Our goal is to develop a hunting companion which has the trust
and confidence in their handler to go out enthusiastically
for a retrieve without seeing anything fall; just because the
line was set and the retrieve/release command was given. That's
when all the hard work comes together … the natural game
finding ability achieved through genetics, the dog's intelligence
and the skills trained into the dog combined with the dog's
confidence in the handler that there is a retrieve to be made.
Successful blinds are mutual victories for both the dog and
the handler and the achievement will likely mark the pinnacle
of the overall training experience.
Let's briefly look at the four fundamental skill sets necessary
to run successful blinds:
1. Lining
A line is simply the dog's most direct route of travel to the bird. Holding
a line implies that the dog run a straight line to the fall despite influences
or distractions.
Primarily, lining skills are developed at Wildrose through
sight, trailing memories.
Initially, a barrier edge is used to provide support for the
young dog to run straight. You may incorporate a fence, field
road, ditch edge or wood line to encourage holding a straight
line.
As the young dog's lining confidence and skills improve, we
eliminate the "crutch" of the straight edge and begin
to incorporate various types of terrain.
Permanent blinds involve the dogs' running to a familiar location
where they have successfully found bumpers in training. Permanent
blinds are confidence builders and serve as a transitional
step to cold blinds.
Cold blinds, as the name implies, are blinds which are run
in new, unfamiliar locations. The locations may differ but
the sequences to line and release the dog are exactly repetitive
to previous exercises so confidence is transferred.
2. Handling
The retriever must respond well to whistle commands and cast effectively in
order that corrections may be made to the line if necessary. Dogs must reliably:
- Stop on the whistle promptly. A slow stop can put the dog
further out of line.
- Recall quickly under all conditions
- Hunt back toward the handler slowly searching for a fallen
bird. This is usually a different whistle signal than the
recall whistle.
Casting requires that the dog be able to drive deep, straight
back on command and that the dog take right and left casts
with accurate lines.
The dog must be conditioned to take and hold straight lines
given by hand signals until stopped or until bird scent is
discovered.
A dog that does not handle properly cannot be adjusted to
the correct line to the fallen bird, a vital requirement to
running successful blinds.
3. Hunting
The third necessary skill for effective blinds requires the dog to hunt the
fall area thoroughly. This is where nose counts.
What we want are effective gamefinders trained to hunt cover,
marsh or thickets on command after a whistle stop.
The dog's drive on the line is interrupted in the general
area of the fall. Wind direction must be factored.
The hunt command causes the dog to devour the area in a methodical
search for the bird. The dog should remain (or hold) in the
area, land or water, throughout the hunt unless otherwise directed.
The competent retriever should also possess the perseverance
to handle diving, wounded waterfowl and the skill to track
runners (birds injured making an escape) as is often the case.
4. Confidence
Finally, and equally important, is the dog's confidence in the handler, confidence
enough to go out with enthusiasm and accuracy on the line without even seeing
any indication that there is a bird to retrieve.
Blinds require the dog to trust that there is a bird down
and his hunting pal will help to locate his reward, the retrieve.
This level of confidence and trust is built slowly in training
through daily success.
Make haste slowly is always our rule. Never test the dog above
their limits. The dog's confidence in himself and his handler
is established through repetitive successes, not failure. Interdependence
is the relationship between the dog and the handler that must
be established to run blinds effectively in the field.
There is little else in dog training to equal the thrill of
your retriever picking their first blind on the hunt. So often
our retrievers do not see the birds go down. The dog's ability
to handle blinds may mean the difference in whether or not
the bird is recovered. The retriever's ability to pick those
unseen, fallen birds remain a very important aspect to the
dog's role as a gamefinder… to bring back the ones we
can't get.
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