Training: The Basics

There are tons of different methods used in training dogs and most of them get you the same end result. I have decided to put my philosophies in writing this summer. Who knows, maybe I will be able to help someone out.

I have a few basic "Golden Rules" I go by no matter what I am training, be it pointer, retriever, or family pet:

1. You don't ask a dog to do something, you give it a command.
2. A command is given once.
3. If you give a command, you must be in a position to enforce it.
4. If a command is not obeyed, there are consequences.

That's it! Now go out and train away... If only it were that simple.

I have decided I will start off my first training publications with obedience basics, and then move on to more advanced pointer training. My GSP Lori will get to be the test dummy for most of this blog, but I hope I can work in Tug as he needs a little fine tuning.

I will try to get the first edition out by this weekend, so here are a few more pictures for now...

Have a great week!

The Dog Days of Summer

Every year we face it... The long off season between the end of April when turkey season ends to the first of September when we can start hunting doves again. So the question becomes, what do you do all summer long? While I won't be posting any new hunts I am going on until September (Unless I somehow work in a turkey hunt in the next couple of weeks), I have decided to mix in random photos every couple of weeks with my new venture, attempting to write and teach about dog training.

I plan on purchasing a new dog this summer, so that will be an adventure and a great topic to write on. Until then I will fill in with the off season work I do with my experienced pointing dogs to keep them in shape and ready to go come the end of October.

For this post we will start with a bunch of random, and somewhat amusing photos I have found in my collection.

This picture was taken on the King Ranch during a quail hunt. I was not on this hunt, but I was told the hunter was not actually aiming at the guide it was just the angle of the camera, but why would we let the truth get in the way of a good story. In my opinion, it looks like the guide should have found a few more birds.

This picture was taken on a white-wing hunt we did in Uvalde in 2010. Our host had just pulled the steaks off the pit and this cur dog started licking the grate. The temperature of the metal had to be at least 200-250 degrees still!

I have a ton of great Rex Ferrier pics. This one is from a dove hunting trip to Rancho Caracol in Mexico. That is me playing the guitar for him to sing to.

My dog can point standing vertical, can yours? I let Lori out to air before a release-bird hunt in Yoakum, and I forgot to tell her we weren't hunting yet. It didn't take her long to find the birds.

Mark was very proud of his parakeets he shot in Argentina. Every time these birds would fly over, our bird boys would start screaming to shoot them.

The story Art told us about these pink Oakleys is that he bought them to embarass his son. His son wasn't with us on our trip to Argentina, and he still proudly wore them.