# directional training.



## cornerfinder (Dec 4, 2008)

Hey guys. I have had dose since the day I was born. Love em. But they have all been working dogs sheep, cow and shepherds. I have a new pup lab/border-collie 12 months old, seems to be a great dog thus far. Good retriever and smart. I just cant seem to communicate the fact that I need him to go right, left or out. If I give him the time he eventually gets the bird. But in the field I wont have that time or patience. How do you train direction on the ground and in the water? 

Thanks in advance. 

Corner.


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## xxxxxxBirdDogger (Mar 7, 2008)

1st thing I'd do is get a book or set of videos and follow a training program. To get you started though, use hand signals at home while throwing treats. That gets the dog used to watching your arm go out, moving in that direction, and receiving a reward. Make the dog sit and stay and everything just like you would in a blind. Then you move on to the bumpers and do the same thing. First the dog has to be crazy about retrieving. Then you've got to work on sit and stay to get the bumper retrieve. When the dog is reliably staying at sit to get a retrieve with your kids running all around clapping and screaming, you're ready to move on to longer and more complex retrieves like blinds. 

As far as sitting at a distance and turning to wait for your signal, you do it the same way. You blow the whistle every time you give him his non-verbal signal to sit. Then treat when he sits. Whistle blows, dog sits, dog gets treat. Just like all reward based training you have to wean him from getting treats every time. Pretty soon you'll have him sitting all over the place whenever he hears a whistle. It's pretty easy to turn the retrieve into the treat for a Labrador. Once you do that, you can throw out the treats. 

Did that all make sense?


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## Gumbo (Sep 22, 2007)

Play baseball. But first make sure your obedience is sold.

Sit him at the pitcher's mound while you're at home plate. Throw a bumper to 1st base. Give a hand signal and an OVER to send him. Repeat 2-3 times. Then do it to 3rd base. Repeat 2-3 times.

When he's solid on this, throw bumpers to 1st and 3rd bases. You will likely want to use a check cord here to prevent allowing him the retrieve when he does it incorrectly. And I wouldn't use the e-collar here for anything other than SIT. When he's solid on this, throw bumpers to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd bases. 

Keep it fun, minimize corrections. In fact, put your ecollar away and use the check cord to prevent incorrect behavior. The reward is letting him make the retrieve and praising him profusely for correct responses. Build his confidence. Keep sessions short and fun, and resist the temptation to advance too quicikly. Reward with fun bumpers.


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## cornerfinder (Dec 4, 2008)

Thanks, when you say it like that it sounds so simple. 
thanks again.


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## xxxxxxBirdDogger (Mar 7, 2008)

Yeah, Gumbo's right. Baseball is a great game to play after you have the sit, stay, and retrieve down solid. Then when you have the dog taking the right direction reliably you can move on to pile work. That's just setting a pile of bumpers at each base and sending him for one bumper at a time in different directions. Call it advanced baseball.


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