10 Mistakes in Gundog Training and How Not to Make Them - Part 2

Read the first 5 mistakes to avoid with gundog training in the first article in this series.

Not Adapting to the Dog

No two dogs are exactly alike. Like children, they all learn differently, have different strengths and possess that free-will thing that can leave you grinding your teeth in frustration. What worked wonders on the previous dog might not get through to your current dog, and that’s alright. What’s not alright is to continue trying to force the same techniques. You are only going to frustrate yourself and your dog. Try making minor adjustments to play to each dog’s strengths.

Correcting the Wrong Behaviour

This may seem like a fairly obvious thing to avoid, but it can be more difficult than you think. Dogs do not think the way we do, and, as you've probably noticed, they don't speak English. This makes it very important to correct an inappropriate behaviour when it occurs. A dog needs to be corrected within 1.5-3 seconds of misbehaving. If you wait longer, he's going to associate whatever he is doing at that moment with what he is being discouraged from doing. For example, if you tell your pup to sit and he hesitates, he needs to be corrected immediately. If you wait too long and he has a chance to start to sit and gets corrected... well, you've just told him he's going to be in trouble for sitting. Not a fun lesson to unlearn.

Letting Your Dog Train You

In the same vein as not rewarding or correcting the wrong behaviours, this also seems like an easy one to avoid. After all, you're the trainer, right? But dogs can be sneaky little devils. When your dog drops a dummy at your feet and excitedly yelps for you to give it a throw, it can be a very proud moment. You're so excited about their enthusiasm you give a throw to reward them for their drive. What you've actually done is told them you work for them. You should throw dummies for your dog, but your dog should know that you are in control of when the dummy or the birds will fall.

Not Paying Attention During Sessions

If you have teenagers, you'll know there are few things more irritating than trying to have a conversation whilst someone else is engrossed in text messages. That's how your dog will feel if you're doing a million other things whilst you're meant to be training. We all have busy lives, but when it comes to training, you need to dedicate those 15 minutes to just you and your dog. Distractions can lead you to overlook inappropriate behaviours, or fail to reward the appropriate ones. Your pup will be able to tell if you're not fully engaged, and that will distract them too, which makes for a highly counterproductive training session.

Thinking Your Job is Done

You’ve done it! Your dog has been successful in the field, seems to listen 100% of the time. You officially have a trained dog. You’re done here, right? Wrong. Like life, training is an ongoing journey. Even the most well-trained dog will make mistakes and it’s your job to be there to help them learn from them. Your dog still needs to be out with you working on training, continually improving and having a good time doing it.