John's Articles
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90 Days until Hunting Season
It is now July 1st. People are enjoying the warm weather, swimming, fishing, hiking, cook outs and going on vacation. The thing that seems light years away is getting Fido ready for the opening of bird season. Unfortunately, your dog needs more time to prepare for hunting season than two to four weeks, but every year we get the phone calls right before the opening of bird and duck hunting season… |
Bird Dogs Need Birds
Who wouldn’t want to hunt or own a well trained/experienced bird dog (pointer, flushing dog, or retriever)? With short seasons, inconstant weather, sporadic bird populations, work and family commitments, the possibility or probability of training our dogs on wild birds exclusively is next to impossible. The alternative is both effective and possible: pen raised birds. Homing or barn pigeons and bob white quail are tremendous tools in the making of a great bird dog… |
The Breeding of Dogs
The two common practices in dog breeding are outcross and line breeding. Many people with little knowledge about dog breeding will ask questions using the phrases pure bred, well bred, over bred, in bred, or line bred without knowing what these terms mean. This can lead to a lot of confusion. Many of the people asking these questions don’t understand the question they are asking, never mind the answer. Volumes have been written on the breeding of dogs, so it is impossible to cover every aspect in the contents of a single web article. However, I will try very briefly to explain what we do and what we do not do here at Kirby Mountain Sporting Dogs in order to give you an idea of what we are trying to produce… |
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Why All Dogs Aren’t Created Equal
Did you ever wonder why some of your friends’ dogs seem so smart and some of your friends’ dogs are not so smart? Is this because one friend is a great dog trainer and the other is a slouch? This could have much to do with it, however, several generations of breeding may have more to do with it than the abilities of your friends… |
E-Collars
Shock collar, E-collar, and electronic training collar are some of the names used for this piece of equipment. What it actually is, though, is a transmitter and a receiver attached to a dog’s neck area. It is designed as a device to stimulate, get attention or shock, if you will, a dog that is standing next to you or is 1 mile away… |
I Just Want . . .
“I just want…” What a mouthful. This article has been running around in my head for years. Over the past fifteen years as a professional dog trainer and breeder, I have heard this overly simplified statement hundreds of times. It sounds like a simple request but when you delve into what the person wants and expects it becomes extremely complex… |
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HUNTING SEASON - EARLY
With only a few days left before we get our faithful k-9 companions out in the field, there are still many things we should do. A complete physical is smart business and should be done every year. We want to make sure our dogs are sound in every way before hunting season starts. Make sure you have a stool sample analyzed as every dog can have parasites. Weight is another concern. If your dog has enjoyed too many summer cookouts it is time to trim him down. On the other hand if your dog has a high metabolism, increase the rations or go to a high protein formula of dog food in order to get him in condition for the upcoming season… |
HUNTING SEASON - LATE
Let’s hope by now you and your dog have been out hunting many days. You have worked out the minor glitches and things are running like a well-oiled machine. Or are they? You can still train your dog and hunt at the same time. I have hunted with friends with their dog and the dog makes a big mistake. I’ll say, “Are you going to correct that?” and they say, “Oh no, we’re not training now we’re hunting.” In the words of the great Delmar Smith, “YOU ARE ALWAYS TRAINING!”… |
New Year, New Dog
The winter might not seem a great time to add a canine companion to the family, but it’s actually an excellent time for the new pup!… |
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Obedience
In dog training when we think of obedience we think of a class at a gym or some other indoor facility. Typically, we think of going for an hour a week for 6 to 8 weeks and getting instruction both for the owner and the dog. After teaching that type of class for many years, my observation is as follows: If there were ten dogs in the class, 1 or 2 would be good to excellent, 5 or 6 would be acceptable and the others would be a mess. There are several factors that play into these results. Breeding, socialization, and breed of dog all contribute to the behavior of a dog; but the dogs that really win are the ones whose owner would practice, practice, and practice. The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary… |
Real Expectations
By now we have made it through the holiday season and are into the new year. The beginning of a new year or a new task is a great time to set goals or align expectations. This should include our expectations and our goals with our hunting companion as well. The trouble with training your dog to be a well behaved obedient companion dog or a well trained hunting companion is that in theory explanations are simple. In practice, however, it becomes more complicated and so most dogs are not trained and poor behavior is accepted and many times even expected… |
Training or Untraining Dogs:
Which Method Is Yours? One of the best known bird dog trainers ever is a man named Delmar Smith. He grew up and lives in Oklahoma and has literally trained thousands of dogs. His favorite saying that I always remember is, “You are always training your dog, good or bad.” Most people are of the belief, including me, that you can train your dog in 15 minutes a day. The only problem is that you cannot let the dog do as it pleases the other 23 ¾ hours of the day. This does not mean you are formally training all day long, but what it does mean is that during the rest of the day your commands (not requests) have to have consequences for the non-compliant dog… |
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The Trained Retrieve
Force break, force fetch, stick fetch are all terms used for what is called the trained retrieve. The trained retrieve is the process used to train your dog (be it pointing, flushing, or a retrieving breed) to be an unconditional retriever, in water or on land, whether the game is woodcock, grouse, pheasant, duck, or goose. An unconditional retriever retrieves 100 % of the time-end of story. The process is time consuming and often frustrating, and no matter what way you slice it or what term you call it, there is plenty of force involved. To understand this process you must first delve into the way the dog thinks as well as how the handler thinks… |
What Went Wrong?
Here we are half way through the small game, duck, and goose season and some of us are elated with our dog’s performance while others are frustrated and disgusted. However, after some serious consideration maybe these feelings should be directed at the lack of time and energy that the dog owner put into his dog’s development and training. The dog’s behavior is a result of training and, therefore, is the responsibility of the human… |
Why My Dog?
It’s a beautiful Sunday afternoon in the summer and you, your wife, two children and a new 5 month old pup are sitting on the front lawn. Coming by your house is a jogger, a person walking a dog, or a car that slows down at the end of your driveway. You blink and your pup is catapulted toward the ACTION. You call the pup, followed by unsuccessful screaming. The dog keeps going toward the road, is hit, and killed… |