Imo one of the most important bird dog commands

Foggy Mountain

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Ok guys I’m gonna say something no one talks about. The most important command. Here, whoa, fetch, hip, whatever you train your dog to do or how it’s done isn’t as important as having the dog take your direction.
Whoa for instance is easy, do is here, fetch, whatever. They have a reward, the bird, the retrieve, etc
What about heel? What’s the reward? There sorta is none. There’s def a negative response received if they don’t comply though.
You start a dog to heel, everyone should know they don’t pass your leg and when you stop they stop. When you turn they turn.
You start helping the dog and suddenly speed up than slow down perhaps. The dog is on a fast pace and oversteps. You know when you’re gonna stop, get ready to check em from passing you. This is mot a lift it’s a check, we need to keep it that way.
Now you walk n turn, dog isn’t gonna turn so as you turn you check him toward you.
Than speed up, slow down, check, check, check.
Suddenly you see that dog looking at you. Here’s trying to get direction, trying to read you. You think you’ve got his attn?
He is totally submitting to your direction but you’d be not taking any of the “dog” out of the dog.
You can heel dogs from bikes to, you both get exercise and he learns more heel as a constant. Every command should be constant. You wouldn’t say whoa-stay. I don’t teach sit, but sit-stay. That’s crazy. There needs to be a release from your commands, control. I use ok but it doesn’t matter what you use.
I’m only considering the way guys view/train dogs after another thread about unmanageable dogs, the lab thread actually. Guys there’s no lab isn’t pretty easy in comparison to other dogs. No one needs to be a rocket scientist to train dogs. Just try to use your head and think about what could happen and how things tie into the next.
 
You can also start training a head or ear tap at the same time you say release commands. In time just the tap will work. 4 dogs on point, you want one to move, fetch something you can tap just that ones head. Imagine if you said fetch, you’d have 4 birds now
 
Because it is a term that is used quite often in conversation, and you end up releasing your dog when you don’t intend to.
Idk I’ve never had a problem, guess I don’t use nor anyone I hunt with but use whatever works best in your situation.
 
So JLS mention some more things that you utilize. I’m only attempting to give fellas ideas for thought. Share yours. Someone will be reading that could possibly benefit
 
Be consistent across family members. I use the “back” command on blind retrieves. I’m walking with the boss the other day and she tells Finn “back” when he wasn’t heeling correctly. I’m like WTF are you doing and explained to her she shouldn’t use that.
 
Be consistent across family members. I use the “back” command on blind retrieves. I’m walking with the boss the other day and she tells Finn “back” when he wasn’t heeling correctly. I’m like WTF are you doing and explained to her she shouldn’t use that.

I did that.

I was promptly told that i take this all too seriously and that I'm too mean to the dogs.

Edit: Then she complains that the dogs don't listen to her.

Train your family first, then your dogs. That's my advice.
 
I trained a “halt” command and then overlaid that with a blast on the dual tone whistle (the trill side). This is the “hit the deck and stay there regardless of what you were doing” command.

It’s big in Germany and after using it, I have a huge appreciation for it. It’s the emergency brake.
 
Consistency is so important and I did my faor share of confusing my dog in the beginning. When we got our DD I asked the family to pick out a name. Nova is what they came up with. Sweet name, it took about 2 days of yelling No Nova No and I realized I was just confusing the chit out of her. Switched to her given name Ella lol should have saw that coming.

I use ok for my release and have also trained the beep from her training collar as the same command.

Recall - Come, come here, here. I floundered in inconsistency before get getting to a sharply said COME - good to go.

Retrieve- our retrieve command is me saying enthusiasticly - Go get it!

Place, sit, down, stay all pretty self explanatory.

I tried to go with some commands from books I've read or videos I've seen but for whatever reason struggled myself to be consistent. We've learned the commands together but the ones that stuck were the commands that would just come naturally and not something I was trying to replicate.

I know it all sounds really simple but I struggled with being consistent the first few months. In spite of myself we've figured it out together and she handles great now.
 
Not a master trainer, and have Airedales to boot. Stay close, come, "Aaa!" (like "at" sound, means quit doing whatever you're doing), work it....plus lots of good dog. Not gun dogs, but good hunters for what they want to hunt - if I can keep three terriers working on voice command, anybody should be able to cuz I ain't all that smart.
 
Not a master trainer, and have Airedales to boot. Stay close, come, "Aaa!" (like "at" sound, means quit doing whatever you're doing), work it....plus lots of good dog. Not gun dogs, but good hunters for what they want to hunt - if I can keep three terriers working on voice command, anybody should be able to cuz I ain't all that smart.
Have used the Aaa! with all of my labs, currently working with the 5 month old pup on this. Have also used the head tap to release when in the field.
I also use Leave It! for anything I don’t want them inspecting or picking up.
 
Yup. We use "drop"
I think you’re referring to drop for a release command in fetching not a release from a command. If a dog is at whoa, heel, hup whatever, drop is surely just a word like the rest but I’m thinking you mean drop the bird
 
I think the two most important commands are whoa and here. Followed immediately they can save your dog's life. Someone turned my old Hannah out of her kennel box years ago in St Helens, Ore. I didn't know it till I got home and went right back. Where she was turned loose was on Hwy 30, very busy Hwy. I saw her across the road from me getting ready to try to cross. Rolled down the window and calls "whoa" to her and she planted herself right there. Thank God for whoa. Here can have the same effect depending on what's happening!
 
A friend of ours has trained her German Shepard using commands in Mandarin. Her thinking was those words won't pop up in conversation and someone off the street wouldn't be able to guess the commands.
 
Don make no mistake I fully understand your point and def agree. Important in that circumstance for sure. I’m speaking in general to get the dog to begin looking to you for direction. Whoa won’t do that, here certainly won’t do that the way heel teaches them to look for you for direction. Other commands seem to follow easier. Imo also whoa is a really easy command to teach and can be taught/reinforced multiple times a day for years and years
 
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