Bird Dog Training

Dog Training Commands A good command to teach first is to "Come". Then you can teach your dog to "Heel" upon command.

We are often awed at watching fine bird dogs in movies and in action. These finely trained bird dogs never fail to heed their owners’ commands. When you see them perform you may begin to ask yourself, how did they do that? You may wonder if bird dog training will help bring out the best in your dog.

The simple answer is yes, but you have to invest hard.

There are several dog breeds that could be trained into being excellent bird dogs. Teaching them to obey basic commands is the best place to start. Dog training professionals acknowledge the fact that dogs need to understand what command is being used in order to make them respond. In this type of training, there are main commands that should be mastered by both the owner and the dog.

First is for them to learn the "Stay" command.

Teaching your dog to respond to your ’Stay’ command, is very important for them to learn early during training.

Dogs that follow their masters command without hesitation will demonstrate obedience and respect to his owner. Dogs will express obedience to their master by doing whatever they are commanded to do, even if their master walks a great distance before giving the command.

Using the command ’Whoa’ or ’Easy’ is very useful for dogs that get excited about flushing out birds, because they may begin to get out of control, and start mouthing or playing with the birds. Once they obey your command it would be good to go to him and praise or reward them for a doing a good job.

Commanding them to ’Come’

This is a simple command used to train your dog to come to you every time you give it. The uses of this command are rather simple. A good reason to teach them to come, would be that when retrieving something, they bring it back to you when instructed to do so. Some dogs can be stubborn and may want to play or even begin to go off in another direction. Giving this command will help cut down on the distance between you and your dog in case he decides to do things his way.

The ’Heel ’Command

Teaching your dog to respond to the Heel command, is used when wanting them to walk by your side.

Another command that is often used after the ’Heel’ command is the one word command ’Ok’ or to ’Go’. This will let him know that he has performed favorably and he is again allowed to hunt for you.

Whenever the dog performs well, never fail to give him a tap, a treat or a word of praise to acknowledge his performance. Dogs are born with the desire to make their owners happy. If you can let your dog see that he is pleasing you with his performance and you want him to repeat it, the best thing you can do is to reward him. Over a period of time, he will learn to do the same actions for which he was rewarded and praised.

Bird dog training takes dedication and persistence. This is the reason why there are not many bird dogs around. However, if you really want to turn your dog into a really good hunter, you should be ready to invest some time and patience in perfecting the basic commands used in his training.