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”. That seems pretty vague so I generally fill in the blanks. 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. The research I’ve seen places early advancements in terms of weeks. If important life experiences are missing in those early weeks, it can have long-term effects.
Indeed, 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. That person would be the one that wishes to share forest and field with a trained hunting companion and the pup’s primary source for resource.
Some very knowledgeable breeders and trainers now believe that there is additional learning that the pup needs from its mother and littermates; that picking up the pup should wait until after the eighth week. I haven’t seen the actual research documents and have only what the authors of researched articles and books say they have found.
My own experience has been very inconclusive in this regard. I have almost always picked up my pup around the seventh week without their suffering any noticeable ill-effect in their social behavior. In fact, the most unsocial (toward people and canines) dog I’ve ever owned was one that we kept from our own litter. Not mean, but insecure and, somewhat, neurotic. Obviously, she had remained with her mother and littermates as long as they were around.
I believe I had figured that dog out later. The point is, like many things in life, 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 happen, but more, what is LIKELY to happen.
During training sessions, 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.
From the possible happy circumstance of a wild covey of quail discovered in a nearby vacant lot to the disastrous possibilities while working on retrieving 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. It may be strange dogs barking in the distance or an alarming scent. If the plan you had isn’t working, have a back-up. If you wanted pup to do better at retrieving but he wasn’t cutting it, snap on a leash and take pup on a walk and let him end with a good session of heel. Therefore, when going out to train, 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.
Though the practice as a training tool has received much criticism, 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”
