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TO HANDLE OR NOT TO HANDLE---THAT IS THE QUESTION A question
was sent to me asking for my thoughts in regard to handling on marks in
training. I personally feel that
some persons handle too often and too soon on marks—remember this is just my
opinion. If you work with a pro who
does handle on marks a lot, don’t fling what I say in that pro’s face.
He/She probably would not care about my reasons for making that
statement. You could ask, in a
tactful manner, about the rationale used by that pro as to when to handle and
when not to handle. If it makes
sense to you, go with it. If not,
mull about it a bit. Here are
some thoughts on handling that I have found effective with my own personal dogs. I seldom
handle on marks in training. This
doesn’t mean I never handle, but I do try to keep it to a minimum.
If necessary, particularly
with a young dog, I will have the gun help the dog.
If the dog is going behind the gun, the gun can step in the direction of
the mark or even use his arm in a push (over) motion to help the dog.
Sometimes, if the gun just leans in the correct direction, the dog will
immediately understand. If the dog
puts up a big hunt outside the area of the fall, the gun can make a hey-hey
sound to entice him into the area, or by moving slightly away from the area,
pull him into the mark. Do not have
the gun walk over to the mark and pick it up and drop it.
Allow the dog to find it on its own while increasing the opportunity for
the dog to do this. I would
handle if a dog is obviously going to cheat (or tried to cheat) water or cover
that was clearly on line. I would
not necessarily correct on this as it would depend on the age of the dog and the
amount of training the dog has had. If
the dog understands the error of his ways and is blatantly cheating, I would not
hesitate to correct. If
the dog is going behind the gun because of lack of effort, a handle is needed.
Depending on the history of the dog, a correction may be in order with
the handle. If you are unsure, give
a handle and if the dog doesn’t correct, another handle with a correction
given at that time. Again, you need
to factor in does the dog know that this is incorrect.
For a young
dog that has not been decheated or is giving in to heavy wind, the wisest thing
is not to set up marks where it can make this type of mistake until it has had
the training to understand what you are asking. I will
handle on a check down bird when the dog obviously is blowing through.
Often, this will consist of a toot, then toot, toot, toot to bring the
dog back into the area. I do not
correct. Be sure and give the dog a chance to work this out before handling.
If the mark is retired, I will have the gun come out and stand there.
With one pro that I know, if a retired gun hears a whistle for a handle
on that mark, the gun automatically will come out and stand there to reorient
the dog. Handling too
much can easily lead into popping problems.
It can create a dog that is very worried and unsure, or produce a dog
that is always looking for help. Also,
if the dog is never allowed to hunt, how does he learn to do an intelligent hunt
on a mark he has missed? For some
dogs, a handle on a mark is pressure, particularly if this has lead to a lot of
corrections in the past. I
bought a 3 year old washout Lab who was being sold as a hunting dog.
Before I got him, he had had so much pressure on marks, that if he
didn’t pin it, he panicked. He
would go into either a gorilla hunt or boogie on out of there.
I had to remove all the pressure and just encourage him to hunt.
There were times I felt I could have read a chapter or two in a book
while he was out there hunting (obviously, I did not allow this on a hot day),
but when he found his mark, I praised extensively.
With time, his marking and hunting abilities improved greatly.
He went on to earn his FC/AFC title and qualified for nine Nationals.
He became a very consistent dog who was always there in the end---and the
reason I originally was able to buy him was that the owner didn’t think he
could mark. Normally I
don’t call all the way back on a mark. I
would either have the gun help or I would handle.
The only time I would call back is if the dog took a radically different
line right off the mat. I would then
call back, have the bird rethrown, and resend.
If you call back too much, it can really impede momentum.
In addition, as mentioned earlier, it can lead to popping and in some
cases, to a no go problem. This is
especially true if you allow the dog to go a hundred or more yards before
recalling. Partially
calling back can be effective if a dog is avoiding a factor such as cover,
water, rolling off a hillside rather than holding the hill, etc.
You stop the dog and call back to the spot where the poor decision was
made. You then give a cast which
indicates the decision the dog should have made.
Again, correcting or not is dependent upon whether or not the dog knew
that his decision was incorrect and was not making an effort. On occasion,
I will repeat a mark (not the whole setup) for a dog I had to handle.
I would either throw one off the line and then send, or just send.
This generally would be for a teaching type mark such as a check-down, a
cheating mark, or a mark where I might not be able to find something comparable
to do in another area. I would not
repeat for a dog that is known for going back to old falls.
I normally try to find another area and repeat the concept or problem
mark with a dog that had to be handled. I think you
have to be exceedingly careful correcting a dog while it is marking.
Possibly the dog just has forgotten where the mark is, and this can be
especially true if it is a retired gun. You
can nick a dog, if when handling, it refuses to take your cast or you can use
attrition. In this case you are
correcting for a cast refusal and not because the dog mismarked a fall. Some hunt
test persons and hunt test pros handle much too much and far too quickly in
training. This may be because
handling on marks is penalized less in hunt tests than in field trials.
In training, often the dog is not even given a chance to work a problem
through. How do you feel if someone
is always telling you what to do while you are trying to work through a problem?
Don’t you feel much better and develop more self-confidence when you
are able to work it through yourself? I know I can
be too slow to handle on those occasions when I run a hunt test as I am used to
letting a dog work it out in a trial situation.
Therefore, I can be chastised in turn by hunt test competitors.
I am not criticizing their handling in hunt tests, just encouraging them
to not do it so much in training. If a dog has
a problem on a mark, try to analyze why and think about what you can do to
overcome this problem. Maybe you
have set up marks that are too long too soon.
Maybe the setup is too sophisticated for the level of training the dog
has had. Maybe the dog just isn’t
trying---did not focus, head swung, etc. If
he is avoiding factors, work on this separately.
If you find you are handling a lot during marking setups, simplify.
Move up to open up the marks. Run
marks as singles off multiple guns. On
a triple, run it as a double and a single or three singles.
Do walking singles more often. Maybe
you are letting your friends set up marking tests for the benefit of their dogs
and not necessarily tests that at your dog’s specific training level will be
helpful for your dog. Some dogs
need a high level of success to maintain their confidence level.
Other dogs need to be challenged more.
Decide what your dog needs and how best you can provide this for him.
Remember, in dog training one size does not fit all. |
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