BIRD DOG TRAINING

Your dog's formal training as a bird dog begins here. When you look at all of the skills a pointing dog needs to know they can be entirely simplified in to three basic skills.

These foundational skills are what we call our Core Behaviors:

• Go With You: This Core Behavior begins with a good loose lead heel, progressing to an off lead heel, and then to going with you at a distance in the hunting field. The mindset of Going With You is one of the early indicators of a dog joining up with you.

• Come To You: Every dog needs a solid recall, which is also the foundation for a good natural retrieve.

• Stand Still: The ultimate challenge for bird dogs is the Core Behavior of standing still, particularly in moments of excitement. This includes standing still on point, during a back, when standing beside his owner, at a gate/door, on the vet table, and a multitude of other situations. 

This 3-month class will teach your dog Core Behaviors, steady your dog on game and develop the fundamental skills every bird dog should know. During this class, we will teach dogs both an on and off-lead heel, teach them to work scent and be steady on game, work on handling, honoring, recall, loading, and basic manners to be a refined bird dog. At the end of the Basic Class these dogs have seen numerous birds and hunting scenarios every day of class and they are ready for the experience the world outside the classroom will give them. These are "green broke" dogs ready to begin a career! 

The first month of training works to develop behavior or conditioned responses to mechanical cues of a rope (ie: on lead heeling, on lead recall, whoa post, direction changes, etc). The second month progresses to transitioning those conditioned responses to the remote cue of an e-collar and begin the steadying process on birds. The third month puts the finishing polish on the dog and brings them to the cusp of learned behavior. This 90-day program teaches a dog all that he needs to know to be successful and mannerly in the bird field and in life in general. 

We implement our Challenge Course (agility obstacles) throughout the class as a way of quickly teaching dogs to listen to cues that are increasingly subtle and as a way of getting dogs to join up with us, becoming partners in action. The Challenge Course also gets dogs comfortable jumping on objects when asked and standing still (just like at your vet's office). By navigating these obstacles dogs also gain the benefit of increased balance and more awareness of where their feet are. Presenting dogs with challenges, such as the Challenge Course, helps to build their resiliency and ability to manage stressors in a positive way.

If your dog likes to retrieve, we will work to polish that natural retrieve and work on the dog's ability to hunt dead. Trained retrieve is not a part of this class. 

We do ask owners to come to our kennels to pick up their dogs at the end of training, instead of having them picked up or flown home. We will spend time going over the training and how to manage the dog for optimal behavior and performance. We guide the dog and owner through this transition as they begin to implement their new experiences in order to restructure their relationship for the better. This transition is critical for the dog's success.

If your dog has not had any prior bird and field exposure, the Field Introduction Class is a pre-requisite to enrolling in this class. Field Intro can typically take place during the two weeks prior to the beginning of the Basic Formal Training Class.

Generally, dogs are ready for this class at around a year of age. If you just received a new puppy now is a good time to sign up for his Basic Class next year!