This is the last clip, number 7…Creating drive and desire in Tart. I was very impressed and happy with the progress…. Even tho she is very laid back and relaxed she shows good desire and keen enthusiasm for birds, bumpers and retrieving… Certainly a good prospect for field work. For more information on developing puppies and the “on-off”switch go to www.billhillmann.net
This is the excitement and the “on-off” switch with an older dog
Watch how the bumper is presented because it is a key component in the process.
Okay. . . here’s the rules IF you truly want to create as much desire as possible
1. Do not feed the puppy before this workout.
2. Make sure that the puppy has been confined to a crate for at least 3 hrs
before work
3. Concentrate on excitement only during this time. Do not mix in obedience
commands or any expectations about delivery, returning, holding etc.
4. Save obedience commands, returning, heeling etc for other lessons
5. Keep in mind that you are developing an attitude and a characteristic
in your puppy that will be there for his entire life… if you don’t take it away
from him.
6. Remember, this is the beginning of the “on-off switch,” which is the
element that allows you to control the attitude of the dog.
7. Present the toy/bumper so that it is the object of prey. Do not position it so
that you become the object of prey.
8. Absolutely do not do any part of the excitement phase without a leash
attached. This probably should be rule number 1 because a great
percentage of questions I get are from people whose puppies do not
return and the reason they don’t return is that they don’t have a line
on them. To train a puppy without a line or leash or rope, whatever
you want to call it, is foolishness.
9. Keep in mind that you are trying to achieve the full genetic potential of
your puppy.
10. Learn the value of a walk and how to do it properly. (Information about
this coming later)
11. Proper socialization is important to overall excitement but it should be
its own exercise and conducted in its own time. (I’ll have a short
video on how to do this)
12. NEVER get frustrated, angry, mad, upset, loud or rough or any other
negative behavior with your puppy. If you can’t handle this part don’t even
begin to try to develop drive and desire.
There may be a few other considerations to this but I’ll mention them to
you as we go along.
* * * * IF YOU BREAK RULE NUMBER 12 – I WILL FIND OUT ABOUT IT AND YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO SEE THE REST OF THE VIDEOS….
In my clinics and seminars there are many people there who have dogs that have been bred primarily for the show ring, but many of these people want to do field work as well…but many of these dogs seem to have low desire. I have decided to make a series of short videos where I work with a young female golden retriever. Both of her parents are grand champions, in other words they are both elite show dogs.
But shouldn’t this puppy have the fun of being successful in the field as well? So I’m going to show my process of developing desire and at the same time teach the fetch command.
If you have Flatcoats, Curly Coats, German Shorthairs, Poodles, Brittany Spaniels, Springer Spaniels, Boykin Spaniels, Pointers and Setters etc or any breed that may not have been bred exclusively for the highest levels of retrieving competition these short videos may be helpful to you.
This is Tart’s first lesson in the video series demonstrating the process to create maximum desire. After this first demonstration I will jot down a list of rules to keep in mind as you follow the training sequence. Keep in mind that both of Tart’s parents are show champions.
