A hunting dog makes not only an exceptionally loving pet but can also become a comforting and useful companion on your hunting trip. As well as the usual obedience and house training you would undertake with a family dog you will also need to give some hunting dog training. If you have never had a hunting dog before then you may want to consider consulting a professional and employing their services for a while until you really know what you are doing. Hunting dog training is specific to the kind of activity you will undergo with your dog as well as the breeds that are normally used for hunting.
The basics of hunting dog training are similar to those of obedience and even potty training. While there are different methods and you will usually have to employ a number of these methods depending on the particular skill you are trying to teach, it is usual to use both positive and negative reinforcement. A positive reinforcement can be as simple as a petting because while this may be a simple action to you it is a popular action with your dog that shows them they have behaved well and done what you have asked them. A negative reinforcement should be a verbal reprimand like you would use with any dog.
Using check ropes or lead rope is not uncommon when training gun dogs and if this is the case then a negative reinforcement would be to pull the dog back on the lead. Whenever you use a negative reinforcement you should encourage the dog to perform the task correctly in order that you can quickly follow up a negative with a positive reinforcement. This combination of the negative and the positive is one of the strongest and most effective methods of training your hunting dog.
In some circumstances it may be necessary to use punishment. For instance, if you are training a hunting dog to avoid snakes then you can use an electric collar to assist the training. They are not dangerous but they do emit a shock when you press a remote button. Using a fake snake in conjunction with an electric collar should very quickly indicate to your dog that snakes are bad news. It may seem cruel to some but it is not as cruel as letting them approach a rattlesnake with no idea of the consequence. |
