What Training Method is best for YOUR dog?

[achiro]

Your first post on this forum.

OK, Gauge is now 11 months old he is a Boykin Spaniel. I worked with him until he was 6 months and took him to a trainer for 4 months. He came home about 3 weeks ago. I feel that overall he is coming along nicely. His desire is good. His delivery to hand is exactly what I want. His marking skills are good (not great yet but with experience and continued training he will shine).
Now, his casting is where I have some concerns. He is what the trainer called sticking. I think that’s a fitting name for it.
The drill is done in this manner. Take the dog and a bumper along a straight path (75 yards). Command Gauge sit, watch, then toss the bumper at a tree near the end of the path. Gauge and I go back to the starting point and turn right to place a second bumper 90° to the first (again at the end of a nice path).
We retrace our steps and I lead Gauge half way back to the first bumper. Gauge sit. I back up to the starting point and recall Gauge. He starts toward me and I give one blast of the whistle for him to stop.
Then when he is looking at me I throw my hand up and command “back”. He will look behind him where the bumper is. Again, I command “back” as I take a step toward him and command “back”. It will always take 2-4 times to get him up and running. As soon as his butt is off the ground I give a small “good boy”. He gets more praise upon delivery. Then I walk out about 10 yards and command over to send him for the other bumper. Same thing, he will look in the right direction but it will take 2-4 times to get him up and running. I’m using lots of arm motion and even taking a step in the direction to try to make it clear.
The trainer says just keep doing what I am doing and he will get it. I’m afraid I’m teaching him that he doesn’t have to get up until I’ve told him 3 times.
Here is what I’ve been doing the last couple of weeks:
With Gauge at sit I walk about 5-10 yards out. I turn and face him and toss a bumper to 1st, 2nd, or 3rd base. Just one bumper for now. Then I command over (or back). He does better like this but only some days. My plan was to keep increasing the distance. I don’t know if this is a good practice but it’s all I could think of.
If you are familiar with Wild Rose Kennels, that is the method of training my trainer used. His training has not included any FF except for a little hold conditioning. I tried an e-collar years ago and failed miserably. This dog is so sensitive (typical for Boykins); I’m scared to try it especially having no experience.


I need suggestions.

Here's the thing. You say yourself in this post that you have no experience. 40 years of hunting over a dog does not give one experience in training. It's ok to not know, it's not ok to not know but keep telling yourself that you do. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is STFU and listen. It takes swallowing ones pride and that usually tastes terrible. There isn't a person on this site that gives advise without the dogs interest coming first. If you remember that it is about the dog it does make it a bit easier to take the beating yourself.
I'm going to say this and it's probably my last post on the topic. You said yourself that the dog is sensitive. IF that is true, the WORST thing in the world you can do to him is take a chance of adding any confusion. Then what do you do?
Simplified:
If you use a specific program and run into problems, people that know the program can easily help you through it.
If you hodgepodge it and run into problems, cures are much harder to find and usually require going back through the steps of a program so that you can then fix it.
Which do you think would be easier on the dog?

[huntinman]

Achiro, for some reason you are getting a little too wound up over this. I see your point, but I see the OPs as well. One thing I tend to notice a lot on this side of the forum is a whole lot of for certain advice given out by some who you find out later are getting ready to run their first hunt test or FT or whatever... Just because someone has years of experience on a keyboard doesn't always translate to to dog training. Not saying this is you..

[KwickLabs]

Many years ago, I was involved with training harness horses. About once a month, we received a truck load of oats from the local grainery which we stored in a large bin. Every so often, a small portion of those oats were poured down into a bucket past the strong "breeze" created by a fan.

[Wayne Nutt]

Kwiklabs, I must be dense. ????

[huntinman]

Processed oats

[road kill]

Processed oats

Processed by the horse????

[Gauge123]

“If you use a specific program and run into problems, people that know the program can easily help you through it.
If you hodgepodge it and run into problems, cures are much harder to find and usually require going back through the steps of a program so that you can then fix it.”
Now that is the indisputable risk.
I have to accept it or stick to one program, even if I think a step is wrong or done better by someone else. I do appreciate the input. I know that what I am doing is controversial. I also know that I could spend weeks defending my reasons for deviating and it still wouldn’t be enough.
Give me a young pup today and I would follow a program.
Gauge is a special case. I still feel that I have to think outside the box to get him where I want him to be.
I’m going to let this post rest now. Please accept my apologies for upsetting the harmony of the forum.

[Shawn White]

You aint guna get it done sitting in front of your computer...you've got a new program to discover and write.

[huntinman]

Processed by the horse????

That's what I'm thinkin'

[huntinman]

“If you use a specific program and run into problems, people that know the program can easily help you through it.
If you hodgepodge it and run into problems, cures are much harder to find and usually require going back through the steps of a program so that you can then fix it.”
Now that is the indisputable risk.
I have to accept it or stick to one program, even if I think a step is wrong or done better by someone else. I do appreciate the input. I know that what I am doing is controversial. I also know that I could spend weeks defending my reasons for deviating and it still wouldn’t be enough.
Give me a young pup today and I would follow a program.
Gauge is a special case. I still feel that I have to think outside the box to get him where I want him to be.
I’m going to let this post rest now. Please accept my apologies for upsetting the harmony of the forum.

Someone here once wrote a pretty good post using an analogy about a beehive. Seems you might have come along and shook the hive a little.. Good luck with your dog.