When he gets on the platform, release the treat and praise. With a treat in your left hand and the leash in your right, point to the tire with your left hand and command PLACE. Walk your dog on heel towards the platform. Put your dog on a leash with a slip (or pinch) collar.

When you get your platforms built, you can start working the PLACE command. Someday, I am going to have a trailer for my dog and gear. To start with, I have only built 3, but eventually, I am going to want at least 1 or 2 more.īecause these take up so much less room, I can leave them in the truck so that I have them with me whenever I need them.

Those took up too much space, and so I simply built my own platforms with 2×4’s and plywood. Tom Dokken suggests that you fasten a 2’x2’x1/2” piece of plywood to an old tire. My kids always think it is so cool when I can tell our dog to go to the kennel when we are four neighbors away from the house. Start close to the kennel and then move farther and farther away. If you are working with your dog on KENNEL, you will follow the same recipe only replace PLACE with KENNEL. The command KENNEL is the PLACE command, only more specific. Make sure that your puppy gets to the bed each time and waits for the treat. The more repetitions, the further away from the bed you should be able to go. When you see that starting to happen, you should begin to increase the distance that your puppy needs to go to get on the bed. There is not much to this introductory step.Īfter several repetitions, your dog should be rushing to get to the bed. As soon as your dog steps onto the bed, release the treat. Put a treat in your hand and hold it towards the bed and command PLACE. This is because your puppy is already used to looking at your hand for the reward. If you have been using treats to train other commands such as SIT, DOWN, or HEEL with treats, this introduction will go very smooth. A dog bed can be ideal for young pups.Īll you have to do is hold your hand in the direction of the dog bed or kennel or anything else you choose to use. When your dog is really young, you can introduce the command with the dog’s bed. This way, your dog will be that much closer to getting ready to step up onto a hunting platform when the time comes. You can use whatever device or tool you want for this stage of the teaching, but eventually, you will want to build a platform that is roughly 2’ by 2’. PLACE is one of the first commands that you will give to your puppy that will teach him to go away from you. RELATED TOPIC: FOUNDATION FOR BLIND RETRIEVES Introduction to PLACE I like his approach because it allows you to lay down a foundation for hand signals and, ultimately, blind retrieve. I am going to describe Dokken’s approach to teaching the command PLACE as an introduction to hand signals. Not only that, but your friends will think you are so cool when they see your dog respond to hand signals! Teaching retriever hand signals kind of makes me the alpha of the pack so to speak.

My favorite part of teaching retriever hand signals is the fact that the dog learns to look to me for direction. A dog that is a ways off can pretend not to hear you, but their eyesight is so good that they will see your signals. I have never been sure how a dog interprets my vocal commands, but a hand signal, if I have trained my dog correctly, cannot be misunderstood.īecause are more visually oriented that auditory, it is not uncommon to see retrievers ignore spoken commands and then immediately respond to hand signals. Hand signals are an excellent way to communicate with your dog on a level other than vocal. I think every retriever owner should teach their dog hand signals regardless of whether or not they plan on Hunt Tests or Fields Trials. I have several different pros that I like, and one of my favorites is Tom Dokken. Every program has their own approach to this important facet of your hunting dog’s skillset. There are several reasons why teaching your dog retriever hand signals is important.

Common dog hand signals