Teaching Water Blind Retrieves

[AlaskaHunter]

This is my favorite drill for teaching and maintaining blind retrieves.
I like it because all you need is 2 bumpers and a pond
and because of practice in remote casting, stopping, treading water, and casting, lining from different locations.
I think treading water is an important skill because it helps maintain handler control.

The retriever needs to understand that if he does not hear the whistle, he is headed on the correct route
if he hears the whistle, he must change direction with the next cast.

 

[Elmacho]

Good drill and nice work.
(might be a good idea to put a disclaimer that this is pretty advanced training....I can just see a young trainer trying this without knowing what you did to get to this point....haha)

Looking forward to more training days this summer.....

 

[Zootownelk]

Very nice! Makes me realize how much I've failed my dog...

 

[OntarioHunter]

Good advice. I work with two man baseball diamond method to start a pup in the field. Once the dog has blind retreive down on land, technique seems to carry over onto water fairly well.

 

[okie archer]

I need to get another lab started but I cant seem to get motivated after my QAA male died last year. My 8 year old son would like duck hunting.
Obedience
Force fetch
Walking fetch
Force to pile
Wagon wheel
Casting drills
Mini T
T drill
Walking baseball
Bird boy blinds
Show me blinds
Short cold blinds
Force to water
Swim by
Water T
Short water blinds
Extended water blinds
Land Double retrieves
Land Triple retrieves
Land Single retrieve with blind
Water double retrieve
Water triple retrieve
Water single with water blind
W drill
Chinese fire drill
Remote sends
Train train train
Drill drill drill
Yea I'm not motivated.

 

[Elmacho]

This isnt Oki Archer's first rodeo...apparently!

 

[AlaskaHunter]

I need to get another lab started but I cant seem to get motivated after my QAA male died last year. My 8 year old son would like duck hunting.
Obedience
Force fetch
Walking fetch
Force to pile
Wagon wheel
Casting drills
Mini T
T drill
Walking baseball
Bird boy blinds
Show me blinds
Short cold blinds
Force to water
Swim by
Water T
Short water blinds
Extended water blinds
Land Double retrieves
Land Triple retrieves
Land Single retrieve with blind
Water double retrieve
Water triple retrieve
Water single with water blind
W drill
Chinese fire drill
Remote sends
Train train train
Drill drill drill
Yea I'm not motivated.

You forgot tune-up drills...

 

[okie archer]

You forgot tune-up drills...

Ha
I have probably forgot more than just that.
I have not trained in awhile. Allthough I have been looking at pup classifieds.
Actually I probably just have a different name for the same concept.
For example, Chinese fire drill was a name given to an awesome training drill. I didn't name it, I learned it from an amature trainer I used to train with all the time back when I was in the AKC field trial game. He has trained several FC/AFC dogs.

 

[AlaskaHunter]

Tune-up drills can be useful for at least 4 reasons:

1. They get your retriever comfortable with multiple blinds
2. They teach your retriever go straight in a blind corridor.
3. They are useful to teach your retriever advanced blind concepts.
4. They help you develop as the handler to be proactive and reactive to keep your dog in a tight blind corridor.

https://missskeeter.podbean.com/e/retriever-tune-up-drills/

 

[Don Fischer]

Been years since I've worked with a lab. Doing water work as I recall started on land. If they won't do it on land, they won't do it in the water.

 

[pre6422hornet]

Its been a while, but I trained by pointing lab with Richard Wolters " Water Dog" and "Game Dog". Brilliant teaching techniques. And Wolters was from the school of thought, teach on land using hand signals for a blind retrieve and no matter where the dog is, land, water, space, air, they will follow your signal no matter what. Worked for me. If I remember correctly it was called playing baseball on the drills.

 

[Don Fischer]

Its been a while, but I trained by pointing lab with Richard Wolters " Water Dog" and "Game Dog". Brilliant teaching techniques. And Wolters was from the school of thought, teach on land using hand signals for a blind retrieve and no matter where the dog is, land, water, space, air, they will follow your signal no matter what. Worked for me. If I remember correctly it was called playing baseball on the drills.

Wolter's, a good reminder that most way's of training work if your consistent. I hated the Wolter's book, burned it. As I understand it he was a retriever man and got that dog to train simply to write a book about training a pointing dog. if that is true or not, I'm not sure but I didn't like the book and never recommend it to anyone.

 

[pre6422hornet]

I never heard that before about him. I have used his technique on 3 dogs since ( non hunting dogs) to house train, sit/stay, drop, how to greet people, etc.. and it has worked well. But you make a great point that consistency is the key no matter what philosophy. Trying to get all 4 of my daughters to use the same commands and not add in words was an exercise is patience. haha.

 

[okie archer]

I had Wolters book years ago when I first started attempting to train a retriever. The book served its purpose for its time but once I joined a retriever club in my area I soon realized Wolters book was quite dated. Training techniques and concepts have advanced tremendously since his book. The same with a lot of other things.

 

[Don Fischer]

I never heard that before about him. I have used his technique on 3 dogs since ( non hunting dogs) to house train, sit/stay, drop, how to greet people, etc.. and it has worked well. But you make a great point that consistency is the key no matter what philosophy. Trying to get all 4 of my daughters to use the same commands and not add in words was an exercise is patience. haha.

Regardless what I or anyone else says, if it works for you, stick with it!

 

[Don Fischer]

I had Wolters book years ago when I first started attempting to train a retriever. The book served its purpose for its time but once I joined a retriever club in my area I soon realized Wolters book was quite dated. Training techniques and concepts have advanced tremendously since his book. The same with a lot of other things.

Ya know something about dated methods, at one time they worked very well. never read his book on retriever's but from what I've heard retriever's were his strong point!

 

[okie archer]

Ya know something about dated methods, at one time they worked very well. never read his book on retriever's but from what I've heard retriever's were his strong point!

Yes, it served its purpose for its time. Just like horse and buggy served its purpose to get people from point A to point B. Anyone that wants to could still use horse and buggy and it would serve its purpose but now we have cars to serve the same purpose in a much more efficient manner. I choose the car.
Another example would be, I am a taxidermists. At one point in time sawdust was used as filler to make mannequins, hides weren't really tanned that well and because of a lack of resources taxidermist didn't have as much access to pictures of live animals to study anatomy. Yes those dated methods worked for that time and I suppose people could still use those methods but yesteryears taxidermy doesn't hold a candle to todays methods and quality.
My point is not to knock Wolters book as I said it was good for its time but there is much more knowledge available today and even better methods that produce even better results.

 

[ragin-cajun]

This is my favorite drill for teaching and maintaining blind retrieves.
I like it because all you need is 2 bumpers and a pond
and because of practice in remote casting, stopping, treading water, and casting, lining from different locations.
I think treading water is an important skill because it helps maintain handler control.

The retriever needs to understand that if he does not hear the whistle, he is headed on the correct route
if he hears the whistle, he must change direction with the next cast.

Good video.. I miss my labs

 

[AlaskaHunter]

Good video.. I miss my labs

I'm down to one lab...we lent our oldest to a friend who was having problems sheltering-in-place...they both fell in love with each other so its a permanent partnership.
My yougest lab has had a good summer enjoying being the "top dog" in the family.

 

[ragin-cajun]

Grew up hunting and guiding at a big duck club in Louisiana. Nothing like hunting with a good dog. training dogs is a labor of love. Amazing how smart those dogs are.