Thread: Bo

I had to think long and hard about what I really wanted from a dog as teaching them as they grow is really going to be your best shot at ending up with a dog that is rock solid in its job. I hunt mainly south island tops and farmland so the need for an indicating "Bush specialist" wasnt high on my list of priorities. I came up with a bit of a list with three main points:

* mild mannered on the hill, doesn't bark or wander
* track live animals via ground or air scenting
* find shot animals quickly

I've done all sorts of reading from a tonne of different sources about what is the best way to go about achieving a good outcome with Bo and it seems no two ways are the same, most "professionals" contradict each other with varying ideas about how a certain outcome should be achieved etc. This has lead me to believe that there's more than one way to skin a cat and no two dogs are the same. I've picked up bits of advice here and there and am kind of just feeling my way with Bo and hoping we are generally headed in the right direction.
One thing that all hunting dog trainers do seem to agree on is to get the very basic obedience commands rock solid before starting to get to deep on the actual hunting stuff.
I've worked on this a lot with Bo over the past 6 weeks and he's made it easy as he's a pretty intelligent pup (heading dog shining through I think) he will sit, lay down, wait for food, stop (heel) and is good on a lead, long and short, the wife has even taught him to shake hands..
I try to incorporate all these commands into his day as much as possible but still allow him to be a pup, I'm also adding distractions as we go to solidify the commands. Sit, Stop, and Laydown are all both voice and hand commands.