RockErin Retrievers

Commands for the Trained Retriever

(Copyright protection RockErin ©)

A. HERE

To call the dog to you regardless of distance between you and the dog. If you are standing still, then the dog should return to your left hand side.
When dog is sitting with you on line (i.e. before sending the dog to retriever). The command HERE will move dog’s front end to the right while the backside of the dog remains on the ground as in the sit position.
When walking with dog at your side, use HERE to keep the dog in position when dog drifts/moves out of a 3-foot radius around your left leg (i.e. your heeling leg).
When quartering with the dog, HERE is the second choice command for maintaining control of your dog and for turning the dog back into gun range.

B. HEEL

To make dog turn 180° and sit at your left leg to deliver bird. (Use as necessary when dog is approaching you and about 10ft away from you).
The verbal Here can be used to adjust dog’s position to align with the mark or blind when the dog is in sit position at your left leg on line. Use Heel to correct dog’s line by about 1 to 5 degrees. In response to Heel; front-end stays put, but backside moves on ground towards your left shoe.
If dog goes to creep while on line, then the command Heel will make dog slide back towards you and return to correct sit position.
While walking with dog at your left leg. Use Heel only if Here becomes ineffective.

C. Sit

Voice command of Sit is self-explanatory.
Use loud SIT if dog breaks (Use Here if sit is ineffective). Usually give collar with SIT when dog breaks.

D. Down

The command of Down is used to make the dog lie down. The dog will respond to a verbal Down and (or) a downward movement of your hand.

E. Mark or Watch

Tells the dog to look out in front for a marked retrieve as during a field test or in anticipation of shooting incoming ducks.

F. Dog’s NAME

Use the dog’s name to release and send the dog for a marked retrieve; Back could also be used, but we generally use the dog’s name for a marked and back on blinds.

G. Easy

Cue to let dog know there is likelihood that he will over-run the mark for which Easy is used as a cue. The command of Easy is used routinely during training and in field tests.

H. Blind Retrieves

Cold Blind – A cold blind is a land or water blind that does not involve marks or diversion birds.

a. Align dog’s spine with Heel/Here.

b. Align dog’s head if necessary with gentle Here to move dog’s head from looking left to looking straight out.

c. Spine and head in good positions, then SIT – BACK and then handle as necessary.

Blind after picking up marked retrieves.

a. Bring dog to side sit finish

b. Align dog’s spine with Heel/Here

c. Give command as SIT – BLIND – BACK; handle as necessary. The word BLIND is used as a cue to inform dog that it is a blind retrieve and to ignore fall areas of birds or to run right through a fall area to get to blind.

Poison-Bird Blind

a. Tell dog LEAVE IT when poison bird at top of arc and then repeat when birds hits the ground.

b. Align dog’s spine

c. Align dog’s head

d. SIT – BLIND –BACK; handle as necessary (may use leave it several times in above to draw dog’s attention away from poison bird).

I. Fetch and Give

a. The command FETCH used very infrequently at line if dog drops the retrieved bird or goes to play with previously retrieved birds at line; occasionally see this problem at field tests with multiple retrieved birds, or during hunting if bird is overshot and the entrails are exposed.

b. The command GIVE is used to make the dog release bird/bumper form its mouth. Generally, the dog will automatically release when you put your hand on bird or bumper.

J. Upland Hunting (Quarter and Flush)

HUNT – Hunt is a verbal command that is used to release dog and to tell the dog to begin quartering in front of and (or) between the hunters.
Dog’s NAME – Use dog’s name (e.g., “Geordie”) as a command to turn the dog if he gets to far right or left, or too far in front of you.

a. If name is not effective, then immediately use Here.

b. Expect the dog to look at you or come towards you when you say their name.

Sit-to Flush-Shot and Fall

a. Dog should automatically sit for most birds that are flushed greater than 5 feet from the dog

b. Use whistle sit immediately on flush of bird to make dog sit or at least remain stationary.

c. Release dog to make retrieve of a downed bird by verbal Back or Hunt.

d. If flushed bird is missed and it is a fly-away, then use verbal Here and Hunt to make dog resume hunting.

Trailing

a. Make dog sit within 10 feet of start of trail. Use verbal FIND-It to start dog trailing; if dog clearly goes wrong way then recall with Here and start again with FIND-IT

K. Whistle Commands

Sharp (~ 1 sec.) Blast

a. Used as a sit whistle during yard and fieldwork.

b. If dog has stopped and sitting but the dog turns its head to look away from you, then use sharp toot to make dog look straight at you.

Long (2-3 sec.) Blast

a. Used if dog does not sit with first sharp blast of whistle and often used in conjunction with collar correction for a whistle-sit refusal.

TOOT – TOOT

a. Tow quickly repeated sharp toots used to tell dog to pick-up object in yard work or in field.

b. Also used as part of TOOT_TOOT drill if dog over-runs a mark.

Whistle Trill

a. Come-in whistle; used to tell the dog to come towards you.

L. Marks

When doing multiple marks, turn and face next mark as the dog returns with bird.
Keep your left leg planted and try to minimize your body movement.

a. Left leg is the directional leg.

b. Right leg can be moved ever so slightly to help with head movement of dog.

Use verbal cue of Mark or Watch to encourage the dog to lookout or to help him/her remember memory bird of triple/quad marked retrieve.
Use verbal cue of Watch to emphasize particular mark (e.g., memory bird or difficult bird of triple).
Use verbal cue of Easy if there is a potential for dog to over-run a short or long mark.

M. Casting

All casting done when dog has provided a proper whistle sit response.

Verbal Back

a. The command back given alone (i.e., without any arm movement) should result in the dog turning sharply 180° and moving away from you. It is the dog’s option whether the dog turns to the right or left.

b. If your arm is extended straight up with the small finger facing towards the dog and done in conjunction with the verbal BACK, then the dog should turn to the left or right 180° and move away from you.

c. Raising the right arm is referred to as a right back, even though the dog will turn to his/her left.

d. Raising the left arm is referred to as a left back, even though the dog will turn to his/her right.

e. The correct extension of your left or right arm requires that your thumb almost touch your shoulder before you deliberately extend the forearm straight up with your thumb almost touching the side of your face.

f. A verbal Back is sometimes used during angle casting if the dog is freezing on the cast; that is, the verbal back can be used after several silent casts have been unsuccessful in moving the dog.

g. The verbal Back is used coincidentally with angle-back casts if the cast involves conflict with land-water interface. It is used when the dog cheats the line and chooses land over water. A strong verbal Back at land-water interface should result in the dog taking the cast and moving from land to water.

Silent Casts – Angle Backs

The dog should recognize four silent angle-back casts.

a. 10° angle-back cast – This cast is given as soon as a dog leaves the true line to the blind. This narrow angle-back cast is used infrequently during marked retrieves because handler should allow a wider lane to the fall area than to the blind. The cast is made by performing the straight back cast but with the palm of your hand facing towards the dog instead of the small finger facing the dog as in the straight back cast.

b. 30° angle-back cast – This cast is the routine angle-back cast. The cast is made by fully extending your arm as if you were going to wave to a friend. It is used when the dog is approximately 30° off the true line to the blind or mark.

c. 45° angle-back cast – This cast is made by fully extending your arm so that the position of your arm splits equally the straight over cast and the straight back cast. The 45° angle cast is used when attempting to correct for large differences between the position of the dog and the position of the fall area or blind.

d. Over cast – The Right or Left over cast can be given silently (i.e., movement of arm without a verbal command) to move the dog a few yards over before the dog would turn and move away from the handler.

Over Casts

a. Right over – This cast is used as a verbal Right and should result in the dog moving in a rightward direction relative to the handler.

b. Left Over – This cast is used as a verbal Left and should result in the dog moving in a leftward direction relative to the handler.

c. Over Casts – Both Left and right over casts are made by fully extending your arm with your hand-moving straight out from your chest area with your thumb facing down. Extending your left arm in conjunction with the verbal Left moves the dog leftward. Extending your right arm in conjunction with the verbal Right moves the dog rightward.

ELECTRIC COLLAR

Your dog is well acclimated to the electric training collar. Your dog should be trained using the low/medium intensity of level#00 using a Tri-tronics collar. At times it may be necessary to use the high intensity of level #00 or the low/medium intensity level of #00. Your dog has been trained with the electric collar in our program that incorporates training principles of direct pressure, indirect pressure, negative reinforcement, and comparison approach as regards to use of electric stimulation.

Certain rules need to be understood when using the collar:

Adjust the intensity of the stimulus to match the seriousness of the error committed by the dog.
We have trained your dog by incorporating a loud verbal NO instead of a collar correction. A verbal NO should be used instead of collar correction as long as it is effective.
First and foremost, the collar is used to maintain/demand a quick and proper whistle sit when the dog is doing marks or blinds. If the dog refuses to sit on your first whistle blast, then repeat the whistle sit simultaneously with a collar stimulus of approximately 0.5 seconds. The duration of the stimulation may be lengthened until the dog sits; this would be an example of the comparison approach when using collar stimulation.
The collar is used to correct for cast refusals by the sequence of whistle sit-collar stimulus (0.5-1.0 seconds) – whistle sit, then repeat the cast. If this process is unsuccessful then you must proceed carefully and probably you should simplify the task. One option if correction for cast refusals is unsuccessful is to call the dog to you and then stop the dog and continue casting.
If the dog does not comply with an obedience command then repeat the command simultaneously with a continuous low/medium stimulus and keep applying stimulus (comparison approach) until dog begins to comply. Stop applying stimulus as soon as the dog begins to initiate the proper response. It the dog is hesitant to comply or still purposefully ignores your command, then continue as above but increase the intensity of the stimulus until the dog begins to comply.