Tips For Preparing Your Dog For Hunting Season
Posted on: 10 January 2017
Hunting season is the one time a year when your dog can show what he or she is made of and help you out with your favorite hobby. However, it is unfair to go several months without reinforcing the skills that your dog needs to help you and expect him or her to perform perfectly. This means that you are going to need to help your dog get ready for hunting season through some basic training. Here are some tips for doing so.
1. Make Sure Your Dog Keeps Calm in the Water
The first thing that you need to do is to make sure that your dog is able to continue his or her basic obedience training even when you are both in the water. To reinforce basic obedience in the water, take your dog into a lake, stream, or pond where he or she can stand easily. Practice walking around and having him or her walk at your side, as a heel. Also practice having your dog sit and lay down in the water, in case those skills are going to be necessary while you are staking out some sort of waterfowl. This will allow you to ensure that your dog doesn't make sudden movements and accidentally scare away the prey that you are stalking.
2. Get Your Dog Used to Hunting in Cover
If you should shoot a duck or some other bird, there is a good chance that you are going to wound them and they are going to head for cover. You need your dog to be able to find them easily and quickly, even if they are in tall grass. Go to a hunting supplies store online and find bumpers that you can attune your dog to and then toss into various covers. This will allow you to help your dog understand where to go when he or she sees the bumper go down to search for the wounded waterfowl.
3. Train Your Dog to Bring the Bumper Directly to You
Finally, make sure that your dog brings the bumper directly to you. Don't reward behaviors such as playing with the bumper or dropping it somewhere near you. Have your dog bring the bumper to you and wait for you to take it without doing damage to it. This will increase your success and decrease the chances that your dog will do damage to what you have hunted.
For more information and training materials, talk to a hunting store that specializes in dog related hunting supplies.
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