The Whoa Post is by far my favorite part of the Ronnie Smith Seminar. It is an
amazing way to teach a dog to whoa or sit.

I told several folks today about the first time I saw the whoa post in
action in it’s current form. I grew up using the “Delmar Smith Method”
for teaching whoa. It was similar but it used a leather pinch collar around
the neck instead of a half hitch around the dogs flank.

The reason the Smith’s changed it over to the flank was because of
improvements in Ecollar technology. When the stimulation levels got
low and you could raise them as needed it changed the way you could
use them. That allowed them to use the collar on the flank.

The idea behind the Whoa post is that you have a stationary object
with a rope attached to it with a snap. You have your dog on a
checkcord. You bring the dog to the rope and run it between the
dogs back legs. You tie a half hitch around his waste and attach the
snap to the D ring on the dogs collar.

This makes a Point of Contact at the dogs flank. When you pull tight
on the lead checkcord the dog gets stimulation at the flank. He has no
where to go. He is stuck between you and the stationary object. He can
fight it all he wants, but as long as you hold on, your dog is going to
stand still.

Most dogs fight it at first, but quickly learn that the fastest way
out is to stop the second they feel stimulation at the flank.

Once you have repeated this drill 30 to 50 times depending on the dog,
you can move on to the ecollar around the flank.

It allows you to stop a dog dead in his tracks at any distance. Once
you have this down, you can take the chase from a dog and get him
steady on his game. After that, you can get him steady to wing, shot
and dead fall. These are major parts of developing a fully trained
hunting dog.

The first time I saw this technique in action was at a Rick Smith
Seminar that I attended in 2002 in Pleasanton, TX. It was my first
seminar since I was 14.

Rick was getting ready to start the Whoa Post and needed a dog that
did not know what whoa was and had never stopped for anything. I had
the perfect dog for him.

Ruby was out of my Em dog and Shadow’s Mark. She had more go than she
knew what to do with and I had done very little work with her at the
time. She had no idea how to stop or any good reason why you would
want to stop.

Rick put her on the post and worked her through the basics. He then
moved her past that and had her understanding the “concept” and
stopping as soon as she felt the smallest amount of pressure at her
flank.

He then moved her to an ecollar around her waist. He worked her out to
a check cord toward a bird in a remote release trap. Once she got the
scent and went on point, he stimed her around her flank. She stopped
and held point. He then flushed the bird and stimed her again. She
stood steady to wing.

The next part really amazed me. He walked away and left her standing
there. Rick came back over to where we were sitting and talked a bit
more about what he had done and how to go about training your dog this
way.

I really didn’t hear much of what he said because I was watching Ruby
the whole time.

There she was standing still 75 yards away from anyone. She had never
done this before and she had nothing holding her back. At any point
she could break and run. She had no tracking collar on her and I would
have no way to find her if she did break. My only hope was that Rick
knew everyone in the county and somebody would find my dog.

To make matters worse, about a thousand black birds started flying
over her. Wave after wave of birds started to blacken out the sky. She
watched them all, standing completely still with all four feet planted
firmly on the ground.

I know for a fact that most folks at the seminar thought she was a
plant. A fully trained dog that was brought in to show folks how
talented Rick was and how effective his training would be on their
dogs.

I knew that this particular dog had no idea what she was doing. It was
the Whoa Post – not the dog.

Rick finished up his talking and walked out to my pup. He grabbed her
check cord and quartered her off like it a regular day and she had
done it a thousand times.

Now we were not finished. I had to work her on the post and get her to
fully understand the concepts and move her to the flank. It worked
really fast.

I use this method on all my dogs now and it works like a charm.

Click here to read part one of Rick’s “Whoa Post Redux” and here for “Whoa Post Redux – Part 2″

Steve

Gun Dog Supply

Post from: Steve Snell's Gundog Blog

The Whoa Post

When Do I Start Training My Puppy?

One of the most common questions we get asked is “when do I start training my puppy?”  The answer really seems to surprise most folks. 

You start training the first time you pick him up.  What?  That can’t be.  Yep, it sure is.

Every time you touch your dog some form of “training” is going on.  Now it might not be “good training” but it is training.  Every interaction with your dog will result in him learning something.  Every time you do something with him or let him “get away” with a behavior he learns what he can and can’t do.

One of the best examples of this was shown to me by Rick Smith.

Rick always tells the story of the first time most folks pick up their puppy.   The pup wiggles and squirms trying to get away.  Most folks will tend to immediately put the pup down and let him go play.  Now you have “trained” your pup. He has learned that all he has to do is wiggle and wiggle and you will give in. To get what pup wants, he just has to put in a little effort and you will cave.

What you should do in this situation is apply a little pressure.  Lightly squeeze pup close to your chest and restrain him until he stops wiggling.  Once he is calm, place him on the ground.

You must wait until he stops moving, no matter how it takes.  It seldom takes more than a couple of seconds.  Now pup has learned that when you place your hands on him he needs to be still.  This is TRAINING.

A still dog is required in all forms of training no matter the breed or what you do with him.  We need it for basic grooming, first aid, giving medication, vet visits and sitting at the park.  It’s required for pointing dogs while pointing or backing, retrievers in the duck blind and flushing dogs that are steady to wing. It makes a big difference when you are putting on dog boots, dog vests, e-collars and tracking collars.
 
Every time you put your hands on your dog, you want him to be still.  Little did you know that you have now taught your 8 week old brand new puppy that this isn’t required.  He has learned that all he has to do is put in a little effort and you will cave.

This same concept applies to every other interaction you have with your dog for the rest of his life.  When you put him into a situation where he has a choice to comply or not, if he picks to not and you let him get away with it, you have trained him.

The original question of “when do I start training my puppy?” is where most of our customer’s “dog issues” begin.  They don’t understand why they have a 85 pound lab that likes to jump on people and knock them down.  How did this happen?  Well, they let the 8 week old pup jump on them.  It’s cute and there is no harm done.  Sure, that isn’t a problem, but you are training your pup that this is acceptable behavior.  You have no one to blame but yourself when he knocks your little old lady neighbor over and breaks her hip.

My rule with pups is that we don’t allow them to get away with things as a puppy that we don’t want them doing as full grown dogs.  It’s a pretty simple rule but you have to make a few decisions up front and stick to them. 

 Now some folks might take part of this the wrong way.  I’ll give an example.  I expect my retriever to be steady in the blind.  That means he will wait to go on a retrieve when I send him not before. 

We don’t start pups out this way.  I don’t expect my pup to be steady the first time we throw him a bumper.  I want him to break at a young age.  I’ll teach him not to once we make sure his drive is solid and we get past bird and gun introductions.

I just don’t let him wiggle his way out of things or jump on people because it’s cute.

Steve Snell

Post from: Steve Snell's Gundog Blog

When Do I Start Training My Puppy?

Mac is out of Phantom’s Wizard  and Phantom’s Southern Sky

Wiz is the sire of several of our dogs including Click, Stud and Merle.

Apple is also out of Wizard and Phantom’s Saffron

Izzy may just be the best bred female I have ever had in my kennel.

Her sire is 2009 National Champion Lester’s Snowatch.

Her dam is Phantom’s Wild Chick

Wild Chick is a full sister to 2008 National Champion Whippoorwill Wild Agin

All three are finding and pointing birds and holding them pretty well for their age.

Mac is the most natural bird dog I think I have ever seen.  He seems to really understand birds and how to find them.  What has really impressed me about him is that he has found wild birds in both Texas and Georgia.  These are very different scent back grounds and it normally takes grown dogs time to adjust to the change.

It’s going to be a really busy this spring getting them ready for the fall.

Steve Snell
Gun Dog Supply – http://www.gundogsupply.com

400 Industrial Park Road, Suite G
Starkville, MS 39759

For customer service call 1-800-624-6378
FAX 1-662-324-6011

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New Pups in the Field

Post from: Steve Snell's Gundog Blog

More on Gun Shy Dogs…..

“Mac” and “Apple” are English Pointers and are the half brother and half sister to Click, Stud, and Merle. All 5 dogs share the same sire – Phantom’s Wizard.

I have really enjoyed having them around the kennel. This is the first time since the last litter we raised that I have had multiple young dogs at the same time. I think it’s a better way for me to train.

Both dogs have very different personalities. Apple is going to be a big running independent dog. Mac looks like he will be a little more focused on me and will not run as big. I expect he will still cover some ground but not like Apple.

The important thing to do with pups is exposure to the world that you expect them to live and work in.

So far Mac and Apple have been exposed to other dogs, goats, horses, riding in the dog truck, going to the vet, going to the office, my kids, living in the kennel, crossing water, ponds, heavy cover, 4 wheelers, lawnmowers, pigeons, quail and we have started on gunfire.

After we get the basic bird introduction done we start to add basic gunfire. I do this with a little Daisy Pop gun. It makes a sound when you cock it and a “pop” when you fire it.

Using this gun gets them used to the site of a gun in my hands as we walk out in the field. Some dogs never see a shotgun in the hands of their owner until they go to the field on opening day. This can lead to a big problem.

We go out in my bird field every day to see the world. We work on coming when called, turning on command, and going in the direction that I am going.

We also play the dog version of “hide and seek”. Every time they get stretched out from me, I hide behind a tree. After a few minutes, they start to wonder where I went. As they double back to find me, I get down on their level and give them lots of praise.

I love big running dogs, but I want them to hunt for me and check in from time to time.

Post from: Steve Snell's Gundog Blog

New Pups

Today I spoke with a lady having issues with her dogs while off leash at the local dog park. This is a pretty common call for us since most “trained” dogs don’t hold up in high distraction situations.

Come to find out her dog had been clicker trained with treat rewards.

Clicker training works. It works a little too well If you ask me but it seldom holds up in high prey drive animals.

It does not fit the way their brains work and it isn’t going to get the attention of a dog that has any thing more interesting going on around him.

The idea behind how we use ecollars is to communicate with the dog. This can be with stimulation, vibration or tone. We also use the ecollar to correct the dog in situations where he chooses to ignore learned verbal commands.

The mistake that folks make when using food as a reward is that it isn’t always something that all dogs care about all the time.

I do think it’s important to reward your dog for doing the correct things.

The reward comes in the form of praise and love.

Steve Snell

Post from: Steve Snell's Gundog Blog

Treats for Training

A few weeks back my oldest son, Sam, found me and said we had a problem in our Johnny House.  A Johnny House is where our pen raised quail live.

It’s designed so we can release a few and turn our young dogs out for some bird dog training.  After we are done the birds will “recall” back to the house to be with the rest of the covey.  The birds reenter the house through a quail funnel.

The problem with a normal quail funnel is that other critters can come in also.  To keep this from happening, you can have a unit that has a has a door or you can get the Predator Proof Funnel by Quail Restoration Technologies.

I use the Predator Proof Funnel.  It’s expensive, but it works really well.  The quail funnel is on springs.  The idea behind it is that if anything that weighs more than a quail tries to climb up in the funnel, the funnel lowers into a box and blocks the critter from entering your Quail house.

So….how did Mr. Possum get into my Johnny House?  Well, I screwed up.

I use sand in the bottom of my Johnny House.  It works really well for collecting the droppings and drying them out.  It make clean up pretty easy.  The issue is that I let a bunch of sand build up around the bottom of the funnel.  The sand blocked the funnels ability to lower when the possum climbed up.

The PPF also comes with a door that you can slide in place when you are not using your birds.  I neglected to put it in place.

It was midsummer and I had very few birds left in the house, but there was no reason for it to happen.  Keeping your gear clean and functioning is always the best way to go.  I won’t let it happen again.

Getting Mr. Possum out of my pen was a bit of an adventure also.  He really didn’t want to go, but we convinced him that it was the best thing for him to do.

- Steve

Post from: Steve Snell's Gundog Blog

Quail House Plans Thwarted By Predator Possum…..Film at 11

After that I took Brandy on a quick run. We headed out to a long food plot that is up on the hill close to the house.

We flushed a few dove but no pheasants.   At the end of the row, Brandy locked up on point. She held it for about 10 seconds and then busted in. Nothing came out and she started running in a big cast.

At about 200 yards she found a big rooster pheasant and put him in the air. She chased him as far as she could.

While she was running she found a hen pheasant and put her in the air. After that she was gone. Good thing I had my Astro on her. I went to her and picked her up. No question she will make a bird dog.

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Day 4 part 2

We left before sun up and headed about 50 miles north. Our goal was to find a higher number of pheasants for the younger dogs.

It’s hard to explain the leg up you can give a young dog by dropping them smack dab in the middle of dozens and dozens of wild birds. You just can’t get this kind of experience in many parts of the country.

On the drive up we got to see a wide range of wildlife. We saw pheasants, sharptails, whitetail deer, mule deer, coyotes and raccoons.

It was a cool, clear morning. We would be able to get everyone worked before it heated up.

We ran a couple of young dogs that needed some bird contacts. We flushed around 100 birds and made a real difference in both dogs.

We ran multiple braces and put up birds on every round. Sage had two nice points and Stud had a nice find on two pheasants.

We ran Richard again but he didn’t find any birds. He is a bit behind because he isn’t in hunting shape yet.

We ran Brandy off horseback. She had never been around a horse so it took a bit for her to get comfortable. The
Funseeker’s Rebel pup that Dan was running helped her range out a good bit. She didn’t find any birds but she ran well and kept up with me for the most part.

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Day 4 – South Dakota

We finally got a really cool, cloudy morning. Unfortunately, we also had a 20 mph wind. I’ll take that over the heat.

We ran Cash and Merle first. I was much happier with how they both ran compared to the first day. Both dogs handled well and covered the ground. They were working together well.

We made a big loop in a large CRP field. Merle busted open a flock of 10 sharptails and both dogs chased as far as they could. I expect we will see some nice bird work out of these two soon.

We ran several of Dan’s dogs next with similar results. We were not finding a bunch of birds, but we were seeing birds every round. The scenting conditions were not the best.

We ran Sage. He handled well but had no finds.

We had a real nice showing on a Calico’s Thrillogy female.

We also had a nice brace with Click and Will – a Wipporwill Wild Agin pup.

We got them into a nice flock that stayed on the property after the first flush. We worked these birds a couple of times.

During one of the braces, I was running one of Dan’s dogs and I had an equipment issue. The dog I was running was going the wrong way so I went to turn her with my SportDOG 1825. I got no reaction. I raised the level multiple times until I was at the top but she would not turn.

We galloped the horses toward her and finally got her going the correct way.

I got off my horse to check the collar and see why she didn’t feel it. The collar was not turned on.

Before we ran this brace I was showing some of the features on the SD 1825 to Dan and I had turned the collar off. I neglected to turn it back on when I put it on the dog.

Back at the office, we call that “operator error.”

Always check your ecollar before you put it on your dog to make sure it is on and that the transmitter and the collar are matched up.

After that the sun came out and it got bad hot again.

Time to head back in and wait for cooler weather.

Around 6 pm the clouds came back and the cooler air came in.

I roaded Em 1 1/2 miles. She is getting stronger every day.

Around 7 we took Brandy out and found a few groups of young pheasants getting gravel on the road side. She got to chase a few as they flushed. It really lit her fire.

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Day 3 – South Dakota

Bought gas, ice and bread. Came back to the house and took a quick nap.

Around 5:30 I ran Boo and Brandy together. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out.

Boo had no interest in her but Brandy kept at her for a bit. After a few minutes she went back to hunting.

Both dogs ran well and turned with me. I am real pleased with how they are both handling.

Brandy made a real wide cast and then started running away at a good clip. It took me a second to see the jack rabbit she was chasing.

I tried to turn her but it didn’t work out. My Garmin Astro showed her at 750 yards.

Boo and I went toward her and finally got her to turn back in our direction. She came in and hunted with us the rest of the way back to the truck.

Roaded Em for 1 mile. She’s pretty mad that she has to stay in the truck while other dogs get to hunt.

We drove out to check a few spots for tomorrow. We saw a good many birds getting gravel on the back roads.

I also saw my first badger. I tried to get a picture but he ran back in a hole before I could get him in focus.

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Day 2 South Dakota part 2

We started our morning at 6am. Breakfast, then I exercised my dogs while Dan loaded his dogs and horses.

We drove about 20 minutes to a CRP section that was surrounded with Alfalfa.

We saddled the horses and turned out Merle. He ran a good race and handled much better than he has for us. He ran into a nice flock of chickens at the end and chased them as far as he could.

Next we ran Cash. He also ran well and handled. I am really pleased with his progress. He is going to turn out.

We ran Click after that with one of Dan’s dogs. Click’s brace mate won it hands down, but Click had a real nice find in the end. Not bad for his first real work in 6 months.

Dan ran a real nice dog out of Funseeker’s Rebel named Jim. He had at least 3 or 4 nice finds and was real solid on his birds.

Next we ran Sage. He put on quite the show. Five or six very solid pieces of bird work.

We ran Wizard next. He ran really well. I look forward to seeing him later in the season.

Stud had a good run and stayed in range he handled well and had one nice find. Ran with a dog of Wls that looked good.

It was starting to warm up but some clouds rolled in and we worked Richard. He ran well but was a little too interested in the other dog.

Dan ran a really nice female named Whippoorwill’s Wild Thang. She is going to make a really nice dog. She’s super tough and classy.

Headed back in for lunch and a quick nap. I’ll run Brandy after it cools down.

Had a good nap.

Ran Brandy. She did well and kept up with me. She took off a few times but came back after a bit. She started making a few good casts.

Ran Boo. She started out real sticky from the remote collar on her flank. After a few times of dragging her forward, she started to run.

We hit a water tank that had a bunch of dove. She chased them and started to hunt.

She turned with me and handled very well. I think we can make some progress with her this fall.

I took Em on a one mile walk in the roading harness. She is recovering well from her TPLO surgery.

I am real sore from 6 hours of riding horses.  I need to do it more often to keep that from happening.

Em in a Roading Harness

Rattlesnake Proof Boots

Open Country - You can see a dog for ever

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Day 1 south Dakota