Practical Gundog Training

3.
Place Board Progression

Getting a solid retrieving instinct in a dog that has been bred to hunt is a vital part of its basic training.

If you have been consistent with your place board training, your dog should be fully conditioned to sitting and staying for varying periods on the board and is recalling from one to the other at varying distances. You can now move on to incorporating those learnt behaviours with some basic steadiness, retrieving and delivery exercises.

Getting a strong retrieving instinct in a young gundog is a vitally important part of their training, especially for the hunting breeds such as spaniels, and the hunt, point, retrieve dogs (HPR). These dogs have been selectively bred to hunt and if this is allowed to develop without encouraging the desire to retrieve this will potentially cause real issues, and as you will see later in this book retrieving or the desire to retrieve will ultimately give you a higher degree of control over your dog. The next chapter will deal with retrieving in greater detail.

Now is about the time to introduce some steadiness training. Having a steady gundog in the shooting field is the holy grail. A dog that can sit at a peg or work in the beating line or be off the lead when picking up is worth its weight in gold. But too many gundogs fall short of this, and this is predominantly down to a lack of training. Steadying a dog to a thrown dummy, the fall of a bird, or the flush of a rabbit can be challenging and it can be boring for both the trainer and dog. But it is something that you must work at if you hope to have a dog that you can be proud of. There are many ways of steadying a dog, but the introduction of the place board has made it an easier undertaking. You are building on what the dog has already learnt and understands and you are gradually building the foundations.

If you have done your initial place board training correctly your gundog knows that sitting on the board means that it has to stay there until asked to move, either off or onto another board. To begin this exercise, move the board back onto a solid surface such as a patio, car park, or driveway, basically somewhere there are no distractions. Sit the pup on one board and bounce a tennis ball or drop a dummy in front of you. At this stage you can introduce what can be considered the most important verbal command you will use during the dog's life: 'leave it'. This command will be used throughout the dog's training and into the shooting field. The dog will learn that 'leave it' means just what it says on the tin. Whether it is a dummy, a ball, another dog, a pheasant, or a rabbit the dog is not to retrieve the item, or it is to ignore the distraction. Be consistent with this command and going forward in your training you will quickly realise how useful it is.

Going back to the exercise, if the dog moves off the board put him back on and repeat the process. It may be beneficial to just slip a lead back on the dog. Remember, never be too concerned about taking a step or two back when introducing a new training exercise. Do not allow the dog to pick up the ball or dummy at this stage. Don't just stand in front of the dog whilst you are bouncing the ball or throwing a dummy, walk around the pup as it is sitting on the board and remember to vary your direction and distance from the dog. This will help to keep the dog's focus on you and it adds another steadying element to the exercise.

Having a steady gundog in the shooting field is the holy grail.

As this exercise progresses you can introduce more dummies or balls and begin to throw them around the dog. The most tempting one for the dog is a dummy that is thrown over its head. Most dogs will turn to watch the dummy go out and as the dog is now between you and the dummy it is far easier for it to break its position on the board and run in. If the dog does break its stay at any time and picks the retrieve don't make a big fuss, just take it from the dog and set up the exercise again making sure you are in a position to prevent the dog from going wrong again.

Once your gundog is fully conditioned to the place board you can then begin the process of steadiness and introducing the 'leave it' command.

As you progress through this exercise you can then begin to throw more distraction dummies around the dog including the most tempting, which is one thrown over the dog's head.

Continuing to build on the foundations that you have instilled in your gundog in the previous exercises, you can also use two place boards to build on the steadiness of the dog and also further develop the 'leave it' command. At this stage, your dog should understand the concept of being recalled from one board to another at varying distances and be used to sitting on the board until given a further command. This particular exercise is useful in a practical sense. There may be times in the shooting field when you may need to recall your dog back through a field of shot game and, for whatever reason, you don't want them to retrieve any birds. Having trained the dog to ignore any potential retrieves and recall back to you can help prevent a potentially very embarrassing situation. We have all been there!

Initially sit the dog on the place board and put a dummy to one side of your position at the back of the second board. Recall the dog and be ready to give the command 'leave it'. By beginning the exercise with the distraction retrieve right next to you it helps to give you the opportunity to block the dog should it deviate from coming straight onto the board. However, if you have done your foundation work properly the dog should be totally focused on what you are asking it to do because it has learnt by repetition to come from one board to another.

The ultimate aim of this exercise is to be able to put a number of dummies between the two place boards and recall the dog through them with the 'leave it' command.

The next step is to use the two place board recall exercise but to introduce a distraction dummy.

Gradually move the retrieve nearer the dog's starting point on the first board and don't forget to repeat the 'leave it' command each time before recalling the dog. The aim is to be able to put a number of dummies between you and the dog and for it to ignore them; this will take time and patience but it is a really useful skill to have in your gundog training box.

The Delivery

Getting a smart delivery from your gundog not only looks good but it also has a very practical purpose. First of all, if your dog makes its retrieve and delivers it back to your hand quickly and without any fuss it makes the whole process far more efficient. Secondly, there is nothing more frustrating than a dog strutting around with a dummy or bird in its mouth and not letting the handler take the retrieve, and this is where the proper use of the place board during the dog's early training will really pay dividends.

Just to recap, by now the dog has been taught to sit and stay on the board until being told it can move off; in fact by now your dog should be desperate to get on the board because it has learnt that it is a good place to be. The dog should fully understand the recall from one board to the next and you have encouraged a 'high head carriage' by praising the dog with a chest and neck rub with your hand. This has also had the added benefit of desensitising the dog to having your hands around its head, so it is less likely to dip its head when you go to take a retrieve.

A downside of constant treat rewarding can be that as you put out your hand to take a retrieve the dog may spit out the dummy as it associates your hand with being given food and that is more valuable than keeping hold of the retrieve. That's one reason why, once the dog understands the action of sitting on the board, you will move to physical reward and praise rather than food treats.

Begin by asking the pup to sit on a board and give the dog a small dummy or ball to hold. It's now that you can introduce the verbal 'hold' command. If the dog does not take the object willingly then give a short-distance retrieve. If you have your foundations in place the dog should come straight back to the board and sit (remember this has been taught and repeated during the initial place board training). Now put yourself at the back of the board just as you have done numerous times before. When the dog is sitting and holding the dummy don't take the retrieve, just go through your normal process of gentle praise by stroking the dog's chest and neck until the dog lifts up its head and then you can take the retrieve with the command 'leave it'.

The next stage is to set the dog up on the board and get it to hold a retrieve. You can then begin to walk around the dog making sure it maintains eye contact with you. If it looks away stop moving until the dog makes eye contact again. In this exercise you are reinforcing not only steadiness, but also the idea to the dog that you may not always take the retrieve from it straight away, and it is to 'hold' until you are ready to take the dummy. Once your dog is happy to sit on the board holding a retrieve for an extended period you can move on to the next stage.

The 'hold' command is vital for any gundog that is going to work in the shooting field and this exercise is a progression of all the previous place board lessons.

You may be wondering, 'What is the benefit of this exercise?' Imagine you are out either...