To Train or Not To Train: Deciding Whether or Not to Send Your Dog to a Pro
Ryan Barnes for SPLIT REED
Cover: Cristina Wing / Strait Lake
Presented by Sporting Life Kennels
October 3rd, 2020 came around, and the anticipation and anxiety were high. After losing my first faithful hunting companion, Archie, I had finally put the pieces of my heart back together strong enough to go and pick out a new puppy. I trained Archie all on my own. He was a great dog. A mild-mannered black lab, with amazing instincts. All of the “intangibles” a dog-owner wants in their retriever. He struggled with force fetch and oftentimes whined out of excitement when he knew that action was pending, but there wasn’t anything that would keep that dog from chasing down a dead bird. Then one day, tragedy struck way too soon when a fence post and a tie-out became entwined. Losing Archie was like losing a child. So going to pick out a new puppy felt somewhat wrong. But, such is the world for a waterfowler.
Archie and Ryan, Spring 2020
We got to the kennel, having down all of our research. Hunt Test winning parents, good knees, good hips, and good-looking black puppies. The one with the tan collar was the one I had my eyes on, and the one with the tan collar was the one we left with. “Dewey” is currently at my feet as I write this, and I’ve done all that I can to make sure he’s as prepared as possible for the ducks and geese that lay ahead. However, he’s not Archie. While he’s only 7 months old, I’ve quickly learned that Dewey is a bit more stubborn than his predecessor. I’ve followed Retriever University to the exact details (which I highly recommend to anyone looking to train or even refine their gun dogs), but Dewey still seems to require a bit more than my pay grade of dog training knowledge. So my wife and I have made a decision: next month, Dewey is getting sent off to be trained by a professional. Someone who knows exactly how to work past the “bumps in the road” to help make my dog a refined, steady retriever in the blind.
In talking to others that have been in similar situations, it all comes up the same way, with the same story- “I did everything I could, but I just couldn’t my dog to learn x,y,z”. If that happens, it doesn’t always mean you immediately need to crack the piggy bank and send the dog off to training. There are a plethora of resources to use to help the everyday dog-owner train well-behaved retrievers into more than capable hunting partners. But when the well runs dry, how do you decide if you should send your dog off to training?
I believe it comes down to four main categories:
1. YOUR ABILITY TO HELP THE DOG PROGRESS
If you, as the owner, are capable of being patient enough to work with your dog and see it progress week by week and month by month to the point where you want it to be, then that’s great! You probably don’t need a trainer. If you have the know-how to train your dog and teach it everything that you would like to have in the field, then that’s the end goal. If you can’t, however, it might be time to consider sending your pup to the pros. If you have trained for months on end and haven’t seen any progress, or even digression in your retriever, there’s more harm than good being done. I’m not saying that one month your dog needs to be playing with a bird wing and the next doing double retrieves. More along the lines of, if your dog still isn’t bringing the bumper back to you after 2 months of check chords and other drills, it might be time to get a pro’s help in the matter.
2. THE AMOUNT OF TIME/DESIRE YOU HAVE TO TRAIN
As much as people would love to be able to throw a few bumpers and run a few drills twice a week and have a quality gun dog, that is nowhere near a reality. To have a truly finished gun dog, you have to have time each day to train your dog. It doesn’t need to be hours on end (that would just burn out both you and the dog), but at least 20-30 minutes to go out and work on helping your dog progress to the next step. Some people enjoy the luxury of having more free time to work with their dogs. Others don’t. If you’re one of those people that don’t have that much time allotted to where you can help train your dog, you might want to consider sending them off to a professional.
3. FIELD TRIALS/HUNT TESTS
If you’re someone that wants to run your dog in sanctioned trials and tests, I would always recommend sending them off to a trainer. While there are many that have been successful without doing so, there are thousands of others who have tried and failed. By sending them to a professional trainer, you can communicate your desire to have your dog hunt tested, and they can (ideally) get your pup ready to go. If you don’t have a desire to run these tests with your dog, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. It’s just one less thing you need to specifically train your dog for.
4. CAN YOU EFFECTIVELY TRAIN YOUR DOG TO DO WHAT YOU EXPECT IN THE FIELD?
I pose this in the form of a question because it’s one that is the most critical. For example, my dog Dewey is more than capable of going and retrieving a dead duck, but that isn’t the only thing I want him to be able to do. I want him to be able to run blind retrieves on crippled geese. I want him to be able to do doubles after we shoot into a flock of greenheads out of our boat. Those aren’t things I know how to teach to my dog. Hence why he leaves for professional training. So as you’re contemplating sending your dog to training, or just finishing things out yourself, ask yourself this question. If the answer is yes, then keep your dog at home, train him, and enjoy your time! If the answer is no, then find a good quality trainer (we recommend Marty Roberts of Sporting Life Kennels) and let them do the work to finish off your gun dog.
Remember, there’s no shame in sending your dog away to be trained. Having a good dog is an investment of time and money. If you can train your dog on your own, that’s fantastic. If you can’t, that’s why professional trainers have a job. They may not be cheap, but they will at least get your dog to where you want them to be. Either way, whether you train your dog, or leave it to the pros, you can enjoy the amazing bond shared by man and dog.
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