HUNTING
AN INSIDE JOB
The baseball drill is a simple way to teach discipline, restraint and clear communication, and can easily be done indoors. With the pup sitting on the “pitcher’s mound,” and food placed on first, second and third base, issue a hand signal and verbal command in the direction you want the pup to go. (SCOTT HAUGEN) By Scott Haugen
W
ith the mandated confinement the world has faced, being indoors has been challenging for us, our children, and even our dogs. Hunting dogs are active animals that desire to be outdoors more than indoors. A dog’s drive to run, explore and engage innate senses makes it tough for us to deal with sometimes. But being indoors can actually be a great time to instill some valuable training. In our two prior columns, we looked at offseason training tips. This month, we’re going to look at things you can do inside your house to tune up your dog and optimize its obedience and performance levels.
ONE OF THE BEST things you can do right now is simply spend time with your dog. When spending an entire day indoors with your canine companion, you’ll likely be surprised with how much your dog pays attention to your every move. They’ll move when you move, look at your eyes to see what your next action will be, and twist and turn their head when you talk to them in order to decipher what it is you’re saying. All this exaggerated action is a result of their desire to please you; they do this by trying to read your mind or, at least, anticipate what move you’ll make before you make it. Eye contact is one of the best training tools there is, and it’s important to be consistent in your looks. Your dog will sense when
you’re happy, tired, upset or stressed. Take note of the looks you give your dog or family members when the dog is in sight. You’ll see how committed your dog is to pleasing you. This is important because eye contact is a great way to engage your dog and efficiently communicate with them. If you’ve not paid close attention to it, you’ll be shocked with how much you can communicate with your dog, without saying a word. The same goes for reading your dog’s actions. Dogs can’t talk, though many owners swear they try. Spend day after day with your dog and you’ll soon read its disposition through its eyes, ear position and movement, tail action, even spine alignment and head angle. These are just some ways
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