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Dogs are selfish. They are self-centered, narcissistic, and concerned only with their happiness. I’m good with that, but only because I know it and can use it to my advantage. Most times, I’m smarter than my dog. My secret weapon is knowing I’ll be giving them what they want… but only after they give me what I want.
See, dogs only do what hunters want because they believe it will deliver the goods for them, too. To paraphrase the Cindy Lauper song, “Dogs just wanna have fun.” It’s your job to provide it. For a dog, “fun” consists of rewards, praise, and a return on their investment of following our directions. “Paychecks” is what one famous trainer calls them. Our treasure chest of fun things includes food treats, physical pleasure like petting and belly scratching, verbal praise, and even water on a hot day. Then there are the highest priorities: running free and finding birds to put in his mouth. So, the key is ensuring a dog that hunts for us knows he’ll get what he wants. Simple, fair, but in some ways complicated. We’ve got to read our dog, adjust our strategy as he matures, and be ready to deliver the goods for him when he produces for us.
Timing is everything
Dogs are like Peter Pan in that they never grow up. Behaviorists tell us the only reason dogs were domesticated is because we’ve arrested their development, breeding perpetual puppies. Like a young child, they crave immediate gratification and are perpetually immature, needing almost instantaneous rewards for performance. As they grow up (as far as they ever do), they can wait a bit for positive reinforcement, but not much! As if you needed a reminder, U.S. Army studies have taught us that a dog’s attention span is fleeting. Correction or praise should be delivered within about a second and a half of his completing the work. Any longer between the execution of your command and the reward, and he won’t connect them. (Neither do we sometimes. Just ask my wife.) That’s one good reason to have a full quiver of rewards on your belt. Verbal praise can be delivered immediately upon his good work, even at a distance. Leave the other methods that have you reaching into a pocket for delivery of a food treat to “come,” “down,” or “heel.” And let’s not forget that at different stages in their development—heck, even at different parts of a day in the yard or the field—they want different things.
Make him earn it
The best way to ensure compliance to a “heel” or “come” command is to be well-trained ourselves. “Never give away a bowl of dog food” is an axiom a trainer can take to the bank. Rewarding a dog for basically doing nothing dilutes the value of the rewards he earns. Like the kid who cried “wolf” over and over, your dog may figure out he gets positive reinforcement whether he does what you want or not. You’ve got to change the dynamic to quid pro quo—this for that. Your dog should wear a cardboard sign that says, “Will work for food (or ear scratches, or birds).” Train yourself by making an exercise of it: insist on his compliance to command any time you want to treat, pet, water, or do a fun retrieve. With a little self-discipline on both your parts, you can tell your dog to “sit” before offering dinner, for example. Once he’s nicely walking at heel, cut him loose for a few minutes to run. Call him to you and expect compliance before you dole out a food treat. Don’t babble faint praise just to make conversation. Making him earn every belly rub, chin scratch, drink of water or retrieve maintains a reward’s value to your dog. He eventually understands his “paycheck” is only issued once he clocks in and does his work.
Wean him as he matures
Just as baby talk is the currency of positive feedback in puppyhood, a smooth stroke along the backbone is the Christmas bonus for a mature dog for an epic retrieve. The value of rewards evolves as your dog grows (though no self-respecting dog will turn down a food treat), so be ready with a variety. About the time you get tired of pants pockets full of food treat stains, you can start weaning your dog from a food reward for every execution. Space them out, substitute verbal praise, an ear scratch in place of “good boy.” But be ready to amp it back up if he starts slacking off or it’s a rough, birdless day in the field. To this day, I still try to deliver some form of positive reinforcement most of the time. As a side note, try to be consistent in your praise words. While a dog can supposedly learn over 200 words, I can hardly remember them, so Flick hears “Good dog” and “You’re the best” when he performs. You can also fine-tune the tone of verbal praise, from over-the-top squeals for a pup to a quiet whisper to the old guy who’s been there and done that.
Theme and variations
Okay, so we know what our dog wants. We know what we want. Now, cement it indelibly in his (and your) head like Gorilla Glue. Repetition with reward is how you create habits in your dog. He’ll do the math: perform this, get that. But it only sticks if you do it a lot. That’s what training is, so schedule frequent, short sessions on each skill. Stock a pocket full of treats and a varied vocabulary of positive reinforcements from verbal to physical, to the ultimate: a bird in his mouth. It’ll require a separate article to talk about ways to use live and dead birds as rewards. Suffice it to say, he’s a bird dog, and judicious use of birds in concert with training is grease on the skids. Let’s not forget that many “rewards” also have a practical purpose in the field. A scratch or rub is also an excuse to look for cuts on his body and grit in his eyes. Food and water refuel him on a long hunt, and holding a point leads to a bird in his mouth (unless I’m shooting). Making those connections is your job as a logical, thinking human.
Planning for the worst and hoping for the best is a good motto for dog training. In the field, if my dog is steady but I miss, I’ll lob a dead bird from my vest for him to retrieve. That simple act reinforces the idea that he’s earned his “paycheck.” And it’s much easier than hitting everything I shoot at. Your job is to provide practice and repetition to give your dog the confidence and skills to hunt productively. He’ll be much more willing to do your bidding when he knows he’ll pick up a “paycheck” at the end of each stellar performance.
--Scott Linden
