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.
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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