By Brendan Walsh, USJ Late Summer 2008

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.