Gun Dog Training: 3 Things Your Puppy Should Learn

If you’re reading this article, you probably own, have owned, or are thinking about owning a gun dog puppy. To train your puppy to be a retrieving machine, here are three things that are crucial to teach it from day one.

1) Socialise, Socialise, Socialise

Your home is unfamiliar to your new puppy. Depending on where you got it, there may have been limited human interaction. This is the first time being away from mum and many sights and sounds are brand new.

During this period, you want to make sure you socialise your puppy. Take your new best friend everywhere you go. Your puppy must learn how to deal with other people, dogs, and sounds, or it could lead to big problems. Taking it on trips to the farmers' market, walks, or to a cricket match, will be monumental in getting your puppy acclimated to its surroundings.

Quick tip: Get a lead, attach it to your puppy and tie it to your waist. Lead your puppy around the house while doing your everyday chores. You want your dog to heel in the field, so this is an excellent way to kick start that process. Remember to take it slow during this awkward puppy stage.

2) Teaching A Puppy To Fetch

In the early stages of your puppy's life, you want to make learning to retrieve quick, enjoyable, and unstructured. So, what resources will you need? Purchase a couple natural canvas dummies and a check cord. Attach the check cord to the puppy’s collar, step on the other end, or keep it in your hands. This will enable you to guide your puppy when necessary and maintain control. Get your puppy interested in the dummy by being playful. Move the dummy to and fro, let the puppy bite it, then toss it five to 10 feet in front of you and let 'em run. All you should focus on right now is making retrieving enjoyable for the puppy.

Once your puppy is bringing the dummy back to you, show it some affection and be enthusiastic! Tell it 'good dog' and give it a loving scratch behind the ear. The key with these sessions is to keep them brief. Throw the dummy two or three times to start with, and increase the number of throws and the distance as you progress with your dog.

Training sessions should only last a few minutes with a seven- to nine-week-old puppy. You want to end each session with the dog wanting to go retrieve more dummies. The most common mistake is to throw too many dummies, which makes the dog become disinterested in the task. Also, don’t be overly strict with your puppy or it can become nervous about retrieving. Keep it short and fun and you’ll see progress.

Quick tip: Corridors are excellent places to teach retrieval. They provide a puppy with limited options for where to take the dummy. Place the puppy on the training lead, close the doors in the corridor and throw the dummy down it. Allow the puppy to fetch it and offer some guidance with the training lead to bring it back to you.

3) Crate Training

The crate is your puppy’s new home. This is where it will sleep, go on hunting trips, holidays, or to a football match. Your puppy needs to love it. It should be a safe place, which means nothing bad happens to the puppy in its crate. It’s not a place to send your puppy when being punished in the younger stages of its life.

Considering most of your communication with the dog will be verbal and visual commands, give the dog a word to associate with getting inside the crate, such as 'kennel.' This eliminates any confusion brought on by longer phrases.

Quick tip: Your puppy is likely to cry a bit when you begin this process. It's much like bringing a baby home. It's an unfamiliar environment and your puppy needs to adjust. Some dogs adapt quickly while others may take a bit longer. Be patient with the puppy and it will soon learn to love its crate.

Dogs have unique personalities. Your puppy might want to explore, or you might have one that doesn’t leave your side. Your puppy might have a bold personality, so you have to be firm, or you might have a sensitive one that needs things calm, simple, and slow commands. The most important thing to know is that each dog is different, so how you teach should vary.

The early days are exciting times for a new gundog owner and puppy. Remember, keep training simple, and build a relationship with your dog. It’s going to be a long journey to make your puppy the retrieving machine you want as your partner, and like any partnership, it takes time to build trust.