We had a brilliant one to one training session this morning. I was a bit nervous and not sure what Willoughby would make of it all but I'm one very proud mum. He was a bit unsure and silly for the first five minutes but then he tried really hard and thoroughly enjoyed himself, tail wagging and really listening. I learnt that Willoughby's ok it's me that needs the most training, I use far to many commands where only one is needed and I need to be less enthusiastic with the praise so he stays steady as he's not a puppy anymore.
We learnt to use his lead better and within minutes of using the two handed method shown his heel work improved immensely. I found that gun dog training is quite different to obedience style training I've done in the past. Obedience in my opinion is much more situational, the dog doing a routine in the ring then switching off. Willoughby had to stay steady and focused for the full session.
We covered the very basics, good heel work, steady stay and started learning about the stop to whistle. We have a plan of how to proceed and what to work on to improve for next time. I'm really pleased how the session went, how much we learnt, but mostly Willoughby enjoyed it.
We learnt to use his lead better and within minutes of using the two handed method shown his heel work improved immensely. I found that gun dog training is quite different to obedience style training I've done in the past. Obedience in my opinion is much more situational, the dog doing a routine in the ring then switching off. Willoughby had to stay steady and focused for the full session.
We covered the very basics, good heel work, steady stay and started learning about the stop to whistle. We have a plan of how to proceed and what to work on to improve for next time. I'm really pleased how the session went, how much we learnt, but mostly Willoughby enjoyed it.