Starting blind retrieves:
#1 Walking Blinds. You can start this at a very early age to work pups memory.
Establish a starting line and the location of the blind. They should start out in short grass and be easily visible with white bumpers. Start at 10 yards and over the course of a couple weeks stretch them out to a distance where pup runs straight to the location with speed and style. If he is hesitating, looking around or lacking confidence shorten up your distances. Dogs can also get bored of drill work so, keep him happy and stop when you see the enthusiasm deteriorate. Sometimes you may only do 4-5 walking blinds per session. Always end a drill successful even if you do it from 10feet away.
1. stand on starting line with pup on short lead healed in a sit position at your side. Have one bumper in your hand.
2. walk pup at heal to destination of the walking blind telling him excitedly, “dead bird, dead bird, good boy dead bird” it should be about 20 yards max to start
3. stop about 10 yards short of the “blind” and toss(don’t throw it far, this isn’t a mark, just a short little toss) the bumper to the spot. Let pup focus on it and tell him, “dead bird”
4. turn pup away and walk pup on heal back to starting line. (always work walking blinds with pup on a check cord to start)
5. heal pup at your side and tell him dead bird while lining your hand over his head and holding him at heal. He should want to go and you may need to hold him.
6. When he settles, and focuses on the VISIBLE WHITE BUMPER put your hand down over his head pointing towards the “blind” and tell him “BACK!”
7. He should take off like a rocket to the blind. The second he picks it up, make a happy commotion, use lots of praise and tell him GOOD DOG!! Good dead bird!
This is the start to working blind retrieves. This is also a good drill for teaching a dog to line difficult blinds or hold lines across ditches and hillsides instead of running around obstacles. Not all dogs think this is fun and some may take a little time to get the idea. If they struggle, just keep doing it at shorter distances. If they are really putting up resistance, put out a pile of white bumpers standing straight up so they can really see them. When you say BACK, have a helper(or time it yourself) to throw a bumper over the dog so they see something land in front of them and get excited for it and start moving with speed. If the dog really is pouting about working, use a live wing clipped pigeon with its feet tied. When you can do walking blinds at 150+ yards, they are usually ready for being “forced to pile” which I won’t even attempt to explain on the internet because if you do it wrong your dog can be ruined for life easily and quickly. It should be done with someone who is experienced for your first time.
