CoryTDF's Dog Training Guide

[CoryTDF]

Started to write this several years back. Got tired of people asking me a million questions and then asking them again and again so I decided to print something out. My training philosophy is to to recommend a book to people that ask about dog training. I suggest Game Dog or Water Dog by Richard A. Wolters. If they read it than we can continue talking and if they don't I typically just count them as a person that will not have what it takes to see the training through.

I began to realize that some folks just don't have the time to read or that they are committed but not big readers. So i set out to make a more condensed pamphlet type guide. Never got around to finishing it but the information here is still sound advice. I have not proof read the whole thing and don't have time to do so now so if you see a typo, well, #sorry. Anyway, thought this might be helpful to some.

Retriever Training

A Guide for the Novice Trainer

Equipment:
1)   Choke Collar
2)   Leash
3)   Whistle
4)   Retrieving bumpers
http://www.gundogsupply.com/sofknobplasd.html    ------------------------------6 each
http://www.gundogsupply.com/mnb-m.html               ------------------------------ 6 each

Basic Commands:
1)   “Sit”
2)   “Ok”
3)   “Stay”
4)   “Here”
5)   “Heal”
6)   “Mark”
7)   “Back”

Most people who ask me about dog training have pretty much the same set of questions. “Where do I start?” “How long does it take?” “Why are you so concerned with using certain phrases or commands?” and lastly “Can you teach me how to do it?” Let me start off by saying I am in no way an expert. I have no championships titles under my name. I am just a hunter with a slightly above average dedication to training dogs.  I started out much like everybody else, just a boy with a dog and a passion to hunt. My dog would run around in the weeds and when I shot something more often than not he would bring it back to me and that was good enough. Good enough that is until I met my friend Sean. I was hunting ducks on an island with a group of friends. I was at the time, between dogs, and was using a friends golden retriever. A block headed, overweight, and grey faced lass who despite her obvious spaced out disconnection with the world could in fact swim and was willing to bring back the occasional bird.

During a lull in the action on this fine day a man, who I would later become friends and training partners with, came over with his dog and introduced himself “Hey I’m Sean” I of course responded with my name and we began to talk. During our conversation, about what I don’t recall, he looked out into the water and saw a dead duck floating about 80 yards out. “What’s up with the bird?” he asked me and I turned to look out into the water, as one does, even though I already know it’s there. I explained that my loner dog could not see it and that I was going to go get the boat to get it. Sean asked if I mind if he let his dog get it. “Please” I said and with that he called his dog over to his side and she sat poised and ready for action. His commands were followed without question and he was using words that I had would have never attributed to dog training. He got down low near her ear and was muttering something in a soft voice his left hand was steady just above her head. I don’t know what he was saying to her but she was quivering and her body was locked upright eyes glued on the little black dot on the water and then it came, the sweet release she was waiting for “Back” he said, and with that his dog exploded with an instinctive primal drive unrivaled by most and beautifully pure. As Sherlock Holmes would say to Watson “The game is afoot” and Slick, much like Sherlock intended to win it.   Into the water she went paying no attention to the group of plastic ducks that sat in-between her and that little black dot. “Back? Why would you tell your dog back and then have her leave you?” I thought this to myself as I watched her closing the distance to the dead bird. As Slick, that was the dogs name, made it to the halfway point our spectators trance was broken by a flock of mallards coming into the decoys. “Can I shoot with you?” asked Sean “Of course” I responded. We stood and took the three drakes out of the air. One of the birds hit the water about 20 yards from Slick and it emerged from the muddy water very much alive. I looked at Sean who was at that moment putting a whistle into his mouth. Tooot! He blew on the whistle and what happened next astounded and amazed me. Slick turned on a dime and started treading water, Sean’s hands went up and he stepped left while extending his left arm and commanding “Over”. Slick did as he commanded and was now in pursuit of the wounded duck.

Dumbfounded I stood on the shore of this small island mouth agape in total disbelief. Am I dreaming? Is this some sort of super dog? A million questions came into my mind but only one word could come to my lips “Wow”! On that cold December day my eyes were opened to a world that I could have only imagined to be found on the pages of some hunting dog fairy tale, yet now, in true life’s reality, I was not only living it but soon I would be helping to create it.   And so began my journey into the dog training world. Sean and I became quick friends and we train together to this day.

Since I have started dog training I have met several people whom have just gotten a dog and wanted to “train it” they always ask me what to do and I always tell them the same thing. “Richard A. Wolters, buy his book or DVD Game or Water dog”, follow it and if you do that you will be fine. I will help you as much as I can along the way. To date very few people have actually gotten their dog much past sit. It’s not because it’s impossible or even that hard to do. It is because many people are too impatient or plane lazy and won't commit to do what needs to be done. Many of those who read this Guide will never actually use this information to train the dog. The most common excuse is “I just don’t have time” to that I say “Pushaww”. In the early training half an hour a day will get you the results you want, obedience wise, that is. The unfortunate truth is that most people just simply are not willing to do the work. They say that the dog takes after the owner and if you are too lazy to train your dog don’t be surprised if your dog is too lazy to get a downed bird or to sit on command. I LOVE training dogs and I am willing to help anybody to do the same. The reason I tell them to read the book or watch the movie is to prove to me and more importantly themselves that this is something they want to do. The sad truth is most people wash out. Like I said before and will say again training is not hard, but it is certainly not for everybody. If you think you have the commitment to produce a dog that most likely will exceed what you thought was possible straighten up your reading glasses and let’s get going.

Take this to the Bank…

First thing first, if it is your intention to have a hunting dog then please read through this paragraph. If not, you may as well skip it all together. Before I even start talking about Obedience or training in general I want to make clear the importance of your dogs desire to retrieve. I want it to be clear right from the start how important this is. From the day you get your pup you should be ready to play fetch. The tools for this are bumpers. They do sell small puppy sized bumpers and I feel the work quite well. If that is not an option for you than use whatever you have available with hope of transitioning to a bumper as soon as possible. Getting started is simple. I use a hallway in my house if you are not the type to have the dog in your home than try and use a fence or the side of the house, basically you want to make a corridor for pup to go down and then be forced to come back to you. Once in position get pup exited play with the bumper and get pup to really want it. Throw the bumper these will be called “fun bumpers”. Make the throw maybe only two feet and first and let pup run after it. Don’t worry about any formal commands and DO NOT hold pup back in an attempt to make them be steady. Just make it fun and make it as often as you can. It is very easy to turn something fun into something tedious so make certain to only throw 3-5 retrieves per session. Extend the distance as you see fit. Just read your dog and if they start to lose interest be done for that session. As you read farther into this guide and obedience training begins do not forgo or stop these  “fun bumper” sessions they should be done in addition to the training you are about to learn. I will go into retrieving more in depth farther into this Guide.

Where it all begins…
Use feeding time to your advantage. Dogs or animals in general will do almost anything to satisfy their most basic need, which is of course, their need for sustenance. Use this primal instinct as a tool to gain control of your dog. The basic idea is this: At feeding time take said pooch out into the yard. If your dog is kennel trained than make sure to give him/her time to “empty” or “go pee”. Another reason to train before feeding is to minimize the risk of “torsion” the risk of which is increased by training a dog who has a full stomach.  Now that you have the basic idea here is a tip to help really drive it home for pup. After a quick workout on sit, stay, here, have pup sit down.  On the last sit/stay take the food bowl and place it on the ground. If pup breaks for the food bring him/her back to the original place and start over. Over time augment the distance and time that pup is waiting to anything you feel comfortable with. The important thing is to make sure that the commands are obeyed. If pup breaks than the series must be started over. The food is the treat and the only way to get it is through obedience to the simple commands that you have given. NEVER end on a failure. If the distance or wait time are to great adjust it accordingly but always make sure that the last command of the day is followed.
Example:
Once your little hairy friend has had a minute to relieve him/herself it is time to train. What you are about to read can and I believe should be used in all stages of this early training. So, let’s say that pup is sitting 20 yards away and you are trying to get pup to stay for 30 seconds. Every time you place the food bowl on the ground pup waits about 10 seconds and then breaks. You have done this 2 or 3 times and pup does not seem to get it. The remedy is simple. Shorten the distance or shorten the time that pup is waiting before being released. The most important thing is that pup ends by doing what you ask even if that means you have to shorten the distance to 5 yards and only have pup wait 5 seconds as long as pup is doing what you asked you're winning. There is plenty of time to work on expanding this but as a trainer you will never get anywhere if you allow your dog to fail. Training a dog is like making a fire, you have to start small and build it up slowly. If the dog fails, you fail!

NOTE: Training should always be done BEFORE feeding!

I’m sure you are asking yourself “How do I get my dog to do all these things?” and to that I say with a sarcastic smile “it's easy”, but we both know that is not entirely true. While I do fully believe that this is not a chore for a gifted individual I do believe that it does take a fair amount of dedication and even more patients. As I said before it does not take a wizard or a doctrine to be able to train dogs. Use the resources available and dedicate a small portion of your time each day and you will have success. Putting in the training time now will save you from chasing an out of control dog around the field later. I do not run in the “Dog Park” circle and to be honest I have never even been to one. I don’t drive a Subaru and my feet never got used to hemp sandals, I believe those are a requirement at said establishments. I do however; use many of my local city parks for training. Almost daily I have people stop to watch me and my dog Caly during our training sessions. I am asked about and applauded on my training all the time. To me, Caly is great, but she still has much to be desired. To others she is a dog prodigy and most have “Never seen anything like it!” It’s not that my dog is special. It’s that she is trained. The average person has not been taught the proper way to train and so the average dog is in-effect, untrained. Much of dog training is training yourself so that you can then train the dog. I do believe that some dogs, like some people, are smarter than others, but more often than not improper or plain lack of training is the culprit not the dog’s brain.  It’s nice to be the man at the park with my dog off leash and under control as I watch the “other guy” running leash in hand yelling at his block head as he chases old Mrs. Wilson's poodle in circles around her winding her up like a tether ball pole.   

Getting started: Step One… Obedience!

   Before you start it’s important to choose a side. By this I mean choose a side to have your dog heal to, left or right, it’s your call. I, being a right handed shooter, choose to have my dog heal on my left. Eventually you will teach pup to heal on both sides but for now just choose one or the other.  The command “Heal” will be taught later but an understanding of exactly what it means is necessary for what is to come. At this point “Heal” is just a place that you have chosen on either your left or right side not a command so do not use it as such. If your intention is to have your dog heal on the left side than fashion a P out of the chain or “choke collar” I hesitate to call it that as in this day-in-age it’s a term that is frowned upon. If you choose the right side than make a 9 out of the collar. I will use the P as it correlates with my chosen side. Once you have it in a P slide that over your dogs head and attach the leash. This is done so that after pressure is applied to the leash it will cinch up and when the pressure is released so too is the cinching action. If you put the collar on in say, the shape of the number nine, and have the pup on your left side, the collar will not operate correctly and could cinch and then not release in-effect choke your dog and greatly reducing the effectiveness of this important tool. Proper collar operation is important. To begin hold the end of the leash in your right hand and the halfway point in your left hand.  Direct your pup to the heal position. Take a few steps and command “Sit” while blowing a single blast on the whistle and applying upward pressure on the leash with your left hand. If needed hold the leash up with your right hand and let go with your left so as to be able to use your left hand to push down on pup’s rear end. Once you have pup sitting Use a release command to free him. I use the word “Ok” to release my dog this lets them know that it is alright to move from the sitting position. It is important to keep up the momentum at this point. Remember your not teaching pup to stay right now. As soon as pup sits and kind of settles in command “Ok, Ok, Ok” when pup breaks take a few more steps and repeat the process. Continue this 5 or 6 times.  Soon you will be able to use only the whistle to command sit. After the last command of sit during the training session reward pup with their breakfast or dinner. Remember at this point you are not working on stay. As soon as pup sits down and settles in on the last command of sit place the food in front of him. Don’t worry if he breaks and goes to the food at this point all you wanted was for him to sit and he did that. If you are lucky and pup does not break when you placed the food bowl on the floor then simply release pup with “Ok”.

If You Train Him He Will Come...

   Once pup is sitting consistently it is time to expand on this command and introduce two more. Place the collar on pup and again using voice, whistle, or both command pup to sit. Once pup is sitting let go of the leash with the left hand and step in front of pup so that you are facing each other. If pup breaks from the sit position apply a quick “pop” of upward pressure with the leash and command “Sit” accompanied by whistle blast. When pup will sit and allow you to move in front without breaking it is time to bring a new command into your repertoire. The command “Stay” accompanied by the universal hand sign for stop, which is an extended arm with the hand open fingers facing upward and pressed together, is given.  Slowly back away from pup commanding stay. If pup breaks walk pup back to the original location command sit and repeat the process. When you have reached the end of the leash it is now time to incorporate a fourth and possibly the most important command that is of course the command “Here” This can be accompanied by several short blasts on the whistle. Toot, toot, toot.  Start small and work your way out farther each day. When you make it to the end of the leash just lay it on the ground and continue to back away. Soon you will be able to do this at distances over 100 yards. Eventually the command “Stay” can be worked out and the command “Sit” will mean both of these things.

[CoryTDF]

Time to do the “Two Step”...

Yup, you got it, I was a headliner in the Broadway show “Dancing for Dog’s”. Even if that where a real play, this author, is no dancer. The two step that I am referring t is a method that I use for teaching the command “Heal” Heal is the position directly at the person’s side. It is used as a control point for your dog. Heal can mean “Come to me and sit” or it can be as simple as “Stay close to me as we walk” Each application is important and each is used often. Heal is a position that is absolutely necessary for basic and advanced retrieving tasks. “Target acquired” the phrase is understood to mean that whatever it is that you are searching for has been located and you are ready to fire. This is what the heal position is for as it relates to retrieving. Weather it is a blind retrieve or a marked retrieve as a trainer the position of heal is where you will await the sing from your pup of “Target acquired” and with that you will send a four legged feather seeking missile on a crash course to its intended target.
Teaching heal is to assume that you have already taught pup all the above tasks and that pup is proficient with them. This is the last of the basic obedience tasks to conquer.  With leach on have pup sit down.  Walk around in front of pup and stop facing the dog. This is where the “two step” comes into play. As I mentioned above I use my left side and so this instruction will be for that. Remember that if you choose to use your right the actions are the same just on the reverse side. With pup sitting in front command “Heal” while simultaneously taking a half step back with your left foot and lightly pulling on the leash directing pup to your left side. Use the leash to bring pup all the way to your left side and then turn pup around so that you are facing the same direction. Once pup has turned around bring your left foot forward and as pup is even with your left side command “Sit”. Pup should now be sitting on your left side even with you and facing the same direction. At this point pup should be steady on sit and you should be able to step forward again and repeat the process. This should be worked into the daily routine and done about 3-5 times per session. Eventually pup will begin to sit on their own and the command “Heal” will be understood to mean “Come to my side and sit”. When pup is proficient on your chosen side you can expand it and teach pup to heal on both sides. 
When you are ready to train pup to heal while walking forget the two step. Strap on your “LPC’s” (leather personal carriers) and get ready for a walk. Sit pup down and place the collar over his head. Now it is as simple as just going for a walk. Start out on your walk with pup on the side you choose and command “Heal” as pup comes in to heal continue walking. If pup starts to pull away or stops to smell those wonderful smells of the neighborhood give him a quick pop on the leash and again command “Heal”. If you can make it more than a block without saying heal 25 times you are doing better than I have ever done. The point is that you will be saying heal until you can’t stand it anymore. What I have noticed about this is that it is almost like a light switch at some point it’s going to come on and pup will just understand.
Now that the five basic commands are part of your daily routine and you are on your way to having a very well behaved pooch we can talk about retrieving. The Obedience portion of your training should never be dropped and each session should start with a small obedience lesson. This helps pup to remember who is in charge. When bumpers and birds start flying sometimes your pup will want to do their own thing so a little reminder about who is in charge never hurts.   


Fetch is for the birds...

    “Fetch” is the enemy! This of course is not entirely true but for the purpose of what I am teaching here the term fetch will not be used. “I will not say FETCH” imagine yourself writing that on a chalk board in front of your class 100 times over and over. The command “Fetch” is associated with what is called “Force Fetching/Training” which is an advanced technique that I will not teach in this guide. It is a very useful and important technique but it takes a delicate hand and can have extremely detrimental effects if done incorrectly. Remember that retrieving has been nothing but a fun game, a fun game, that was played often and something that pup looks forward to each day. In fact pup should be so obsessed with bumpers that you have contemplated starting a 12 step program for bumper addiction. If this is the case than things are looking great and it’s time to bring it to the next level. Pup should know how to perform, sit, stay, here, and heal.

Time to pick up what I’m laying down...
   I mentioned above that I would go into more detail about retrieving and so as not to be called a liar here we are, we have arrived, we are “in depth”. The first thing that we are going to teach pup is how to be steady. “What is steady?” you ask. Steady is when your dog will sit whether it is at heal or just out in the yard, and will not move until being released. The release command that we have been using has been simply the word “ok”. Now is the time to expand and increase our vocabulary. We will start with the release command that is used for what we will later call a “Marked Retrieve” meaning pup saw the bird or bumper go down and has “Marked” where it is. In this situation the command to release is simply pup’s name. The next command is used when pup did not see the bird or bumper fall and is going out what is called a “Blind Retrieve” for this we use the command “Back” back will mean to pup that he will run in a certain direction until he finds the bird. I’m sure you, as I did at first, you are asking yourself “why is “Back” a release command” the simple answer is that it just is. It is foolish to think that these are the only commands that a person could give to make a dog do what they want. If you wanted to tell your dog “supercalifragalisticexpealidoshis” every time you wanted him to sit that would certainly work. It would be a mouthful and more trouble than it is worth but it could be done. The point is whatever term you choose is your choice as long as you are consistent.  The terms and commands that I am teaching are the basic and preferred commands among the traditional training circles. If you want to “dare to be different” feel free just remember what that command means what and don’t over complicate things.

“Caly” I quietly say, off she goes, jumping into the water fixated and hopelessly obsessed with getting that bird into her mouth. Teaching my dog Caly to be steady was fairly simple. After our daily routine of obedience I pulled out a bumper wiggled it around and saying “mark” I sent it flying through the air. Caly with the speed of a cheetah ran after it beating the bumper to the ground. “Good girl” I said as she brought the bumper back to me. After I took the bumper from her I commanded “heal” and when she sat next to me I reached down and clipped the leash to her collar. I again threw the bumper and just as before Caly tried to go after it. This time however, she was met with a pop on the leash and the command “sit” she reluctantly obeyed and just as her rump hit the dirt so too did the bumper. As it collided with the earth and a small cloud of dust hung in the air. I released the tension and let go of the leash saying with enthusiasm “Okay Caly” and off she went.  We did this about 5 times and then I gave her one fun bumper to end the training session. Each day we practiced and each day she got better by the second day I was really only holding the leash for the purpose of a “just in case” situation. Also, by day two I dropped the “ok” and started to use only her name as my release command. Caly fully understood what I was trying to teach her after about a week. When I was sure that she would be steady I would bend down unclip the leash and quietly say “Caly” and she would make the retrieve.

Marky “Mark” and the Bumper Bunch:

   “Mark” One of the two most important commands that will ever pass your lips. Every time a situation is presented where pup can see what is happening and can get “eye’s on” as a bumper or bird is falling from the sky she has marked it. Fortunately, there is not much to teaching “Marks”. The idea is simple steady your dog let it see the bird/bumper fall and then release them. For single mars this is about as simple as it can get. The place where the water gets a little muddy is when you start throwing multiple “Marks”.  The best way to teach this is like everything else we have done. Start small! Pup should already know how to do a single mark retrieve with little to no real training other than teaching them to be steady. To start expounding on this add another bumper to the mix. When pup is at heal command “Mark” and throw the first at about a 45 degree angle to whichever side you prefer. Once the bumper settles in wave the next bumper in front of pup and command “Mark” and throw it 45 degrees to the other side. Remember this is fun so at first don’t try making your dog wait 5 minutes before you send them. As soon as the second bumper hit the ground release them using their name. As pup is on their way back to you turn your body so as to face the first bumper.

“Back” That thing up:

   “Back”, like I mentioned before, is a command that is used to get pup to retrieve a bird or bumper that they did not see fall. This does not mean that they cannot see the bird or bumper lying in the field it just means that they did not necessarily see how it got there. With Caly and any other dog the proper application of this would be as such; walk your dog out into a field or in the yard and command them to heal. Walk about five steps away from your dog and say “Dead Bird” and drop the bumper on the ground. It is important to have fun and be exited remember this is a game to your dog and your excitement will be reflected by your dog. Now that pup knows where the bumper is, walk past pup and command “here” as you walk away from the bumper. If pup just runs to the bumper and grabs it don’t be mad, just grab the bumper and reset it. This time try taking of your hat and waving it in front of pups face as you walk away from the bumper. To start with make this distance only 10 yards. You will quickly lengthen the distance as pup learns what he is doing. Turn and face the bumper and bring pup to heal.  Get down low and say “Dead Bird” watch as pup scans for the bumper and as soon as you are confident that he is locked on target, release him with an enthusiastic “Back” your pup will know what to do after that. Now that you have an understanding of the process and pup seems to be on track make the retrieves longer and try practicing from both the left and right heal positions. Once pup is proficient try introducing multiple bumpers. This is done by walking out and sitting pup down dropping a bumper moving to another spot dropping a second and so on. A baseball field works great for this. Put bumpers on first, second, and third base. Use home plate as your starting point. It won’t take long before you can start pushing out into the outfield.

To the Left, to the left!

Have you ever been the guy sitting back watching a dog look for something and you want so badly to just tell them “Hey, it’s behind you to the left!” This is what the next section is about. We call them “Left/Right Backs” and once your dog knows and understands them they can be used in situations just like mentioned above.

Teaching “Back” is a multi stage process. We have just covered how to send your dog on blind retrieves from the heal position but what if they are already in front of you searching out something and you just need to send them a little deeper? The way to teach this is best started in the baseball field. You don’t have to actually use a baseball field but you need to imagine that you are on one. We will start with the “Left Back” and then work on the “Right Back”.  Walk out with pup and place a bumper on second base. Now bring pup and sit him down on the pitching mound facing home plate. Walk about half way in between home plate and the pitching mound and turn to face pup. The key here is not to make this take an hour. The more time you take to send pup the more opportunity you give pup to get restless and make a mistake. Now, slowly start to walk to your left at about a 45 degree angle towards third base and watch pup as he follows you with his head. When pup has his head turned about over his right shoulder stop and raise your left hand open palmed strait up and command “Back”. The hand motion almost looks like you are throwing a shot-put. On the command of “back” pup should turn over HIS RIGHT SHOULDER and go retrieve the bumper. Do this about 3-5 times and be done. As soon as pup is proficient with his “Left Back” it’s time to start training him on his “Right Back”. This is done exactly like the left only this time you will walk at first base and make the Shot-put action with your right hand. Pup should roll over HIS LEFT SHOULDER and retrieve the bumper. After you feel comfortable that pup knows both sides you can start to mix it up. As pup starts to understand you can start moving less and less until you no longer have to move and the only thing that pup will need is the open palm shot-put action to tell him what to do.
   So much of training is just learning to teach yourself how to teach your dog. In most cases it is more a result of bad training practices than bad dogs. This is why as a trainer you must be steadfast and dedicated to doing the best job that you can. Use the resources available to you and most importantly take the time to do this right. Puppies are only puppies for so long and once that phase of their life is over it is gone forever. Take advantage of this crucial time and start molding their young minds and imprint these training techniques as soon as possible. What proves true in humans also proves true in dogs, knowledge is power. Be patient, be consistent, and be informed, your dog will love you for it and you will undoubtedly love your dog.

Remember training is done to get ready for hunting. Hunting is NOT training. Do not mistake those two activities. Hunting offers real world experience for the things you should have been training.

Depending on interest I will work on this more to create a section that goes into pile work and T work. If I don't get to it those are the next steps and you would want to search for those terms on YouTube or within any training books you have.


Afterword: I wrote this while my dog Caly was still alive. She turned out to be the most fantastic dog I had ever hunted under. On the day she was killed I received calls from nearly every person that had ever hunted with her and the news of her passing made a large group of grown men cry. You will never forget your dog no matter how they turn out but if they are great, no-one will forget them.

[cougforester]

Tag. This is fantastic. Thank you.

[CoryTDF]

Tag. This is fantastic. Thank you.

Glad you like it. I just wanted to find a way to help folks understand that you don't have to put in 8 hour days training your dogs. Sure, as your skill level goes up and your expectations and desires so too will your time commitment. That said, anyone can have a well disciplined dog with just a little bit of effort. Having a dog that can simply retrieve and follow basic obedience commands will put you far and away above so many people that head into the field with dogs that they think should understand their job because they are "bred for it". 

[Cascade]

Good stuff and the timing is impeccable!  I used Water Dog to train my last dog over 20 years ago.  I am re-reading it now, I picked up my new pup 2 weeks ago and he's now 9 weeks old.  Thanks for sharing.

[Pathfinder101]

Tag. This is fantastic. Thank you.

Dang it.  My kid will see this and the full court press for a new puppy is going to start again...

Thanks buddy...

 

[CoryTDF]

Tag. This is fantastic. Thank you.

Dang it.  My kid will see this and the full court press for a new puppy is going to start again...

Thanks buddy...

 

LOL good luck!

[Happy Gilmore]

So, this isn't going to be popular information for you but, Wolters never trained a dog and was a writer. I know a few folks who knew him. He was just making a few bucks putting out a couple books on a subject which he didn't know anything about.

[cem3434]

Great write up!

[Fl0und3rz]

Thank you, thank you, thank you.  I am a noob.  I suggest mods sticky this.

[Pathfinder101]

So, this isn't going to be popular information for you but, Wolters never trained a dog and was a writer. I know a few folks who knew him. He was just making a few bucks putting out a couple books on a subject which he didn't know anything about.

Shouldn't ruffle any feathers... just more reasons to buy Cory's book when it comes out...

[Bows4huntn]

Excellent post!!!  Brought back a lot of memories from my first Lab and all the hours of training I put in with her some 30 + years ago. Thank you

[CoryTDF]

So, this isn't going to be popular information for you but, Wolters never trained a dog and was a writer. I know a few folks who knew him. He was just making a few bucks putting out a couple books on a subject which he didn't know anything about.

This just seems doubtful to me but it's no skin off my back. The books are still filled with great information and training principles that are sound. He may or may not have trained any champion dogs but his books, theories and teachings have surely been part of many recipes that have cooked up some extraordinary animals.