Dog Obedience

Dog Obedience

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
Training your hunting dog for obedience. A lot of us have great difficulties with that but it turns out that there is a formula. We'll find out what it is.

"A lot of times, the dog is doing what I wanted to do and conforming to my rules and the owner steps in and the dog doesn't want to listen to him because it has had its own way with him." Those words come from Keith Hartley, the owner of Cedar Ridge Retrievers in Longview Washington. Keith specializes in training hunting dogs in AKC Hunt Test, gun dog and obedience. He will take on any dog that an owner wants trained but has a very specific training regimen. "Training a dog for obedience, or competition, or a gun dog, it all starts the same with obedience. If you don't have the foundation of obedience you cannot go much further. I use a lead, a choke chain, a crop, and 1st of all you teach what you want the dog to do. After you have taught it, then you can enforce it. I use a lot of praise especially with retrievers were almost any outdoor dog. It's all praise, no rewards, I don't use treats. There's an analogy there for human beings too. ( Laughter, yeah). And the cost? $550 a month and it usually takes between a month and 6 weeks to get an obedient dog. The 1st 2 weeks I ask that the owner does not come and after that he is welcome to come whenever he wants."

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