand that this is his den.

Obedience Training

After you've established that you're in charge, the next two commands to teach him are “sit” and “heel”. The sit command forces your dog to pay attention to you. It's also very useful for making him stay in one place or for teaching him not to jump up. The heel command teaches your dog how to walk with you properly – human first, dog second. Once these are perfected, all other commands like “stay” and “come” will be much easier for both of you. Off-lead training comes after you've established a trusting bond. Your dog has to want to come to you, of course. Hunting dogs have to be off-lead in order to do their jobs well, so teaching your hunter the “come” command is critical.

Training for Hunting

If you have made a decision to train your dog to hunt, this training will typically begin around the time he is four or so months of age. Hunting dogs need to be acclimated to the sounds of guns, as well as trained to retrieve, point and other techniques that will be used in the field. Hunting breeds do many things instinctively so your task will be to reward them for appropriate behavior and correct as quickly as possible any inappropriate behavior. You can have a lot of fun with your retriever teaching them proper fetching and helping them learn to swim. In fact, it should be as much fun for you as it is for your dog!

Whatever commands you decide to teach your dog are up to you. But remember that as long as you do it with patience, praise, and positive reinforcement, he will learn. He has a natural desire to please you because you've established yourself as the alpha dog.
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