"BANG 101"

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Irishwhistler
Rank: Champion
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Location: LAB LAND

"BANG 101"

Post by Irishwhistler » Mon Aug 07, 2017 6:14 am

Aye Mates,
Time passes so quickly and that constant rate seems hastened when we observe the growth of a young puppy daily. So Miss ALLIE MAE is closing in on 16 weeks old and she is developing quite nicely as a wee gun dog prospect. All said, I told her owner Bill that we would be introducing ALLIE to gunfire conditioning tonight as we met for a training session. Bill looked at me like I had three heads and he said, "really, ye don't think it's too soon"? I stated to Bill, "trust me, I have done this before, a lot". Bill laughed nervously and said "I realize you have, but it seems so early". I agreed with him it was early (by design) and said "Bill, we are going to introduce gunfire very slowly, at a distance, and while ALLIE is occupied with something she really enjoys". Enter ALLIE'S Dad TRAD, the wee lass loves him and wants to chase and harass him every moment she can . TRAD will be me main assistant in the introduction of both the gun and water to his pup ALLIE MAE. TRAD and meself are co-conspiritors in the teaching of pups to love learning, becoming self-confident, working through cover, aquatics, recovering crippled birds, and the BANG of gunfire.

So I had Bill take ALLIE off lead and told him we would be going on a long "bolding walk", and that we would just let his pup follow in chase. ALLIE chased TRAD like a bobcat chasing a hare. ALLIE followed TRAD through switchgrass, corn lots, over walls, etc., etc. These "bolding walks" are awesome for building a pup that is self confident and that learns to problem solve. During the walk, I had a 209 primer revolver in me pocket and watching carefully to make certain she was fully focused on TRAD and that there was adequate distance betwixt the gun and the dogs at time of discharge, I would periodically fire a shot whilst watching ALLIE for any signs of aversion to the noise. ALLIE did flash a momentary glance in the direction of the shot source, but quickly went right back to badgering TRAD barely missing a beat. There were no signs of aversion such as a drop or tuck of her tail, flattening of her ears, or cowering for cover or running back to us in a timid manner. As the walk continued so too did the periodic bark of the revolver and ALLIE continued to pay decreasing attention to it - just like we wanted. I also had Bill walk ahead with ALLIE and instructed him to kneel down and feed her some treats whilst I remained a good distance back and fired some shots. The subliminal message being sent to ALLIE is that the report of the gun is a signal that good things are happening. Ultimately there will be a strong connection betwixt gunfire and retrieving birds, the latter being the ultimate reward for a fine gun dog recruit.

I had a grand time tonight as I watched Bill delighting at how well his K9 puppy partner handled the big, bad, bang o' the gun. T'is not that scary at all if properly introduced. Me pleasure in the process is doubled by the fact that ALLIE is the outstanding little pup o' me sire TRAD. So, Bill's fears were put to rest as he watched his pup gain lots of confidence tonight. Seems the confidence for Miss ALLIE was not the only building we did tonight. "Trust the ol' DOG WHISTLER me lad, I won't steer ye nor ye pup wrong. T'is slowly we go and we do it right". This process will take some time, but most worthwhile things do.

ALLIE has been introduced to birds (and loved them). We have started introduction to gunfire and we are off to a grand start, soon we will introduce ALLIE to water and her aquatics instructor TRAD will have her swimming like Michael Phelps in no time. I just love watching a young gun dog recruit develop and it thrills me to see the joy a pup's progress brings to their owner too.
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ALLIE MAE learning the fundamentals of obedience whilst training with THE DOG WHISTLER. Early lessons will serve as a solid foundation on which to build a truly fine gun dog that will become a well honed team with her owner / handler.

Cheers,
THE DOG WHISTLER
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greg jacobs
Rank: 5X Champion
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Location: selah washington

Re: "BANG 101"

Post by greg jacobs » Mon Aug 07, 2017 6:34 pm

Real close to how I do it. Always with my older dog never chasing birds. I start between 3 and 4 months. Some of them get a little spooky later on then you have to be more careful. My white one was fully conditioned by 3 months. I know it's not for everyone but it always works for me. I'm lucky to have a couple hundred quail around my place so they run into birds early
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