Retriever Training: Making the Most of Spring Season

When winter drags on a bit too long and it feels like spring's never gonna rock up, it's bloody easy to slack off with your retriever training. Fair dinkum, you're keen for those bluebird days when you can head out and crack into water training. This urge to get stuck into water training is especially full-on if you're living in the northern states where summers are a quick flash.

I understand, but keep in mind there are plenty of things you can be working on while you wait for “perfect” weather, if there is such a thing. Push yourself to make the most of the time you have right now. There’s no excuse for not getting to work!

Now, I'll admit I've got a bit of an advantage over heaps of people when it comes to perfect training days because I spend me winters in Mississippi instead of me home state of Missouri. So, the amount of time I can comfortably do water training is more than what a retriever owner in the Midwest or Northern states can get involved in. Even then, there are times during the winter months that aren't right for water work, so I focus on other stuff.

In my training programme, I use this in-between time two ways. First, it’s a chance to get caught up on what I call 'maintenance' items. Second, it’s a great time to work on obedience and sharpening up my dogs on various drills that we can build on later.

What's maintenance? Think about all the things you'd rather not handle during peak training days or the hunting season. Right at the top of that list is your dog's yearly check-up. It's a top time to visit the vet, sort out blood tests and have a once-over. If everything's looking ace health-wise after the hunting season, you can be sure your retriever mate will be set to ease into spring training.

Conditioning is also part of maintenance. Weather permitting, take your dog out for a run, even if it's just a brisk walk a few times a week. Set targets for where you want your dog to be with its weight and stamina. For instance, say to yourself you want your dog in top nick by the 1st of May so you can do multiple double or triple retrieves without having to give your dog a long break between goes.

On nicer days, work on land marks, which benefits your dog’s endurance and also keeps its retrieving skills sharp. Also, when you get a nice day, consider training a bit longer and a bit harder, especially if you see the weather forecast is going to keep you out of the game for the next few days.

For actual training drills, earlier I mentioned obedience and sharpening up on drills. This is another area where goals are important. I firmly believe in writing down your goals; if you don’t write them down, they’re not really goals!

We're all at different stages in training, so someone with a younger dog might have a goal of working on rock-solid steadiness during the off-season. Another goal for a younger dog might be to finish forcing to the pile work. Someone with a more advanced dog might have a goal of perfecting pattern drills by the time warm weather arrives so you can transition those skills to water training with no delay. Whatever your situation might be, focus on goals, write them down and then get to work.

You don't have to be the top dog trainer in the world. That's a goal that's pretty much out of reach anyway. But there's nothing stopping you from knuckling down and working harder. Be keen to train more often, put in a harder yakka and train with more focus. Take that attitude everywhere you go, no matter what time of the year it is, and it'll pay off whether your goal is to run better hunt tests, place in more field trials or have the best hunting season ever.