The trained retrieve

Ok you deserve a pat on the back! You and your dog have done well on the hold. He now grabs or picks up bumpers off the ground and holds them until you give the release.
actually I went a little further in the article than just the hold, so we are ahead of the game. Notice that after training the hold your dog is more responsive to your commands and also has his confidence going. You and your hunting partner have gone through the training with the most stumbling blocks, the rest is easy and you two will look like pros in a short time. The next training session only has a couple of problems for the dog to work through. It should take somewhere between 8 to 12 sessions. I will use the phrase session intead of days, reason being I usually do 2 to 3 session per day. The session are only about 10 minutes long. Even if you are pressed for time, you can do this training.
Ok, lets get started. We are going to continue on the trained retrieve by doing the “ladder”. What we will do is place 5 bumpers in a straight line with about 10 yds between each bumper. Do this on short grass or better yet a path of some type. With the dog on leash walk towards the first bumper. When you reach the first bumper, command “fetch”. This is new for the dog so if he hessitates, go to the ear pinch. When he picks up the bumper, step behind the dog and have him heel to you. When you take the bumper, you can lay it back on the ground behind the dog. Continue on to bumper # 2 and repeat the process. If the dog hesitates, put pressure on. I lay all the bumpers back down after I take them from the dog. When We reach bumper # 5, We turn around and repeat the process. total of 10 bumpers is good for the first session. After the 4th session the dog usually has it figured out. You may run into a situation around the 4th or 5th session where the dog kind of slacks off or test you. He decides that he is does not want to pick up a bumper. Here is where I will add more pressure to make sure the dog knows I mean business. I or 2 bumpers of pressure is usually all it takes. The next session, the dog usually will be more upbeat and not miss a stroke. When he is performing flawlessly we will move to the next step. What we want to do now is skip a bumper. Have the dog pick up bumper 1 and 2 and then when approching bumper 3, say “no” and walk the dog around the bumper. This is why we are using a leash on this drill. Do this for a session or 2 and don’t always skip the same bumper. When he is solid and ques off of which bumper to pick up and which one to leave, your set to move to the next training drill.
Work on the ladder drill and I will get back with another article soon.