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Field Trial Dog Life Part 2

13K views 41 replies 23 participants last post by  Jennifer Henion 
#1 ·
The Field Trial Dog Life thread got me thinking and raised a question. I have never used a trainer / pro but my question is....how much time (daily) do pros spend with each dog on their truck in training? I am just curious how that time spent correlates with the time I spend on daily training with my dog.

Thanks

GW
 
#3 · (Edited)
The only correct answer you'll get here is the RTF time honored "it depends." Seriously you would have to ask your prospective pro.

I had my dog with a pro for a few months and the man worked his tail off. He had a large number of dogs in training but he would typically get in 3 set ups per day. Now, how many minutes of actual training per day was that per dog? Not a lot, but the results were great.

EDIT: This was hunt test training BTW. I don't know how much the answer would vary for field trial training. I know some of the field trial set ups would take a lot longer to run due to greater distances, longer swims, etc., but I don't know whether or not they would typically get 3 set ups in per day or not. It really doesn't matter as long as the dog progresses, is well exercised and well cared for IMO.
 
#4 ·
I started thinking about my question last night and had only read up to about post 30 on the original thread. After reading the rest of the thread I can see how some may take this as stirring the pot. That really is not my intention. I have a four month old pup from a FT breeding that I am considering sending to a trainer vs training myself. I have trained multiple dogs but not to FT levels and I know that I would be potentially holding him back. With three kids and a wife, he is a family member and gets way too much attention.

I am sincerely curious as to how much time daily a trainer spends with each dog.
 
#6 ·
I started thinking about my question last night and had only read up to about post 30 on the original thread. After reading the rest of the thread I can see how some may take this as stirring the pot. That really is not my intention. I have a four month old pup from a FT breeding that I am considering sending to a trainer vs training myself. I have trained multiple dogs but not to FT levels and I know that I would be potentially holding him back. With three kids and a wife, he is a family member and gets way too much attention.

I am sincerely curious as to how much time daily a trainer spends with each dog.
I to am very curious, not because I can afford a pro, but just in comparison. I know I have spent way longer on training my pup then a pro would have to, I get that.
Just curious how much time it takes to achieve their goals with the dogs, cuz I certainly know how many hours I feel Ive spent trying to figgur my training problems out.

Sent from my iPad using Forum Runner
 
#5 · (Edited)
It's not about the quantity, it's about the quality.

My dogs get about 3 solid setups a day with my Pro, but it also depends on many other factors just how much "personal" attention they get - my young one going through basics gets more because he gets yard work too.

When my dogs are home, we are lucky to get in a set of marks and blinds 3-4 times a week. And very, very lucky to get live birds (that will change as we have moved to new property which we can train and shoot birds on).

Edit: My dogs love my Pro, even my retired guy when we go up to train, he always tries to sneak over and say "Hi" to her and attempts to get ear scratchings. Plus he will want to run into her airing yard and check things out, he will even check out his old run, but of course I get ready to leave and he is hot on my tail (he is a Momma's boy after all). But all my dogs love being with my Pro - they like the routine, they like the training, they like her. I have no worries that my dogs aren't well cared for.
 
#28 ·
It's not about the quantity, it's about the quality.

My dogs get about 3 solid setups a day with my Pro, but it also depends on many other factors just how much "personal" attention they get - my young one going through basics gets more because he gets yard work too.

When my dogs are home, we are lucky to get in a set of marks and blinds 3-4 times a week. And very, very lucky to get live birds (that will change as we have moved to new property which we can train and shoot birds on).

Edit: My dogs love my Pro, even my retired guy when we go up to train, he always tries to sneak over and say "Hi" to her and attempts to get ear scratchings. Plus he will want to run into her airing yard and check things out, he will even check out his old run, but of course I get ready to leave and he is hot on my tail (he is a Momma's boy after all). But all my dogs love being with my Pro - they like the routine, they like the training, they like her. I have no worries that my dogs aren't well cared for.
This is a major problem. Most of the time Am's don't have the grounds alone to get in the quality, much less the same quanity with life's events going on.
 
#7 ·
I just got my dog back from a pro. He loves it like a kid loves Disney World. Birds EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!

As for the time with each dog, probably not more than 15-30 minutes a day, or the amount of time that you would be spending on training every day if the dog was home. It's the different setups and grounds (particularly technical water), plus the experience and consistency that pros train with, that makes the difference. My dog probably got in 3 months this summer what I would have taken 6-9 months at least to do.
 
#9 ·
How would he know, he wasn't there. Probably aired 3-4 times, on and off the truck a few times, in and out of the kennel, etc. The same things dogs do anywhere. If your heart can't take knowing your dog isint sleeping on the couch all day long then maybe you should buy a mini horse. They are dogs, not children and they are very adaptable. I have a dog that has spent a total of about 9 months with a pro. If he could talk he would say its much more fun over there in Georgia. I get trained 5 days a week, 3 times a day and sleep the rest of the time. At my house he sleeps more and trains less.
 
#13 ·
How would he know, he wasn't there. Probably aired 3-4 times, on and off the truck a few times, in and out of the kennel, etc. The same things dogs do anywhere. If your heart can't take knowing your dog isint sleeping on the couch all day long then maybe you should buy a mini horse. They are dogs, not children and they are very adaptable. I have a dog that has spent a total of about 9 months with a pro. If he could talk he would say its much more fun over there in Georgia. I get trained 5 days a week, 3 times a day and sleep the rest of the time. At my house he sleeps more and trains less.

Is that what he would say? Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't. You sure as hell can't read his mind. Do mini-horses sleep on couches?

I'm not against sending a dog to a pro. I'm sending my dog to one. Work on your reading comp rather than making wise a$$ comments
 
#11 · (Edited)
What everyone else has said. It's the quality. Pros spend a lot of time doing the right thing.

Dogs sit around a lot between sessions but I think that's part of the learning experience. Too many dogs at home are doing things that are fun to them on their own. At the pros or even when we are training them their fun is training. Waiting between sessions makes the session more important to them, in my opinion. Many times it's a good idea to crate a dog for hours before you go to train. If you come home from work ready to train and the dog has been chasing squirrels or playing with the kids all day your planned force to pile session doesn't have much appeal.

You can do a lot on your own, but a dog has only so much energy and attention span so if you're doing multiple dogs or you're with a group it's one thing, one dog on your own you're both waiting between sessions. If you're traveling a distance to train it's very hard.

I agree that a pro can easily do 3-4 times as much as someone can on their own in the same time period.. They are also good at evaluating what a dog needs and where it is and how far it can go in training at the higher levels.
 
#12 ·
questions to ask yourself
can you train on very high quality land/water every day
does this training involve different quality land and water every day
do you have the help to throw a quad or triple every day
do you have the expertise to respond immediately to a problem - this means a whistle or nick as needed with precise timing
do you have a live bird shooter than can ride birds out and give a clean kill
do you have a bird thrower that can clear the skyline]
does you bird thrower know how to help a dog

just saying many things go into the equation
trog
 
#19 ·
Another thing you "get for free" using a Pro. Your dog knows how to be a dog. It knows how to interact with other dogs and maybe the most important to ignore other dogs going to the line and when on honor.

They get tied out and learn to relax in an exciting situation. They see drag back every day, a couple times a day.

And a lot of other things that you'd need 20 dogs to replicate.
 
#21 ·
Not to mention the opportunity to watch your pro run the other 19 dogs and ask a ton of questions about what he is doing and why. Plus having the other owners show up and let you pick their brains about certain things. It has been a great experience for me. I hope I can send my dog at least a couple more summers.
 
#20 ·
Was the original intent of the poster trying to juxtapose the amount of time dog is actually training with a pro to what the pro is charging? In which case these pros are making way to much money, except it doesn't work that way. If I were in the market the main things on my mind would be, assuming the dog has talent needed, what are my expectations for this dog. Do I have the time, resources, knowledge and temperament needed to get this dog where I want to go in a time frame acceptable to myself. If I decide that bringing a trainer into the mix will help me achieve my objective then there is a whole separate list of criteria and way way down the list is the actual time spent with my dog.
 
#22 ·
If a dog starts serious training at 6 months and runs until he is 8-9 years old and you send the dog away 6 months a year you are probably at least 3 years ahead in his training than if you did it yourself, unless you are retired and very serious. Maybe even more than that.

I realized that what I can do in about a month of evenings and weekends a pro can do in a little over a week. What I can do in a summer he can do in a month and a half.
 
#23 · (Edited)
I would guess the answer would be that the time per day devoted to each dog on the truck varies. Each dog progresses at a different rate so some need more time per day than others do. Today my son and I trained for about 2 hours with 5 dogs but we didn't devote 24 minutes to each dog.

You can spend 24/7 with your dog but it won't make him or her a FC.

Lonnie Spann
 
#24 ·
One thing not mentioned is time of yr and where pro is located. I'm in NC and don't go north due to working at "regular job" I work shift work and only work 14 days a month and half of those are nights so I still train everyday just somedays is mornings some days it evenings and some days all day. In the summer in NC I'm usually done by 9:30 because of the heat. In the sprng and fall I'll go all day on my off days and half a day on the days I work nights at the plant. Typical day for me when off and not 90 deg goes like this. Up and outside by 7am. I have dogs at all levels so I try to train in groups. young dogs first,OB FF FTP. Then it's off to the field for marks with everybody. Then I will do swimby before lunch if I have any there at the time. After lunch I usually FF again and some OB and then marks again. I usually finish up around 6 or 7 pm and clean kennels and feed. In the house by dark hopefully. All in all depending on level of dog I'll say 30 to 45min per dog,some more some less. The only time I feel like I'm not doing enough is when I'm working day shift and only have time to do a little OB before dark. After doing this for several yrs I have found my dogs respond better and seem to make the most progress following my day shift which is only 3 to 4 day at most and they have had a little break. Winter time is a little different and I have flood lights to FF and do OB in the evening after working days. I'm usually only working 8 to 10 dogs so I don't have the big load some have. Works for me and everybody is happy with their dogs.
 
#32 ·
Being a first time dog owner I just received my pup back from the trainer this week and couldn’t be happier with the progression the trainer has made with my pup. I think the most beneficial thing from his training was being able to use his own “fully” trained dogs to lead by example. Having a dog watch another dog do it the right way has to be one of the most better parts of training I’m sure of it. Another benefit would be the daily exposure to live birds. I live in the city and have no place to keep live birds, nor know what to do with them!
 
#35 ·
I'm not riled up about anything. I just don't see what the issue is. Find yourself a well respected pro that takes good care of the dogs and knows how to get through to them. If you trust the pro your mind will be eased I'm sure. The most important thing you and the dog can gain from the use of a pro is more knowledge for you and the dog. They can be spoiled again when they get home. FWIW I would never buy a dog and just stick it on a pros truck for good. My dogs are pets and hunting buddies first, competitive dogs second. I def agree with the quality of life deal when a dog is sent off for extreme periods of time. I'm sure they could stand a visit or two to home.
 
#36 ·
It is a pro's job to train your dog, and the time s/he spends with your dog will be doing that. The rest of the day, for the dog, is spent being a dog-waiting to train, airing, eating, sleeping. You should not expect that your dog will be your pro's "pet" while the dog is there-that is not what you are hiring the pro to do. Dogs do just fine in that environment. They have structure, they know what to expect, they get to work lots, every day, which they love. They are not people. They do not miss you like you miss them when they are gone, but they will be happy to see you when they get back :)
 
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