TRAINING YOUR PUPPY WITH GUNDOG TRAINER AND CHUDLEYS AMBASSADOR HOWARD KIRBY
‘ Come ’, ‘ sit ’, and ‘ watch me ’
Regular indoor training sessions using the pup ’ s food can begin on day one . Put a piece of kibble between thumb and fore fingers , then put the food in front of his nose and lure him towards you gently stepping back into the hoop . Keep the food on his nose , otherwise he ’ ll lose it and get distracted , and gently lift the food hand over his head and as the little tyke sits feed him , perfect , the fun begins . Repeat this up to 10 times then finish and walk away .
This is just the beginning ; we can quickly build this into ‘ come ’, ‘ sit , ‘ watch / focus ’ and reward . If you ’ re proficient with the whistle , use it softly — blow a series of light pips as the puppy moves towards you ; as he sits , another very soft single pip . First time users of a whistle usually blow it too hard and sound like a demented canary — you will need to practise using it . Don ’ t be shy but keep the volume down . The more mini sessions you pack into the pup ’ s day , the quicker he will develop , building his focus on you .
‘ Stay there and watch me ’
Once we ’ ve got him rushing towards you parking his bum on the floor and looking up at you with real focus , we can build the ‘ sit / stay ’. Take the smallest step backwards with one foot and immediately bring it back to the edge of the hoop , rewarding the puppy for not moving .
It ’ s very important at this stage that we come back to him . We need him to understand that “ If I just sit here the fat bloke in the stupid hat will come back to me and give me a food reward — easy .” ( Obviously the ‘ fat bloke ’ is a reference to myself before you start a hate mail campaign ).
24 | Rural Life