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Structure in the fishing world means
something on the bottom of the lake that might harbor a fish or two and
structure in the construction business means what you are building. In
the dog world we often talk about a structure. Structure in the development
of a young dog is all about time. What happens with a dog’s time is
critical. The less structured it is from you the more opportunities the
dog has to structure his own life. When a dog structures his own life it
may match the structure and lifestyle you desired but more often than not
it is a life entirely different from what your expectations were.
A
prime example of this is the two year old yellow lab we have been working
with the past month. It has had the opportunity to live with very little
structured time so it has created its own little world. Running loose in
the back yard, coming to the calling of the owner when it was feeding
time and retrieving only when he wanted to and then dropping the bird
within 10 feet, calling that good enough. There was no quartering or
response to any verbal commands. The dog would hunt OK, but all for
himself and with no regard to the handler.
This
unstructured training for this lab is being altered with a new structure for
the dog’s daily life. The structure involves no free time, teaching the
quartering process, learning about eye contact and responding to commands
immediately.
Structure
is key to a happy and successful life for a child as well as for a new puppy.
One does not need to be overprotective, and yes, sometimes some “free
walks” chasing butterflies and hopping through long grass is good.
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But
all free time with no structure develops a hunting dog that hunts only
for himself and doesn’t care about the handler. We often refer to this as
“No Free Time”, but perhaps the phrase “structured time” would be
easier to grasp.
When
all the grandkids come out for training sessions with their dogs, I
marvel at the patience and skill that young parents must possess. There
is a need for structure basically 24 hours a day with the kids. It is the
same way with the new pup or young dog. Pups need structure. Yes, they
will need some play time but it is still structured play time, organized
into events and drills. Consistency in this structure gives the dog
confidence and attentiveness to you while in the house or in the field.
The more you brush aside the dog when he is loose in the house the more
he will assume you don’t care and that he can go do whatever he decides.
So plan the day for the dog; keep the structure in place and after a
couple years the structure becomes habit and life becomes very easy for
you and your dog.
Field
Notes
The
Northern Minnesota English Springer Spaniel Field Trial will be held at
Hunts Point on the weekend of Sept. 12, 13. Pine Shadows will have a number of dogs
entered in the trial. This trial starts our fall field trial schedule. If
you are thinking of running your Springer in a field trial contact us and
we can get you headed in the right direction.
South Dakota pheasant hunting isn’t far
away. The bird numbers look plentiful. On a recent road trip from Aberdeen to Redfield, South Dakota, I had to continually slow
down to avoid hitting all the young birds crossing the road.
At our
pheasant camp the water is still plentiful with all the low ground and
small wetlands quite full. This has resulted in some extraordinary grass
growth so the early fall pheasant hunting with plentiful cover will be a
challenge. A good dog will be needed to root out the birds with all the
grass and weeds and crop cover.
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