Kirby
Mountain Sporting Dogs
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Training
HOW
LONG DOES IT TAKE TO TRAIN A DOG?
This is the most difficult question to
answer. Since people’s
wants and expectations are so different, the training time for different dogs
can be as little as 4 weeks or as much as 18 months. There are many
variables to consider when answering this question: 1) is your dog from
trainable breeding stock? 2) have you done anything to
impair the training process? and 3) are you, the
owner, going to follow through with what your dog has learned and continue to
reinforce your dog’s education?
Another issue to consider is that of
the E-collar. After
working with approximately 1,000 dogs I 
believe that the best way for anyone to
have total control of his dog 100% of the time is to use the
E-collar. Sure you can train without it and have the usual varied results
and hope that your dog will comply (especially when it is running across the
road), but using the E-collar properly will insure that you will get the
results desired.
Whatever beliefs you hold about training your dog (whether
you do the job on your own or if you get help from a trainer) you are the one
who needs to decide what it is that you expect your dog to be able to do and
what degree of performance you can live with.
GENERAL
OBEDIANCE:
This is the foundation for everything
else your dog will ever learn in training. Sometimes overlooked and many times
rushed, without this tedious training your dog will never reach the pinnacle of
what training can be whether it becomes a great companion in the home or the
world’s best hunting dog.
You can expect that your dog will need 4-8 weeks of obedience
training to be a good companion dog. This training can begin around the
age of 5 months. We work these dogs daily on such skills as sit, stay
down, place, not jumping, not biting, not barking, walking at heel on or off a
leash, and most importantly to come when called 100% of the time. Many dogs
will accept our methods quickly. However, we find that it takes around 100
times of continued repetition before the dog is doing these tasks readily.
GENERAL
TRAINING POINTS:
>>Early bird encounters have a long-term effect. The
birds used are not as important as getting the dog used to the behavior and
smell of birds - bird scent is bird scent.
>>A dog is never too old to learn. However, many dogs
learn behaviors that are contradictory to gun dog training. Any of these
behaviors must be corrected before it can move on in its training.
>>Training is happening at all times whether the dog is
with a trainer or at home. Remember not all training is productive.
>>Training should be a coordinated effort between the
trainer and the owners. Transitions need to be made but practices should be
continued and reinforced with all interactions.
>>Whether you train with or without the E-collar, it is up
to you and should be discussed with the trainer. Remember that when talking
with people about the E-collar you should make sure that the people you are
talking with are experienced and knowledgeable. Don’t ask someone what he
thinks of the E-collar, ask him what he knows about the E-collar. For more
information on the E-collar see the article in the John’s Articles section of the website.
>>Problems in a dog’s behavior may
be man made, innate, or a combination of the two. Both must be
considered when training.
Training Programs
At
Kirby Mountain Sporting Dogs
At Kirby Mountain
Sporting Dogs, our training methods have culminated from basic obedience
techniques, pointing dog training, retriever technical training, and electronic
collar training. Through
many years we have developed a no nonsense and effective way to train dogs so
that you can live with your dog as a loving companion or as a world class
hunter or competition dog. We want you to be happy with the dog you get from
us. We will work with you to insure that your dog is a healthy and happy
addition to your family. Whether you leave it for training or contact us
with questions, we will do our best to give you productive and doable
solutions.
Our
philosophy is that it is better to put the time and money in early so that you
have the next ten to fifteen years with a trained and compliant dog: one you
can be proud of.
STEP ONE - HEAD START
Training Time: Four to Eight
Weeks
Dogs: Ages 5 months to 1-year-old or Older dogs with no
experience
This program is a very gentle approach to your dog’s
start as a hunting dog. We will
introduce your dog to guns, birds, the woods, and water. After 100 exposures to
each of these things, we will be on the road to success. Also employed are
all of the skills used in the general obedience training listed above.
The longer a dog is left with us the more times we
can go over each task. As most
trainers agree, the three most important things in training are repetition,
repetition, and repetition. The more reinforcement your dog receives, the
more likely the training will stay. After the head start program the dogs
are sent home to be with their families and to enjoy hunting their first
season.
Some of you will want more out of your dog and may
consider force breaking (trained retrieve). What this means is that the dog will go to the
object to be retrieved and bring it back to you 100% of the time. The dog will
not chew the object but will hold it in front of you until you tell the dog to
drop the object. For the forced retrieve to be complete takes at the very
least an additional 8 weeks. I might add that the earlier it is done in
the dog’s life the better because there will be fewer bad habits to get rid of
in this training procedure.
