In a previous article, we looked at why off-season training will benefit your hunting dog. Many people don’t think about training their hunting dog in the summer and what happens next is a fairly common scenario. It’s a hot summer afternoon and you’re both being pretty lazy – you’re laying in the hammock and your loyal hunting dog is laying right next to you on the ground, sleepily wondering if you’re going to reach down and scratch him on the head or get up and feed him dinner. All the sudden it hits you – the opening day of bird season is less than a month away. Hopefully, this is NOT you, because let’s face it – if you’ve waited this long, neither you or the dog is going to be in great condition for the first day of hunting.
If, however, you read my previous article, “Why Is Off-Season Training Important For Your Hunting Dog” or if there are still a couple of months until opening day it is not too late to get your dog in shape for hunting season. Here are some ways to help your canine companion be ready …
1) Brush up on your dog’s basic obedience skills. If you’ve been lax over the summer, he may have gotten lazy about obeying you and this is not something you want to find after you’re in the field.
2) Start “roading” your dog. For those not familiar with the term “roading”, it is a method of conditioning dogs where they are tethered to a vehicle and exercised on the road. Though many hunters have a tendancy to think this is only used for training trial dogs, nothing can be further from the truth. By roading your dog for 30 to 45 minutes at a time, a couple of times a week, you can condition pretty much every part of the dog’s body. Roading will strengthen the dog’s heart and lungs, tone up his muscles and even toughen up his feet. The best way to road your dog is on a bike, or a pair of skates, if you skate. Find a little used road – one with not much traffic. You might want to check out the regulations at parks in your area, check out the track at the local high school or look for new subdivisions where the houses are just now being built. Attach your dog to your bike, ATV or, if you’re on skates, take to lead in a gloved hand. Do NOT ever use a regular collar to road your dog. Instead invest in a padded roading harness and a lead that is about six foot long. If your dog has been well versed in obedience, jerking you off the road shouldn’t be a problem. If it is, go back to Obedience 101 and start over. The dog should be allowed to run a little ahead of you and even pull you along a bit. Thirty minutes of this will do wonders for your dog’s overall health and his ability to perform on opening day. It probably won’t hurt you either …
3) Do some basic drills. Use any of the training drills you used when you first began training your hunting dog. Don’t drill him into the ground – just a few minutes a day, several times a week are enough. Be consistent and do the drills on days you aren’t roading him.
4) Take the dog out in the field. Once or twice a week, take the dog to a nearby field or park and let him “hunt” for an hour or so. The workout will not only wake up his hunting skills and get his nose in prime working condition again, the walking around will probably be good for you too.
By investing a little time and effort during the summer for some off-season training, you and your dog will have a better opening weekend come bird season.
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I am getting a lab collie mix. Will 12 weeks of age work? I am the hunter of the family. And will my dog be able to hunt big game? zi have heard collies listen and obey well. I have also heard that they learn fast. Labs love to swim and play. Are they energetic or will they listen good. I will listen to your advice but I will feed mine different. Dummie Ducks should work,do you think? A flying airplane might work for a eduacational game right? Thank you
This makes me look foward to getting my 12 week old pup.