How can your sporting dog earn
a new title in half the time? By entering hunting
tests if it already has an obedience title or
obedience if it already has a hunting title.
Putting old lessons to work in a new arena often
enhances a dog’s skills and attitude. The
result is a better performance in the original
sport, with the new title as a bonus.
Field and obedience training
make a perfect match, according to pointing breed
hunting test and field trial judge Jack Sharkey
of Alexandria, owner-handler of the Vizsla,
NFC/DC/AFC Hodag’s Hunter, UDX, MH.
"What impresses judges in the field is a dog
that’s enthusiastic yet under control, needs
minimum handling and is steady on its bird
work," Sharkey explains.
He says an obedience-titled dog
has a head start in pointing breed field training
because it already obeys commands, handles kindly
(willingly), takes directions and knows the
difference between work and play. For example,
sometimes a pointing dog can’t resist the
temptation to interfere with its bracemate during
a Junior Hunting Test, but an obedience trained
dog has already learned to leave other dogs alone
while working. An obedience dog has also learned
to come when called, which is scored as part of
trainability at hunting tests.
When preparing for advanced
level hunting tests, the steadiness an obedience
dog has perfected on the standstay, and its
retrieving ability, could cut training time in
half.
When making the transition
between obedience practice and field work,
Sharkey always changes his dog’s collar. He
says the dog never becomes confused because it
wears a different collar for every activity
(everyday wear, field, obedience and show), and
he always takes the time to put the appropriate
collar on the dog, even for a five-minute review.
While yard work (training the
dog to respond to commands at home, before
applying the training in the field) is the
traditional way to give field dogs their basic
obedience lessons, Sharkey prefers taking his
dogs to obedience school because it’s good
socialization and conditions them to work away
from home and in the company of other dogs. The
classes also improved his handling. "The
instructor called my attention to mistakes I
didn’t realize I was making," he says.
Sharkey believes the benefits
of entwined training are mutual because a
field-trained dog also has a head start when
preparing for the obedience ring. "Dogs with
advanced hunting test titles work with intensity
and drive," he says. "Yet they are
under their handler’s control at all times
and have learned to remain steady, despite the
ultimate distraction of game birds. To me,
that’s obedience training at its highest
form."
Adjusting Retriever Attitudes
Sometimes obedience training is
more than a helpful second hobby. In fact, it can
be essential to a dog’s field career.
Hunting tests simulate actual hunting situations,
and since no hunter can bag their limit while
struggling with an uncontrollable dog,
trainability is one of the attributes evaluated
in the tests.
Fred Riley of Brandon, Miss.,
one of three retriever test judges invited to
judge the 1995 Master National, trained and
handled his own Labrador Retrievers to the MH
title without ever attending an obedience class.
But recently, after judging a Senior Hunting
test, Riley took a handler aside and suggested he
train his dogs in basic obedience before
returning to the field.
The handler had two dogs, and
both were so out of control that they reached the
line 30 feet ahead of him instead of
"walking tractably at heel, off lead, "
as called for at the Senior level. Consequently,
their trainability scores suffered even though
they exhibited tremendous drive and outstanding
marking ability.
"Some retrievers have such
a strong will that they do the work for
themselves, but to pass hunting tests they have
to learn to hunt for the handler," Riley
says. "Both of those dogs were over 2 years
old. If their owner doesn’t start over with
basic obedience or hire a professional trainer,
they will remain out of control and their natural talents
will never be utilized."
On the other hand, if your
retriever is becoming bored in the obedience
ring, field training may put the sparkle back
into its performance. Heeling, retrieving, scent
articles, the signal exercise, directed jumping,
the directed retrieve and the group exercises all
correlate to field work.
Of course, you’ll still
have to introduce the dog to game birds and
retrain a little. For example, while your
competitive obedience dog keeps its eyes on you
while heeling, a more casual heeling style is
appropriate for field work. It’s best if your
retriever walks to the line beside you, but is
attentive to its surroundings. This is easily
accomplished by using a different collar and a
different command—one that will come to mean
"walk with me," instead of
"heel."
Proximity to game birds and the
great outdoors will challenge your dog’s
ability to withstand distractions, so expect some
mistakes at first. Be prepared to reteach (not
correct) commands you honestly believed your dog
already knew, and to proof in a variety of
terrain.
Helping your dog apply its
obedience training to the work it was originally
bred for could be a challenging and rewarding
adventure. The result might be a hunting test
title, and it will certainly be a more upbeat
obedience dog.