This is an interesting thread because so much of it sounds familiar to me. Basically kdzlaw is the owner of a new pet, has really fallen for it, knows that training it beyond her capapbility would be ideal, but just can’t imagine sending her sweet little pup away from home. Separation anxiety is a fear along with the concern that the pup might forget them and become attached to someone else, particularly if weeks turn into months of professional training.
I understand but I don't understand why the bond between the dog and the trainer is more important than the dog and the owner…. I guess it’s similar to sending kids to boarding school.
It’s just too much fun to come home from work to play with the pup to imagine sending it away. Sooooo, there has be another option to keep the dog close while still letting the pup grow up with some sort of deference to his stellar bloodline.
In recent months I went through all of the same emotions and training explorations. Got my pup, loved him, bought training videos, taught him many basic skills, read 2 training books, saw lots of potential in the little guy, talked over training options with many people, heard about as many saying DIY as professionally (“You wouldn’t let someone else train your child would you?,” I was asked) and had modest but hopeful hunting companion expectations for the eventual results just as kdzlaw.
No doubt the pro trainers here have heard this story many times.
So where am I now? My pup is 10 ½ months old and has been with a nearby trainer for 4 ½ months. I go see him as often as I’d like, work with him and trainers twice a week, and of late can bring him home for one or two-day weekends. The pup and I have an incredible bond, which if anything creates a minor training issue as it takes him a couple of minutes to calm down after I first see him before he accepts it’s time for him to work with me. Once past this, he performs extremely well.
She will be spending the rest of her life with us so we need to be able to continue the training, right? If she goes away to train then we don't know how to continue the training.
The obedience training methods my pup has learned are completely transferable between any handler. There are no unique voice commands the pup has to learn; no approach to doing things that only the trainer and the pup will know. Mostly it’s body language and a system that the trainer teaches me and all of the owners, something we all work on regularly. I can hand the leash to a child and have the child performing the basic obedience skills with the pup within minutes, and did so with a 10-year old girl just last week.
Top trainers have a gift of being able to see the nuances and mindset of a dog; they know when to push a dog and when to quit. They know to end a session on a positive note so the pup will be looking forward to more. They use the dog’s own desire to retrieve as a reward for doing good and are constantly looking to build up the pup’s confidence.
A pro can tell if a dog has been pushed too hard by someone else and how to correct the problems. They look at training a dog as a systematic process, with the most basic skills complimenting the more advanced ones through the weeks and months. They know the process, largely because they know the desired end product, and as a result, know the steps needed to get there.
I’ve seen dogs in our training group brought in with any number of problem issues and I’ve seen the trainer utilize some technique to correct the issues that left me amazed at how he knew to do such a thing. Clearly kdzlaw has her own life skills, but it’s unlikely that she has developed the approaches that most dogs in training will need over time that a top pro has accumulated.
And what will soon happen, kdzlaw, is that you’ll find yourself getting as excited in the process as you might find if you’ve ever custom built a house. The foundation is moderately exciting as at least you’re getting started, but once the framers show up and you see major changes every time you stop by, you’ll find yourself thrilled with the progress. Of course by the time the painters get there, you’ll wonder if they even came to work that day, but the fine tuning of a dog and the upkeep of a skill set are important.
You’ll soon take such pride in the progress of your pup that you’ll wonder how in the world you could have considered taking a short-cut approach. With just my bit of hindsight, I can see how his obedience skills carry directly over to his abilities in the field. I can see how FF, FTP, wagon wheel retrieves, working a “T” or double T, 250-300 yard marks, swim-bys, and honoring are there because of the systematic approaches that I would not have known or been able to personally teach. I have my own life each day, but each day I know my pup is building his skills and he’s ready to show them to me each time I slip out to see him.
The months and years that I have to look forward to with my pup are so promising as I know the foundation is in place. He’s still the sweet and loving pup he was when he was a little guy and still looks for a chance to sit in my lap at home—or even when driving down the road (he has a much better chance at the former); it’s just that I’ve seen the benefit of a top trainer and couldn’t be more pleased. How far I’d like to ultimately take this pup is up to me, but the whole process of getting my dog to where he is has been one of the most enjoyable things I’ve ever done, and I haven’t even gotten to the best part, which of course is enjoying my buddy in the field or blind.
Good luck, kdzlaw, with your decision process, but from having been in your shoes just a few months ago, if you reward yourself with a trainer, you have some great times headed your way.