Bird Dog Training

Dog Training Commands A good command to teach first is to "Come". Next you can teach them to "Heel".

We are often awed at watching fine bird dogs in movies and in action. These finely trained bird dogs never fail to heed their owners’ commands. When you see them perform you may begin to ask yourself, how did they do that? You may wonder if bird dog training will help bring out the best in your dog.

The simple answer is yes, but you have to invest hard.

There are several dog breeds that could be trained into being excellent bird dogs. Training them in obeying commands could be a good starting ground. Dog training professionals acknowledge the fact that dogs need to understand what command is being used in order to make them respond. In this type of training, there are main commands that should be mastered by both the owner and the dog.

The "Stay" Command

Teaching your dog to respond to your ’Stay’ command, is very important for them to learn early during training.

Dogs that follow their masters command without hesitation will demonstrate obedience and respect to his owner. Complete obedience is shown by obeying the command no matter how far the distance is between the giver of the command and the dog.

Using the command ’Whoa’ or ’Easy’ is very useful for dogs that get excited about flushing out birds, because they may begin to get out of control, and start mouthing or playing with the birds. When this happens it is easier for the owner to come to the dog and reward him for a job well done.

Commanding them to ’Come’

This is a simple command used to train your dog to come to you every time you give it. This command is one of the easiest to use. Say for example, retrieving would be a lot easier if the dog would come to you the instant you tell him to do so. Some dogs can be stubborn and may want to play or even begin to go off in another direction. Giving this command will help cut down on the distance between you and your dog in case he decides to do things his way.

Teaching them to ’Heel’

If you want your dog to walk by your side, the right command to teach your dog is, ’Heel’.

It is normally matched with another one-word command such as "okay", or "go" to signal his release. By using this command your dog will know they did a good job during the hunt and you are pleased with them.

Each and every time your dog performs correctly for you as he was instructed, always reward or praise him generously. Dogs are born with the desire to make their owners happy. If you can let your dog see that he is pleasing you with his performance and you want him to repeat it, the best thing you can do is to reward him. Over a period of time, he will learn to do the same actions for which he was rewarded and praised.

Bird dog training is not easy. It is because of this, there are few well trained bird dogs today. However, if you really want to turn your dog into a really good hunter, you should be ready to invest some time and patience in perfecting the basic commands used in his training.