Training the Pointing Labrador

In this episode, I do a podcast for a particular person on the topic of keeping your dog advancing while enjoying the hunting season.  Especially if some competitions and titles are going to be part of the dog's future.  It isn't a hard thing to do, but when you've never done it before, it can be confusing what to do, how much and how often.  This may break it down a little bit for some..

In this episode,  we talk about things to do with your dog to maintain your work from this year and your standards for behavior.  Even with the short days and the cold, there is lots you can do to keep you ready for hunting, progress in your program and next year.

This podcast is for 3 clients.  I trained 3 brown girls for the year, pointing Labs, all point, retriever and run blind retrieves.  The owners are concerned about what to do to keep things going with these fancy ladies, so I decided to give them their own personal podcast.  So here we go.... after the wild girls come home.

In this episode, the discussion is about teaching your dog to think before acting when in the fevered activity of hunting: their favorite thing on the planet.  You can develop awareness and thoughtfulness in a dog, before going through fences, into heavy cover, over ditches, launching into water, etc.  If you can take the time to teach them how to keep from hurting themselves, you will never regret it.  Lots of crazy things can happen while hunting.  Best enjoyed if you both are very prepared, literally and mentally...

In this episode, I talk about the importance of understanding how your dog thinks in your training, and how to use their physical actions to decipher their mental state.  I also announce some changes in my personal and professional life.  

In this episode, we talk about two of the important aspects of raising any puppy, for anything.  One is respect for you and the things in the puppy's world; the other is a personal robustness that readies a dog for whatever comes it way.  These two things are most easily established at an early age, making later training and living together much easier and more enjoyable.

In this episode, from the position of judge all 3 days, I try to tell the story of the event.  From literal descriptions of the setups, the performances, the emotions and the energy, I try to share what we all experienced this past Labor Day Weekend.  In short, phenomenal dogs and gifted handlers.  The music was definitely playing....

In this episode, happening just before a couple of important national events, I address two topics arising recently. 1.  Ideas for staying calm and focused (at least as much as possible) while running the big event.  2. What is a 'good judge'?  Most of us think we are... but what are some things to think about as a judge?

Books and videos available at:  www.Batesworks.net

In this brief episode, I address 3 questions asked recently by a person in search of a puppy:

1. How do you know whether to get a male or a female?

2.  How do you tell if your pup points or not?

3. What do you do after you get it and it points, what then?

Just my experiences I use to answer, but these are very common concerns.

In this episode, we talk about the components to your training and your dog, flushing or pointing, necessary to have a safe, efficient and very enjoyable upland hunt.  Waterfowl as well of course.  Most of the elements we train for to compete serve equally well for the hunter:  diligence to go as directly as possible to the bird, desire to waste as little unnecessary energy as possible, and the understanding that this is an activity done with you, not in spite of you.  Not hard if you train with these things in mind...