How to distraction-proof your dog
Training a gundog to ignore distractions is essential but it should not be rushed, says Fran Ardley
When training a gundog in the later stages of its education, you should start to try to think of exercises that correspond with situations you may come across in the shooting field. For example, the dog must ignore any distractions, whether it be when working with another dog or out on a retrieve. We have all witnessed the situation where a dog has been sent for a bird and another lands or gets shot when the dog is on the way back, prompting it to drop its retrieve and head uncontrollably for the distraction. We can and should train to avoid this from happening. Not only is it embarrassing for the handler, it is also not good for the swift and efficient collection of shot game, which should be the overall priority for anyone picking-up with or shooting over their dog.
Like all aspects of training, you must ensure that the basics are in place before moving on to this kind of exercise. If your dog is not steady and is a reluctant or poor retriever, you could potentially cause further problems and matters can quickly spiral out of control. I would class this type of exercise as advanced and therefore it would be expected that your dog wouldn’t be less than 12 to 15 months old. I don’t like putting ages on when and what a dog should be doing, but the dog needs to be mentally mature enough to deal with the pressure of this particular exercise.
Another thing to consider is the personality of your dog, as you will be giving quite firm commands during this task. If your dog is of a sensitive nature, you may have to break matters down and not push the dog too quickly; gauge what is going on and be prepared to adjust your training accordingly. Gradually build up each stage of the exercise and do not rush on to the next step until you are confident the dog fully understands what is required. If you find that the dog breaks and goes for the distraction dummy, try to stop it before it gets to it and self-rewards. Once the dog has the dummy in its mouth, you must stay calm and take it as you would a normal retrieve and then try again or go back a step in the exercise.
How
The exercise needs to be gradually built up in steps. Make it straightforward to start with and gradually increase the temptation. At this stage, we will only be using thrown dummies, but in a later article we will be dealing with artificial bolting rabbits and introducing distractions with shot.
“Start off easy and gradually increase the temptation”