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Video: Teaching Pritch to Fetch
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May 22, 2009
Video: Teaching Pritch to Fetch
By David DiBenedetto
There’s an old saying, “You can’t fall off the floor,” and as far as training Pritch as a retriever goes, I’m lying prone on the floor. At 13 weeks I shouldn’t be expecting too much from her, I know. In fact, all the books (and I’ll have more to say about the books soon) say I should concentrate more on the SIT, STAY, COME commands at this period. But I’m like most over-eager parents, expecting to see my child perform miracles.
Pritch will happily go after a dummy, and will come running back with it—then often blow right by me. I’ve added a treat at the end of each successful retrieve, but this leads her to sometimes drop the dummy in anticipation of the snack. All minor problems at this age, but for the sake of a benchmark, I filmed a brief retrieving session. Take a look at the pup in action.
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Comments (7)
Timing is everything, Dave. And my sympathy ... as I'm STILL working on retrieving daily with my 5-year-old wirehair. (I write almost weekly about this because something else crops up almost weekly to fix!)
I'm no trainer, but I'm a big believer in treats too ... but expectation and delivery will help avoid the dropped bumper in anticipation of a treat. The reward should be a total surprise to Pritch ... not something previewed prior to your lobbing the bumper.
Upon return, bumper in mouth, no move by you to the food until the bumper is delivered completely (to your hand, following the command to "drop," or whatever). A moment later, magically, FOOD!
She'll make the connection.
Dave,
Looking good on the short retrieves. Recommend a lightweight check cord to encourage Pritchard to come back to you. Before you do the retrieves, let her drag the check cord around and when she comes back to you give her a treat and tell her, Good Here. Use a clicker or just say Good as your marker.
I walk pups in the woods, over logs and through creeks with a pocket full of dry dog food or goldfish crackers. When they come back on their own I give them a treat and tell them Good Here. When I call them and they come running I give them a treat and tell them Good Here. By calling them in, treating, releasing and letting pup go back and play she learns that coming in is a good thing.
When I change gears and toss a bumper for retrieves I put the food away. Any time she fetches tell her Good Fetch. Don't grab for the bumper when she comes back, let her hold it while she sits.
Also, I would go ahead and change Come to Here - I think you'll find it's a better command in the long run. It's easier to get inflection in your voice with Here over the hard C in Come. Also, Heel and Here work well as you advance to leash manners.
Best afield,
Pam
Goldfish crackers - wheat - bad for many dogs. Bits of hot dogs or bologna better ... great smell, taste, and chew fast and go down quickly so they pay attention and stay focused, and are ready to go again quickly.
Love the video. We train our pup with Pup-peroni. She's all about it. The original flavor is packed with fat, so I can the 70 percent fat-free kind. Anyone else use it? Any other suggestions? I imagine eventually she'll tire of it, and I'll need to introduce a new type of puppy crack.
Appreciate the comments. Some good stuff there. The hot dog or bologna bits as a treat is an interesting idea...I wonder how bad it will stink when I realize there's a piece of week old bologna in my pants pocket.
Our first trip with the check cord was a bit of a mess, as Pritch wasn't quite used to it yet and had a grand time attacking it and tying herself in a knot. I need to spend a bit more time with her wearing it so she'll get used to it. - Dave
Well I hope all goes well and future training with the dog goes well also. Can not blame you for wanting more out of your dog/child... seems like we are all like that.
for my puppy we did do the classic sit, come, and stay in combo with the fetching. We would have her fetch the toy then come back for a treat where we'd work her with other things. We also now that she's got the basics down pretty good focus more on retrieving then the basics but still review them often.
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Dave,
Looking good on the short retrieves. Recommend a lightweight check cord to encourage Pritchard to come back to you. Before you do the retrieves, let her drag the check cord around and when she comes back to you give her a treat and tell her, Good Here. Use a clicker or just say Good as your marker.
I walk pups in the woods, over logs and through creeks with a pocket full of dry dog food or goldfish crackers. When they come back on their own I give them a treat and tell them Good Here. When I call them and they come running I give them a treat and tell them Good Here. By calling them in, treating, releasing and letting pup go back and play she learns that coming in is a good thing.
When I change gears and toss a bumper for retrieves I put the food away. Any time she fetches tell her Good Fetch. Don't grab for the bumper when she comes back, let her hold it while she sits.
Also, I would go ahead and change Come to Here - I think you'll find it's a better command in the long run. It's easier to get inflection in your voice with Here over the hard C in Come. Also, Heel and Here work well as you advance to leash manners.
Best afield,
Pam
Timing is everything, Dave. And my sympathy ... as I'm STILL working on retrieving daily with my 5-year-old wirehair. (I write almost weekly about this because something else crops up almost weekly to fix!)
I'm no trainer, but I'm a big believer in treats too ... but expectation and delivery will help avoid the dropped bumper in anticipation of a treat. The reward should be a total surprise to Pritch ... not something previewed prior to your lobbing the bumper.
Upon return, bumper in mouth, no move by you to the food until the bumper is delivered completely (to your hand, following the command to "drop," or whatever). A moment later, magically, FOOD!
She'll make the connection.
Goldfish crackers - wheat - bad for many dogs. Bits of hot dogs or bologna better ... great smell, taste, and chew fast and go down quickly so they pay attention and stay focused, and are ready to go again quickly.
Love the video. We train our pup with Pup-peroni. She's all about it. The original flavor is packed with fat, so I can the 70 percent fat-free kind. Anyone else use it? Any other suggestions? I imagine eventually she'll tire of it, and I'll need to introduce a new type of puppy crack.
Appreciate the comments. Some good stuff there. The hot dog or bologna bits as a treat is an interesting idea...I wonder how bad it will stink when I realize there's a piece of week old bologna in my pants pocket.
Our first trip with the check cord was a bit of a mess, as Pritch wasn't quite used to it yet and had a grand time attacking it and tying herself in a knot. I need to spend a bit more time with her wearing it so she'll get used to it. - Dave
Well I hope all goes well and future training with the dog goes well also. Can not blame you for wanting more out of your dog/child... seems like we are all like that.
for my puppy we did do the classic sit, come, and stay in combo with the fetching. We would have her fetch the toy then come back for a treat where we'd work her with other things. We also now that she's got the basics down pretty good focus more on retrieving then the basics but still review them often.
Post a Comment