Steadiness at Its Best

Ever been out in the bush with your mates, waiting in a hide, and just as it's getting light a mob of ducks swoops into the decoys? You know if your dog bolts at 'em, the hunt's stuffed. Righto, I'm gonna share a training tip that'll make sure that doesn't happen. I've been teaching dogs to stay put for the last couple of years with this method and it's done wonders for me and my dogs. Your doggo should already know the commands 'place', 'sit' and 'stay' for this training. You'll need a platform for this; you can nick one or knock up your own about 60cm x 60cm and 15cm off the ground.

To start the training, chuck a lead with a check chain on your doggo. Tell 'em "on your bed" and guide 'em to the platform. Once they're up there, say to 'em to "sit" and "stay". Begin to walk a few metres back and do a loop around your dog. If they hop off the platform, what you do next is crucial for the training. Quickly correct 'em with a solid yank on the lead and say "on your bed", "sit" and "stay". After your dog's fixed it up, start from scratch. Once you've nailed this with the lead and check cord, you can switch to a remote training collar for better control and a bigger gap between you and your mate.

After a few sessions your dog will get the idea that he or she needs to stay on the platform until called. When you see that your dog is staying without any trouble, it's time to start the steadiness drill. Grab yourself a dummy and try to get the dog excited. If he or she comes off make that fast correction and start the drill over. Soon things will start to click in your dog's mind that he or she needs to stay put no matter how tempting it is to move. You can try different things to test your dog. You can also move this training to the water as well. Just use the same method as stated and try to get your dog to break in the water. Make splashes with dummies, gunshots, anything to get your dog stirred up.

After a few of these sessions with your dog, you'll be able to take him or her out again and enjoy the hunt. And when a single mallard comes in with a big mob behind it... the reward is well worth the effort.

Happy Training!