I can't always find rocks to toss to mark a bird, so teaching Hunter blind retrieves made sense.
I always wished I taught my last gun dog, Wolf, how to do blind retrieves. With Wolf, I had to resort to tossing an ear of corn for him to retrieve a pheasant he didn’t see drop or a rock in the water for ducks. It was a bit undignified for both of us, not always effective and a pain. You can’t always find something to throw in the direction of the bird to cue the dog to go looking.
So, I’m now teaching Hunter blind retrieves. Sunday, I took him on his usual weekend canoe/swim/training session in nearby White Bear Lake here in Minnesota. I paddle around a big island while he either swims or runs the shore. Great fun for both of us.
When I get to the marsh, which has lots of sand bars, I get out and do some training. I’ve already taught Hunter “back,” which means go look for a bird out there somewhere. Now I want to get him to follow hand directions. This is important because it saves lots of time. Instead of Hunter working 360 to find a bird, I can send him in a specific direction.
Here’s how I do it: I put Hunter on a long check cord and then toss two retrieving dummies 15 yards out in opposite directions. If he feigns toward the dummy to the left, I tug on the cord and point to the other dummy. This teaches him to watch for hand cues. Hunter is picking it up real fast. This was his third session. I think in a few more sessions he’ll have it down for the real thing. How have you done ‘blind’ training?
The Nomad blog is written by Mark Herwig, Editor of the Pheasants Forever Journal. Email Mark at MHerwig@pheasantsforever.org.
