TIPS FOR TRAINING YOUR FLUSHING SPANIEL
© Ruth Tabaka, 1993, 1998, 1999
All rights reserved.
May not be copied, reprinted, republished, retransmitted, or distributed by any means, electronic or otherwise, without permission.

These tips are to help in preparing your dog for a WD or WDX and on to the A.K.C. Hunting Tests. It depends on his ability and performance in the field as to which award he earns. We do not pretend to teach field trialing. We DO want to give you some basic guidelines to follow in sequence toward training for a good shooting dog!

There is nothing new in this manual - the principals have been gleaned from years of teaching what leading authorities have set down. Your TRAINING TOOLS should consist of:

• Your fenced back yard - then on to open fields.
• Bird wings (of the type you will be working with) - pigeon wings are what I use.
• Long bamboo pole or 2 lengths of fishing rod with 6 feet of fishing line with bird wing attached.
• Canvas training dummy or a canvas-covered boat bumper (small size).
• Commercially bought Òbird scentÓ (optional).
• Live pigeons.
• Your VOICE....your HAND SIGNALS....your WHISTLE commands..

A little thought and a little judgement will show you the way. Add to this a LOT of praise. By practicing at home faithfully, your dog will love you for the additional attention he is getting and you will have a good hunting companion!

The end result of this training program can only be accomplished by KINDNESS, PATIENCE and CONSTANT REPETITION at regular intervals as you progress from one lesson to another. The desired objective is to induce respect without fear and to create the desire to please without pressure....to develop confidence and eagerness without loss of spirit. You will be proud when you have educated and developed a fine gun dog capable of using his natural abilities in the field and proof that the bench-bred spaniel has these natural instincts - they only need developing.

IMPORTANCE OF OBEDIENCE

If your dog has had novice obedience training, you have a head start! Utilize the commands you used and the lessons already learned and continue to practice these several times each week. You can do your homework from the novice classes - such as:

1. Heeling on and off lead
2. Automatic sit
3. Sit-stay
4. Recall

There are a number of reasons for obedience training you spaniel. Basic obedience will simply make your dog easier to live with and nicer to have around. In field work however, YOU have to CONTROL that dog. He must recognize you as the authority.

Many of these obedience commands will be carried over to the field - repetition is the primary way a dog learns.

Safety is also an important factor when letting your dog loose in the field. A dog that can heel by his master's side as he is walking out of a field has a much better chance of living a long and useful life than one who runs out of control. The recall is important, too. A dog that will come when called is not as likely to get lost or injured on a hunting outing. Also, an out-of-control dog is a menace to you and to other hunters.

We do hope that you will be able to give your dog at least some obedience training before advancing on to field training.

GENERAL THOUGHTS ON TRAINING YOUR DOG

The spaniel, because of his intelligence and desire to please, is a joy to train. Because of the spaniel's native ability at the sport of hunting upland game, he possesses talents and characteristics that make him one of the most popular dogs in America. Remember, you are training the family pet! He will have two roles - pet and hunter. Training must be a private affair, however -- don't allow an audience, especially at the beginning.

Have fun while training and both you and your dog will live happier lives because you both have learned to work as a good OWNER-DOG TEAM. No need to hurry your training. Let him absorb each lesson. Learning is never easy, but with firmness and with MUCH praise the dog will enjoy learning. Everyone knows the reward of LOVE and PRAISE - it works wonders with a spaniel.

ALWAYS review the last lesson and go over the commands. Each day before beginning a new lesson it is a good idea to run through commands already learned. Then start a new lesson and go over it several times. Try to stop at a well-done point. Always end with much petting and praise and a long romp. If you are training a puppy, use shorter periods and keep it fun. An older dog may be worked for somewhat longer periods - 15 to 20 minutes, up to 1/2 hour being tops.

After a lesson has been successfully taught, never command your dog to do something unless you fully intend him to carry it out!   Always be prepared to enforce you command if he fails to respond IMMEDIATELY. Your best judgement should be used here, but you can't let him learn to 'get away' with things! When you start the training sessions - no nonsense! While he is trying to please you and learn from you, be gentle BUT FIRM.

Should you and your dog fail to get together on a certain lesson -- take a time out, sit down and figure out what is wrong . . . then devise some other way of getting him to do it. You are sure to succeed if you have PATIENCE. Never by-pass a problem. And, when solved, do not ruin your success by making him do it over and over. Stop at once and PRAISE HIM and then have a good romp!

Choose your word for corrections . . . . use this word for the same meaning throughout your training - do not add extra words to it - KEEP IT SIMPLE. 'No' is your correction word. . . your tone of voice should be suited to the seriousness of the deed that he is doing wrong. A matter-of-fact 'No' is used when you are teaching a dog something new. . . a harsher, drawn out 'No-o-o' is to be used when the dog is doing something that you KNOW he understands! I use a quick 'a-a-a' (this is said as the 'a' in fat) to stop my dog from doing things immediately. They know this means that they had better listen! Your tone of voice should be suited to the seriousness of the deed that he is doing wrong.

These are some suggested training words you could use: 'no', 'heel', 'stay', 'come', 'good boy', 'all right' or 'ok', 'sit', 'down', 'take it'. Common commands for field work are: 'close', 'fetch', 'whoa', 'come around', 'hup' (which means stop and/or sit), 'hie on' (which is used to send a dog to hunt). You can use either the commands common to use in the field, or the commands you use for the 'Yard work', the field term for obedience training portion of the dog's education.

You can teach the following whistle commands (not allowed in the obedience ring) which are used in the field by using them simultaneously with your voice commands as you train your dog. Get a spaniel whistle, which has a softer sound. Do not use the same type of whistle that is commonly used for retriever training.

a. Two short toots: to turn (come around) the dog while quartering.
b. One sharp toot: to 'stop' or 'hup' the dog at any spot.
c. A long trill: to get the dog to come in to you - with or without a retrieve.

While practicing the whistle lesson, it is best if you are ALONE - especially away from your dog's hearing. Learning proper timing and your whistle tones needs to be coordinated with proper hand signals . . . this is best if done before being introduced to your dog. ALWAYS do your training before feeding your dog - he will work better on an empty stomach. If you can, feed him when the training session is over as he will associate this as a reward for a job well-done.