Staying On in the Off-Season
Emily Ann Bosler for SPLIT REED
As the summer heat continues to wash over the country, and most waterfowl seasons begin their approach towards reality, many hunters find themselves left with ample spare time. Hours once dedicated to both waterfowl and turkey hunting are now vacant and opening day seems to be far off yet still in sight. Your furry hunting partner may be experiencing the same longing for the crisp mornings of fall and winter. As you watch him twitch and whimper in his sleep, perhaps he is dreaming of chasing a greenhead across an icy field of flooded rice or toting a honker through the corn. One solution to pacify your retriever’s longing, and perhaps yours as well is to ensure you are training as much as you possibly can throughout the entirety of the off-season. In the words of Sporting Life Kennels and Retriever University Founder Marty Roberts, “as soon as the season is over, it’s time to get back at it.”
For most sporting dog owners, we relax our training for the duration of the waterfowl season. Our dogs are hunting and working, they are out in the elements of each and every hunt. Early mornings, long days, and exposure to the cold, we allow them a well-deserved helping of rest. “Most of us don’t continue to run drills during the winter time. We hunt. Dogs get sloppy or they get loose during hunting season. We aren’t necessarily going to make them adhere to as precise of a standard during a hunt. This works for hunting, but the higher standard has to be upheld when the season is over” stated Marty. This lull in a strict training routine is the norm, but how then do we ensure our dogs are performing at their highest level for the season to come?
Just like with humans, it is best to revisit the basics. In Marty’s words “start with obedience, work with them every day that you can. Keep them honest. Tighten up their heels. Get everything crisp. Spend the first few minutes of every session working them back into that routine.” This is essential especially for young dogs, as retrievers coming out of their first or second season may still need to learn to run blinds. Teaching successful blind retrieves is a four to six-month process when training five days a week. When you begin to look at that timeline, the waterfowl season doesn’t seem quite so far off. I say this not to rush you, as rushing a dog’s training is the antithesis of what Marty aims to do at Sporting Life Kennels and in his Retriever University program. “We like to say slow is fast. There is no reason to rush. You’ve got all year. Back up, and reset before you plunge ahead” added Roberts.
With the plethora of retriever training information out there, where is a gun dog owner to begin? You can find different techniques and methods with every click across every social platform. While abundance can be fruitful, it can also make it difficult to select one single, cohesive, start-to-finish training program, which leads to holes in your training. Marty advises hunters to “follow a good program. Be disciplined. Instead of getting on youtube and watching a variety of programs, stick to one. Don’t skip around and leave holes in your training. This is confusing for both trainers and dogs. Look at a specific program and find what works best for you.” Luckily, Split Reed has found and given our stamp of approval to one specific program for you, so your research can end here.
Marty Roberts has raised, trained, and hunted retrievers for over 37 years, and now you can access every bit of his knowledge and training expertise through his Retriever University Program. I asked Marty to give additional advice to those who choose to purchase and diligently follow his training program, or any others for that matter. “Get a training notebook, and write down your goals. What do you want to achieve during each session? Then grade yourself and your dog daily. Make notes. Keep working. This is your time to advance to the dog, this is THE time. Have a plan and start going for it.”
Don’t waste a minute of the off season, visit https://www.retrieveruniversity.com/ to begin today.
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