You can begin work on the kennel command once the pup knows sit. Use a place board about 12” x 12” and 2” high. Your pup will outgrow several puppy place boards so don’t make them too fancy—I bet an old college text book will do to start.

Use a treat to lure him on the board. When he climbs up give him the teat. Pause and allow him to explore and then climb off.  Repeat.

When your pup is readily climbing up on the board add the cue.  Say “kennel” just as he begins to climb up.

Begin to tell your pup to sit when he is on the place board. He has enough success now that you can stop giving the treat for climbing up and only treat for the sit when he is up. Very quickly you should be able to drop the sit command and his “kennel” will mean kennel up and sit.

Call him off a place board to a remote sit near the board and then cast him to kennel again. AS he learns this pattern you can teach him all the directional casts–left and right over, left and right backs.

Five Reasons Why:

1. When hunting thin ice area, especially near rivers, “whoa” will save your dog and possibly a human life that might go out on thin ice to save him!!
2. When hunting in rattlesnake or cobra country, “whoa” will save your dog’s life!
3. When hunting in porcupine country or skunk infested areas, you can “whoa” your dog and leash him before they charge in and ruin a great day.  This will also save on costly vet bills.
4. Teach your dog to “whoa” before they get close to birds, so that if you are behind brush or taking a leak, you can still get in place for a shot.
5. Last, but not often thought about, when you have a “whoa” broke dog on point 20 feet off the bird, it gives the shooters more time to circle downwind of the bird.

When birds pick the direction they flush, most times they flush crosswind or downwind.  When this happens, it puts the birds in control, not the dog and the handler.  You lose!!  Because birds flushing with the wind or crosswind are many times too low to safely shoot over your dog!  If the dog handler “whoa” breaks the dog, you can many times flush the birds into the wind for higher birds, thus safer shooting!!  (If you are a gambler; 1,000 low fast shots or 1,000 high shots with the birds fighting the wind.  What’s your bet??)

How to Teach Your Gun Dog “Whoa”

Photographs taken by Brendan Walsh

Simply put, a dog under control is more safe and fun to hunt over.  It doesn’t matter if it’s an English Pointer, Chesapeake, or a funky crossbreed.  A well-trained gun dog is one of life’s true simple pleasures.

Start in the house when the puppies are ten weeks old.  On a five foot leash, make the pup “whoa” standing if he’s a pointer, or sitting (it’s your personal preference) if he’s a flushing breed.  Continue this about two minutes a day, three times a week for a month, always making it fun for your pup.

Continue to do this on a leash.  Repetition is the key!!  After the pup has mastered this for more than one month or so, go to a leash and an e-collar in a confined yard for a month or two.  Be careful on live birds, not to spook the pup.  A good rule of thumb is to let the pup work fifty birds on a leash before ever going to an e-collar.  Some pups need 100 or more birds to work before they build enough confidence or style to be “whoa” broke.

You will hear me say this many times, “It’s like musky fishing.  You can catch a musky every 10,000 casts!!!  You train your puppy with 10,000 casts.”

After working with the short leash, move to a 20 foot retractable leash in your yard for an additional four weeks.  Yell the “whoa” command to the pup when he is coming toward you on the leash.  Make him stop and repeat 500 times over four weeks to six weeks, alternating every other day, 10 to 20 minutes daily is plenty.  We use verbal and hand signals on this command.  Be careful not to scare the pup too much, make each training session fun!!   Every dog is different.

Remember:  One inch of sloppiness in the house or yard turns into fifty feet of slop in the field.

When the pup has one to three months of “whoa”, he should look you straight in the eye, slide to a stop, and remain motionless.  He should not move his head side to side, or move his feet one inch.

On started dogs, we don’t release any dogs with verbal commands.  We usually release the dog by a touch of his tail.  In this method, “pup” is not looking for an excuse to move.  A picnic table or bench works well for beginner pups.

The Walsh family has been breeding and training quality gun dogs for over 100 years.  Questions on dog training? Email usjournal@hotmail.com.  Also, visit www.RockHollowHuntClub.com for more information.

Speacial thanks to Brendan Walsh for allowing us to post this article as well as the photographs.

After the dog has learned to run through the decoys on land and retrieve the dummy out of the water, you can place a couple duck decoys in the water. Remember to praise the dog for a job well done.
(See diagram.)

To start this exercise you will need to be in medium height grass with your scented Remington® dummy and the check cord from your Remington® training kit. Take the scented dummy and place it upwind from your starting point. Where you place the dummy will be your ending point.

With your dog in the heel position, walk with him from the starting point and give a verbal command to release him from your side. Walk

with your dog in a zig zag pattern letting him work about 20 yards in front of you. (See diagram.)

If you need more control of your dog during this exercise attach the check cord to the collar. You can continue to set up different training
areas and change locations of the scented dummy. Do not forget to give your dog a lot of praise for a job well done.

This should be a fun exercise for him and you.

You will start by positioning the “thrower”, with the scented dummy, 50 yards away from the “handler”. The “handler” will have the dog at the heel position and will hand signal to the “thrower” to get the dog’s attention. When the dog is looking in the direction of the “thrower” toss the dummy at a 45 degree angle back away from the “handler” and the dog.

(See diagram.)

The “handler” will release the dog on command to retrieve the dummy. After the dog picks up the dummy, recall the dog to you. Do not forget to praise him for a completed retrieve. Rotate this exercise in varying areas with different grass and weed coverage; short grass, long grass, tall weeds, etc. Change your distances from the “handler” and “thrower” from 25 yards up to 150 yards. Set up this area so the wind is always at your back. This will give the dog a chance to see the dummy and learn how to judge distance and not just use his nose to find the dummy.

You can test your dog with the 3 basic obedience commands when you think he is ready. Using your Remington® check cord, allow your dog to wander, then give a command. If he ignores the “come” command, walk toward the end of the lead, pick it up and give it a tug. Command the dog to come again until he understands and obeys. If your dog ignores the “sit” command, grab the lead and give the sit command again while pulling up on the lead, making him sit. Remember to provide positive reinforcement when he responds properly.

It is very important not to rush the basic obedience techniques, as they are the foundation of every dog’s behavior. It may take up to 2 to 4 weeks to complete your training with 30 minute sessions, four times a week. Dogs do not understand English, but they respond to the tone of your voice. Be patient, consistent and be sure to keep the training fun for both you and your dog.

Sit Whistle

To start training for the whistle sit command, give the voice command “sit” followed by one blast on the whistle. Next switch to one blast on the whistle followed by voice command “sit”. When the dog has this command understood, switch to just one blast on the whistle.

Come Whistle

To start training for the whistle come command, give the voice command “come” followed by a trill sound on the whistle. Next switch to the trill sound on the whistle followed by the voice command come”. When the dog has this command understood, switch to just the trill sound on the whistle for the come command.