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Field Training Your Dog Retrievers have a lot of natural instinct but left to their own devices they are retrieving for themselves and have a natural tendency to pick up and carry to their own lair or den. Often hunters who buy a retriever feel that they have bought a hunting dog and all that is required is to take the dog to the field and the instincts will do the rest. That is not how it works! Although I have had some dismal hunts with so-called hunting dogs where the owners claimed their "high-spirited", out of control dogs were running off steam I have never been disappointed, nor had a hunt ruined by a trained retriever. The characteristics are similar but the results are very different. You take a "high spirited" animal with a lot of desire to retrieve and you add control and teach and train the desired responses, the "do's and don'ts" if you like. Teaching the dog what is expected, what is allowed and what will not be tolerated results in a confident dependable hard working dog that gets the job done, is a pleasure to be around and is "socialized" for retrieving, handling and hunting etiquette for the benefit of the handler, other hunters, dogs and land owners. The results are consistent, efficient and a joy to watch. I have often likened the acquiring of a retriever to buying a dog with an empty tin can for a brain, what ever you put in that tin can is what you reap as a final result. Spend the time, form the bond/partnership and achieve what the dog is capable of being. There are many excuses for not spending the time, I have heard them all. "No time", "didn't want to break his spirit", "he is just a puppy", "he knows the basics", "has a lot of natural ability", "dogs should be allowed freedom and not constrained" but invariably these dogs are replaced by the owners who feel it is time to start a new dog, sometimes as soon as 3-4 years into their life because the owner tires of chasing, yelling or generally trying to keep up with the "untrained dog". Unfortunately it is rare that the replacement receives an adequate amount of training as well for the owners mindset is usually at fault, not the dog. Get started, start early and build a companion and partnership that can last for 10-13 years. It takes more work in the beginning but the results show for many years.
All rights reserved by Rob Schwartz & Whitewolf Ranching If you are sending gold, precious metals, diamonds or even cash money orders or checks they should be directed to : Rob Schwartz Whitewolf Ranching R. R. 7 Site 4 Box 22 Calgary Alberta Canada T2P 2G7
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