Timing Is Everything
A question I often get is, “When do I start training my pup”? The answer I offer is, “As soon as their mom is done with them”. It seems, everyone wants to talk about formal pointing dog training but, the foundation begins at the beginning.
For example, before the pup opens its eyes, I will hold them and handle them to begin imprinting human interaction. In a few weeks’ time, at feeding time, I use a consistent command, and hand-clapping, to call the pup and I whoa a pup a beat before allowing it to eat. There are many other practices but the point is, I begin soon after birth and use every opportunity to mold a pup toward the goal of a finished dog.
Slipped away after nursing, sightless puppies are handled and coddled to begin the bonding of dog to human.
In the fast-paced life of a puppy, a week is a long time. Like grass in the spring, you can almost literally watch them grow - physically. Mentally, there are advances both noticeable and not. All reliable research shows early brain development and learning advancements in terms of weeks.
For example, the eighth week seems to be a particularly important period of bonding and learned social skills. Back in the day, the seventh week of a puppy’s life was seen as the optimal time to take the pup to its new home. There, it will learn its social behavior from its human room-mates and, ideally, the primary caregiver during that important eight to twelve week window. The person that wishes to share forest and field with a trained hunting companion should be the pup’s primary source for resource. My own experience has been very conclusive in this regard.
The eight to twelve week window is so important that some breeders insist on keeping pups as late as ten weeks before the new owners are allowed to obtain them. This is to increase socialization among littermates and prevent exposure to negative experiences during this most impressionable period. However, like many things in life, there are no “sure-things” when it comes to raising dogs. There are several variables that will determine traits a dog will exhibit and the best we can do is play the odds. It’s not what WILL become but more, what is LIKELY to develop.
Exposure to pressure, basic obedience, introduction to the remote e-collar, etc., should begin in the 12 to 20 week period. Indeed, young dogs exposed to pressure between 12 to 16 weeks will handle pressure much better throughout its lifetime. Here again, it is very important to be aware of positive (and negative) stimuli; environmental conditions or influences that could be used for your training advantage. Timing is everything. When to release the pup from the whoa command or from its kennel is all about timing.
Even careful scheduling doesn’t guarantee that training situations will be ideal. Disastrous possibilities while retrieve training in an area with squirrels roaming about requires complete awareness from the trainer. A poorly-timed toss of a training dummy or not catching the pup before it releases on its own can be the critical split-second required. The difference between the lesson you wanted the pup to learn or the beginning of a bad habit you will need to break.
Returning from the field with a harvested quail, I take a moment for a little impromptu yard training with the pup.
Dogs can have bad-days, too. If things aren’t going according to plan, sometimes you have to back-up. If you wanted pup to do better at retrieving but pup was too distracted, snap on a leash and take him on a walk. Revise the session into a nice opportunity to heel. So, as pups mature, have a plan without a ridged training ritual. Not only take with you the items you need for the training you have intended but have the complete kit available, when it’s possible, for those unexpected opportunities. Always end on a happy note as far as it is in your ability to do so.
It often happens in a second, an unexpected game bird flushes up – be ready to whoa your pup. If an undesirable, critter pops into view, (rabbits, snakes, squirrels, etc.) be ready to use that moment to demonstrate your distaste for any interest your pup shows. A moment later and it’s all wasted and forgotten. In a pup’s life, timing is everything - so, take the time and Enjoy Your Dog!
Though the practice as a training tool has received criticism from some, a bit of gaming with a wing at this stage is harmless fun.
Look to these locations for more (related) information:
Blog
The First 20 Weeks.
By: George Hickox
Project Upland
Understanding Timing in Bird Dog Training.
By: Jason Carter
Up Next: “Serious Fun”
