Taking a little time before the workout begins can help set-up your dog for success in the training field. What exactly am I talking about? Dogs have to be in a submissive state to learn, and there is a short period of time once you arrive at the training field that can be used to help your dog get in the right frame of mind. Let me explain.
All posts in Martha’s Training Tips
It’s A Nothing
Ever hear the expression — it’s a nothing? Ever wonder what it means and why it is an important part of dog training? Basically a nothing is something a dog does that you chose to ignore. In other words, you do not correct him and you do not praise him. You act as if it never happened. I first heard the term used by Dave Walker in the early 1990s. Dave had flown to Pennsylvania to do a seminar for us. After the seminar, Dave and I kicked back and were relaxing in a couple of chairs. I had an eight weeks old pup with me. He had found a dead quail and was lying under the table eating it. Feeling a little self-conscious about what to do, I glanced at Dave and he was watching the pup too.
“So what would you do,” I asked, pointing at the pup.
“Nothing,” he replied. “It’s a nothing.”
Creeping
One of the hardest aspects of training pointing dogs is gaining the ability to read the dog. It is almost like you have to think like a doctor diagnosing a patient. You do not want to be distracted by symptoms; rather you want to figure out the problem. A great example is a dog that establishes point and then begins to creep. Many trainers correct the dog for creeping. However, creeping is a symptom. The real problem is the dog still wants to chase the bird. Maurice Lindley sums up the situation this way: “Most people start correcting the dog for creeping which is wrong. The correction should be for chasing. Once the chase is gone, creeping is not an issue.”
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