California Sportsman Mag - Sept 2020

Page 33

HUNTING

BUILD CONFIDENCE WITH BRIDGE WORDS By Scott Haugen

W

ords. They’re one of the most important aspects of life. Vital to a successful marriage, relationship, raising children, even your job; words are powerful. Clear communication is important to getting a point across, even when it comes to your dog. A lot of emphasis is placed on commands given to dogs – words like sit, come and fetch – but what happens between the time a command is given and when it’s achieved can vary, and this is where “bridge words” come in. Bridge words are of utmost importance when it comes to communicating with your dog. Bridge words are simply words you deliver to your dog to let it know it’s doing the right thing, or behaving appropriately. “Good boy” or “good job” are examples of bridge words that encourage a dog to keep doing what it’s doing until the task is achieved. If the dog is searching for a toy that you commanded it to fetch, it may be having trouble locating it. If the dog is close and working hard, repeating “good boy” or “good job” confirms to the dog it’s doing the right thing, and it will keep doing it until the goal is met.

WHEN TRAINING A dog for the hunt, figure out the bridge words you like, keeping them short, simple and clear. Dogs don’t comprehend complete sentences; after a while, you start sounding like the teacher in the Peanuts cartoon to them. Don’t ramble on with bridge words. When on a hunt and I want my dogs to start searching for grouse, quail or pheasant, for instance, I say, “Find a bird!” I don’t say, “OK, it’s time to start hunting, so go and find

Establishing eye contact at a young age is important, as it will allow you to clearly communicate exactly what you expect from your dog. Bridge words confirm to your pup that they are doing the right thing. (SCOTT HAUGEN)

us some birds …” A buddy uses the bridge words, “Hunt ’em up!” to get his dog searching. If I knock down a bird, then give the command “fetch it” and my dogs fail to mark the falling bird, they’ll start cutting the wind, trying to smell the bird. This is where I keep offering bridge words, specifically “good girl” or “fetch it up.” This tells the dog

they’re doing the right thing, going in the right direction, and soon they’ll find the bird to fetch. When I want my dogs to come to me and sit, I give the command come. As they come to me, I say “good boy” or “good girl” (I have one of each) to confirm they’re doing what I want. As they get to me, I’ll give them a hand signal they’ve learned and say

calsportsmanmag.com | SEPTEMBER 2020 California Sportsman

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