Sat morning with TY

[Jay-Bird]

I recieved alot of great feedback from posting the videos and it was all very much appreciated and am glad to say all the issues/problems were with me and not TY. It really got me thinking maybe my videos and your feedback followed up by my correcting the issues could help/benifit other young trainers.

I posted yesterdays videos on this forum and 2 others (RTF and CHDF)

Here is what i was picked up on;
1)I was rushing him in between retrieves
2) I wasn't looking at where he was looking when i dropped my hand and "released" him.
3) My marks were far to tight
4)I wasn't looking at him as i threw the marks to make sure he was looking
5) Everyone will have different views on this one but from now on I will release him on "TY" for marks and pile work and "Back" for blinds.
6)A neat one that was passed on is that i dont think im going to release him from the blind, i dont want it to be a launch pad, he can see better from the heel, and my blind will last longer...
Heres this morning with me working on my issues. My pup is a Rockstar and we have way to much fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k37DEEyMurQ

[Breck]

For most the hand in is a cue for good keep lookin right there not a tool to line the dog. So work your dog and get him to look where you want, good, sit, hand in, wait to be sure still locked in n looking, send. Keep hand a little higher 6 8 in above nose. Hold hand still when you send.

[dtrkyman]

I love the way he backs into heel, he is tight on the heel as well, nicely done.

[Wayne Nutt]

The proper way to line a dog up is with your feet. It looks like your dog is a left sided only. So HEEL would be a signal to move to the left (Note L in heel) and HERE would be the command for the dog to move to the right (note the R in here). Don't push the dog over with your feet. The hand down is just a confirmation that he is looking in the correct direction.

Put a short lead on your dog. When you say "here" step back and pull on the lead. When you say "heel" step forward a little. During these steps you can pat your leg to get the dog to move with you. Try to get him to do this with just his front moving with his butt on the ground.

So the way to line up a dog is by moving your feet and shuffling your dogs body into the correct position. When he looks in the correct direction you can also say "good" as Breck noted. After he learns this process you can use more subtle movements to accomplish the same thing.

I couldn't hear if you gave your dog any cues. I always say "mark" as a cue for him to look into the sky for something. I say "dead bird" for a cue for a blind.

When practicing at this point in the dogs learning process I would have the dog outside the mutt hut and in a sitting position. For a young dog he needs to get as much depth perception as possible on marks. Later when he is more experienced you can launch with him in the hut.

I would strongly suggest you order Mike Lardy's Volume I of his bundled Retriever Journal article. It is only $25 per volume. He explains the above drill and much more.

[KwickLabs]

When practicing at this point in the dogs learning process I would have the dog outside the mutt hut and in a sitting position.

I agree with Wayne on this suggestion. You've done an excellent job of making an expectation out of the dog hide. Being steady has been enhanced by this effort and he clearly understands. I like to imprint concepts with my pups early on, but sometimes they may not be re-introduced until later on. I don't continue to mark my young pups out of the hide. This is something to revisit later for hunting maintenance and/or responsiveness infusions.

There are physical disadvantages to marking skill development when running out of a hide. First of all, his marking of any fall is altered (memory/angle) when coming to heel. And secondly, there is a better "look" at marks when sitting up tall.