Newbie Question: Do I have a chance?

[BucksandDucks]

Since you are totally new to dog training I would recommend you read and watch everything you can. There are many good programs to follow. Fowl Dogs, Evan Graham's videos and books, and a few others. Then follow one of those programs from start to finish. They all have different steps and ways of getting to the same results.

But to answer your question, what you have described is not collar conditioned. Collar conditioning is one of the first steps in formal obedience. Its merely a way to teach the dog how to turn off pressure by doing the right things, or the things they are being asked/told to do. You would simply apply pressure to a command that you are absolutely certain the dog knows.

So, like Evan pointed out earlier. If you have a long cord and the pup is not coming back, give the cord a tug and command "here". Do this many times until the dog knows the command. Then add resistance to the command. Lots of ways to do this just be inovative. I sat the dog between me and a pole and had the lead ran from the dog to the pole and then back to me. As I commanded "here" and the dog starts coming to me you can add resistance to the dog by holding onto the lead. You can substitute the pole for a trailer hitch, another training partner, just about anything. Once you know the dog is sure of what "here" means then mix in a little (little being the key word, esp starting out) pressure with the collar when you command "here". Follow the whole process through until you are applying resistance and pressure.

Let me back up and point out that when the dog gets to your side at any time in this...love him up and stop applying pressure. Let him know that by your side is a GREAT place to be.

This is not accomplished over night depending on the dog it will take several days more than likely. Just be patient and don't rush it. This is the building block for all furture training. The end result you are looking for is that when you give the command "here" the dog will fight through whatever is in its way (pressure or resistance) to get to you as quickly as possible.

This is a VERY high level explanation of this process so ask around for other opinions and read or watch some videos before you do this. I have a few that I wouldn't mind letting you borrow. Just PM me if you are interested.

Good Luck!!

[Curtdawg88]

Since you are totally new to dog training I would recommend you read and watch everything you can. There are many good programs to follow. Fowl Dogs, Evan Graham's videos and books, and a few others. Then follow one of those programs from start to finish. They all have different steps and ways of getting to the same results.

But to answer your question, what you have described is not collar conditioned. Collar conditioning is one of the first steps in formal obedience. Its merely a way to teach the dog how to turn off pressure by doing the right things, or the things they are being asked/told to do. You would simply apply pressure to a command that you are absolutely certain the dog knows.

So, like Evan pointed out earlier. If you have a long cord and the pup is not coming back, give the cord a tug and command "here". Do this many times until the dog knows the command. Then add resistance to the command. Lots of ways to do this just be inovative. I sat the dog between me and a pole and had the lead ran from the dog to the pole and then back to me. As I commanded "here" and the dog starts coming to me you can add resistance to the dog by holding onto the lead. You can substitute the pole for a trailer hitch, another training partner, just about anything. Once you know the dog is sure of what "here" means then mix in a little (little being the key word, esp starting out) pressure with the collar when you command "here". Follow the whole process through until you are applying resistance and pressure.

Let me back up and point out that when the dog gets to your side at any time in this...love him up and stop applying pressure. Let him know that by your side is a GREAT place to be.

This is not accomplished over night depending on the dog it will take several days more than likely. Just be patient and don't rush it. This is the building block for all furture training. The end result you are looking for is that when you give the command "here" the dog will fight through whatever is in its way (pressure or resistance) to get to you as quickly as possible.

This is a VERY high level explanation of this process so ask around for other opinions and read or watch some videos before you do this. I have a few that I wouldn't mind letting you borrow. Just PM me if you are interested.

Good Luck!!

Thanks for the advice and the offer to lend the videos! I would definitely take you up on it if we weren't 4 hours apart, but if you could recommend some of the ones you feel are the best I would greatly appreciate it. I would like to purchase several like you said and watch them all and maybe combine some of the methods. Thanks again!

[heyjack]

FOWL DAWGS is a great dvd series, you dont have to go through the whole series but the first one would do fine by itself in your scenario. I get my dog training equipment form gundogsupply.com which is located in Starkville. Great products and service.