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I grabbed this right away.
"Teach your dog how to control it self in high excitement/high adrenaline situations".
I suspect that being on top of obedience is the answer but there has to be more ideas out there. Hard to get more exposure to the line except at the line and those times are not conducive to training. Many of us don't have bird boys or even spouses that can help out so what really is the answer?
If you hunt take a buddy, have him shoot and you just work on controlling your dog it does get much more exciting than that!
Do that all the time and still the difference is at the test. Even take my other lab and make them share peacefully. Last week two shooters and lots of ducks and no problem. Good pup now 27 months old and 1 pass away from MH. When she is on, Yahoo!! Other times I look like a fool, just a prop on the line.
I am convinced with the previous dogs I have had, that I introduced to much to fast.
I think excitement should be introduced gradually, and when that dog is in a situation where excitement is higher than what the dog is use to,, YOU have to be more criticle of very subtle movements that dog makes.
You also have to be very consistent with the correction..
I was,, and still am,, very bad with this.. Its very hard to have the discipline as the handler.. Ya just want to pull the trigger and let the dog roll.:)
Bring excitement on gradually... and make sure standards are held very high with each progression.
Goosers opinion....... beware :):)
Gooser
I would NOT take a high drive dog out to the field,, and let mutiple shots ,,Calls,, birds fallin all around him,, as the way to introduce... Even IF you are holding the leash...
bring alll this on slowly..
Gooser's advice is well noted but if you already have a MH level dog then it should already be conditioned to excitement if you can keep them steady during a duck hunt they are pretty steady but as the old saying goes practice makes perfect
No expert, but I do see and handle 25 dogs per day and have found that the key is always my own level of excitement. It is easy to get caught up in the energy level of the dog and for our blood pressure to rise as a result - also for the dog to feel the excitement/stress/nervousness that we are feeling. I wonder if your own excitement level is higher - like a version of stage fright, when you're walking to the line at a trial. If so, it would be harder for you to reflect a calmness for the dog, making him and you all the more amped.
The dogs I handle are excited for two reasons: 1. about to go through a door to a giant play yard with other dogs. 2. To see their owner when getting picked up. Not the same as a trial I know, but what I've learned from handling so many dogs in this situation so many times a day is that when I'm really present in my mind and calm, the dog notices and does what I want without a lot of jerking on the leash or jumping around. If I'm in a hurry and stressed out, the dogs know this, too and about rip my arm off. Over the last few years, I've taught myself to channel the calm and it works.
Just my own little corner of the world observation,
Jen
Jennifer, You are right, it isn't the same as a trial or hunt test but it does have it's similarities.Quote:
Not the same as a trial I know, but what I've learned from handling so many dogs in this situation so many times a day is that when I'm really present in my mind and calm, the dog notices and does what I want without a lot of jerking on the leash or jumping around
So many times I have seen a handler bringing a high dog to the line. The dog is high, the handler gets high, the dog sees that and get's higher, the handler gets even higher and it has become one vicious cycle. Later the handler blames everything on the dog. I've had excited handlers telling me, with spit flying, it's all the dog's fault for not keeping it together on the line. A calm, cool, deliberate, handler could have kept some of these dogs observant, paying attention, and working. The dogs will take their cue from how the handler acts. The handler escalates, the dog escalates, it's one vicious cycle, break it by being calm, quiet and deliberate.
So, to sum up the important points from previous posts:
1) introduce excitement levels slowly.
2) Pay strict attention and require good/correct behavior even in the face of excitement.
3) Remain calm, slow and deliberate, even when the dog begins to get excited/agitated.
Number 3 takes some self contol. It is beneficial to have an observer to say "calm, quiet voice", "Slow Down", "Make him Heal", etc.
All dogs have a limit of control at any given point in time...As the excitement level grows so the control begins to diminish...Dogs have to learn to control themselves at very excitable times ...The handler has to stay calm as mentioned but the dog has to learn to handle themselves in those moments...Look at guard or protection dogs , police K9 units in hunt mode...the dog is in high drive mode but under control...responding to commands given only once and very fast....The trainer has to take the dog to those excitable limits by what ever method will work and then teach the proper behavior...Too harsh a correction or too much pressure will crush the dogs spirit and desire to go there ( excitable state ) again ....It is easier to take out of a dog than it is to put in or back in once beat down .....Steve S
I'm taking notes....I have had this problem at recent hunt test. It's rather embarrassing to have my dog beat me to the line.