Tue Oct 15, 2013 4:19 pm
Alright, how do you tell the difference between disinterested and bored? The dog comes back to you when you say whoa because that's what you taught it to do, you never made the dog stand still and stay there while you walked away. I wondered about teaching from the heel, just couldn't figure out how they could get away from the dog without the dog moving. Well DUH! Used to do some obedience training and I could leave my dog's on a long sit and on a long down. Finally occurred to me, standing there is nothing more than a simple position.I don't teach whoa at heel. Whichever method you use to teach whoa keep in mind that all your teaching the dog to do is stop and stand still. Ya need to read up on that.
Not pointing the birds. Could be a slow developer as was mentioned. Or you could have over done it. I'd put the dog on remote traps and put no pressure at all on the dog to point, in fact I wouldn't let it point. Dog get's anywhere near the bird, pop out the bird and let the dog do as it will. Timing on your part has to be right. To many people that use the remote traps, always give the dog another step or two to see if the dog will point on it's own. Tell me who cares if it does that early on? Certainly not me. If the dog want's to chase, let it but, you say right there till the dog come's back. Most dog's early on come back to the trap and smell the trap to see what it was. If you choose to check cord the dog into the bird, that's what Delmar did, no remote traps then, what the remote does is become the helper's hands. Now you can get to the bird and flush it while controlling your dog.
At your point now, I'd back off and start doing a bunch of happy timing with the dog. Do a bit of whoa work each day but don't drill the dog with it and don'y drag it out. You are never going to get your dog to stop and stand still away from you until you teach it to stop and still. Whoa for your dog, or so it sounds to me, means to come in and stand by you. Your dog is confused and you are confused, get a good book on training and a DVD about the same method by the same trainer. Ignore all else. Learn one way right before you start to experiment. You are going to have set backs, don't look for a different way o get what you want, learn the right way according to the book/DVD you have. Don't get Wolter's book!!!
I pity the man that has never been loved by a dog!