Hand signals?

[Duck]

I have a lab I use for duck hunting. After each duck is shot she retrieves them and returns them to my hand. The problem is i never trained her to response to hand signals when retrieving downed birds. The result, having to throw something close to the downed bird(unless she sees it drop). I sure would like to know some tips for training her the proper commands. Thanks in advance.

[gonehuntin']

It's a very involved deal. I suggest buying Fowl Dawgs one and two. They'll guide you through it very well.

[Duck]

Thanks. I should have her already trained. I've looked around for books but not sure which are good. Did see a couple of good clips on Youtube from fowl dawgs. Looks good.

[stetson82]

the richard wolters videos are good too a little old but good

[EvanG]

I have a lab I use for duck hunting. After each duck is shot she retrieves them and returns them to my hand. The problem is i never trained her to response to hand signals when retrieving downed birds. The result, having to throw something close to the downed bird(unless she sees it drop). I sure would like to know some tips for training her the proper commands. Thanks in advance.

Like any other skill set, handling is build from a basic level, and advanced in stages. There are two fundamental drills that are very closely related, and are the first two links in the Basic Handling chain; 3-handed casting, and Mini-T.

3-handed casting is done in very close quarters for ease of control and clarity of teaching. The dog is on a short length of rope or a check cord. There is only one bumper in each cast direction. The bumpers are white, but the diagram shows orange for visibility.



As you can see, the dog sits directly in front of the trainer only a few feet away, facing him. The "Back" bumper is only a few feet behind the dog, while the "Over" bumers are 12-15 feet to either side. I'm sure you may be wondering how a dog can learn to handle at practical distances from this little drill. They don't. This isn't where it ends. It's where it begins. How are we doing so far?

EvanG

[Duck]

Thanks EvanG! That will be my next plan of attack. I have her sitting on the whistle(while on lead) with little training. She is fast learning. Our duck season starts here this weeks. So she should be ready to go for next year...LOL

[Hooks and bullets]

You will find some videos way to complicated and in fact may take you a year to complete.
http://www.duckdogbasics.com is much easier to understand and is all you really need for
training a duck dog.

[dmadis8]

I used EvanG's videos and they are really good! Very through