[wp_ad_camp_2]The purpose of quartering is enable your dog to thoroughly and effectively search a piece of ground, and to keep him within shotgun range so that anything he flushes can be shot.
Once you have taught your spaniel to quarter you can exercise him easily whilst keeping him under close control, so this is a useful skill even for pet spaniels to learn.
Teaching your dog to quarter is a lot of fun. You will need a spaniel, an open space without distractions or cover (a field, meadow or paddock is ideal) a whistle, and some running shoes!
During this process you will need to stop all free-running exercise in the countryside. You want every ounce of energy poured into quartering and you want the dog to forget any bad habits he may have picked up such as hunting back and forth away from and towards you.
If you try to teach quartering one day, and let him hunt all over the place the next, you are doomed to failure.
Stay away from cover and keep your dog away from game until you have completed this stage in training,
Keeping it simple
You will find books containing all sorts of quartering patterns and different wind treatments.
You can learn how to send your dog way out and then quarter him back towards you for example.
But unless you are seriously into advanced spaniel work, you will probably be quite content with a dog that simply hunts from side to side in front of you.
No matter what direction you travel in.
Wind direction
The reason for all the fancy variations of quartering is that a dog naturally works the wind. He turns into the wind because that is where the scent comes from. And of course many times when you are walking forwards whilst shooting over your dog, the wind will not be in your face or his. And this can affect his pattern.
For this reason, all early lessons should be carried with your general direction of travel being into the wind. This establishes the right habit, which you will then be able to enforce even when the wind is not in your favour.
Can retrievers be taught to quarter
Retrievers can certainly be taught to quarter though they are unlikely to do so with the speed and enthusiasm of a working bred spaniel. That said, if you want to rough shoot over your Labrador there is no reason why you should not have a go at teaching him to quarter.
I have had some success in this respect but find that labs lose ‘pace’ quite rapidly unless there is a lot of game about. Whereas a good working spaniel will keep hunting hard even when game and scent is scarce.
Pace matters because the dog has to cover many yards for every step you take forwards. And rough shooting over a slow moving dog is about as interesting as watching paint dry.
Method
Picture the field you are standing in with a big arrow pointing into the wind. If you are not sure how to work out wind direction take a little bag of flour with you and sprinkle it from your fingers. Watch the way it drifts.
Now whilst your overall path will be in the direction of the arrow with the wind in your face, you will actually be running from side to side across it. So that the wind will first be on one side of your face, then as you turn round it will be on the other.
You will be zig-zagging all the way down the field. Your dog will love this.
Exaggerate
Set off with huge exaggeration running across the wind. Do whatever it takes to get the dog’s interest. Whoop, clap your hands, whatever. Run fast and get the dog racing after you.
Let him overshoot you and whilst he is travelling on a few yards or so about turn and start running the other way. Look over your shoulder and make sure he has spotted you. He probably will have. If not, start whooping and clapping again to attract his attention. As he shoots past you, about turn and go the other way again.
Carry on like this zig-zagging along with the dog travelling a bit further than you do in each direction.
Stop whilst his speed is still high
How long you should keep this up for depends on your dog (and on how fit you are). Whilst the dog is fresh he will fly on past you in each direction, some dogs can keep this up for ages, others lose pace more rapidly.
Some dogs will slow very quickly and start trotting along at your heels. The object is to stop before this happens, and you will have to play this by ear.
Essentially you are trying to build the habit of the dog pushing on past you in either direction with enthusiasm, and you must stop before this enthusiasm wanes.
Good scenting conditions
One way of prolonging the dog’s enthusiasm is by practicing on ground with a good amount of scent. A field that rabbits regularly visit at night is a good bet, and scenting conditions tend to be better in moderate weather. So avoid extremely hot, very wet, or extremely cold days if you can.
Practice as often as you can in as good conditions as you can find. Three or four sessions a week is the minimum at this early stage to get the right habit established
Introduce the whistle
Towards the end of the first week, once you have got your dog into the habit of hunting on past you, and turning after you turn, you can introduce the turn whistle. The standard turn signal is two short pips ‘pip-pip’ on the whistle
Try to blow the whistle as the dog turns so that he comes to associate the act of turning with the sound of the whistle.
Keep practicing when your dog is fresh and full of beans!
Reduce your range
The next step in this process is for you to reduce the distance you travel. You don’t want to be running from side to side forever. The ultimate objective is to be walking forward whilst your dog does the work of quartering. But you will need to reduce your range gradually.
How quickly you can do this depends somewhat on your dog. Start to run a shorter distance each way and watch your dog. Does he keep up his pace or is he turning to follow you too quickly. Remember that you don’t need him to cover huge distances. A spaniel should be no more than twenty yards from you, and ten to fifteen yards is good. He will soon try to cover more ground when he gets on to game.
Take it slowly and gradually reduce your own range whilst keeping him working from side to side.
Pulling forward
If you dog is taking in too much ground in a forwards direction as he turns, you will need to call him in towards you as he passes across you. Some trainers even make the dog touch their hand at this stage, to maintain contact.
Crossing behind
Some dogs will try and cross behind you instead of in front. You need to discourage this. Taking a step back to make sure the dog passes in front may be necessary occasionally. Check the wind, the dog is less likely to do this if you are facing the right way into the wind.
Using the whistle
As you reduce your own range further you will need to use the turn whistle to keep the dog within range. He does not have the added incentive of watching you run away from him so use the whistle to let him know when you want him to turn. You will find that a lot of the time he will turn naturally and of his own accord. This is great.
You don’t want to be blowing whistles all the time once you are working on game, so try and gradually reduce your use of the whistle as the dog gets more practiced
Arm signals
As you reduce your own zig-zags still further, and once you are at the point where you are just taking a couple of steps in either direction to set the dog hunting the other way, you should include a strong arm signal to the dog indicating the direction he is travelling in as he passes across you. Sweep your arm out dramatically as he travels towards you and in the direction he is going.
The next stage is for you to stop turning altogether and keep walking forwards. The only indication you give your dog is the arm signal. Sweep your arm out to the side as he crosses.
You will find that with a little practice you will soon be able to walk slowly forward and set the dog hunting in either direction using this arm signal. And as time goes on you will be able to make the arm signal more discrete for that ‘professional’ look.
Before you know it your dog will be quartering with the minimum of instruction from you and you are ready for some real hunting in cover.
If you enjoy my articles, you might like my new book: The Happy Puppy Handbook – a definitive guide to early puppy care and training.
Phoebe says
Hi Pippa,
I have been trying to teach my 9 month old cocker Rowan to quarter by using a whistle signal when she naturally changes direction. She usually changes direction in reaction though only sometimes returning to me and carrying on in the other direction as if quartering. My question is whether I should continue to use the same signal or teach quartering using the method you explain but using a new signal.
Also, another question, for her free hunting is a bit entrenched so how can I let her know that she is not allowed to do that any more?
Thanks for your wonderful articles (I am brings reading them)
Sophie says
Hi Pippa
I have a one year old cocker who I’d like to teach to quarter. However this method doesn’t seem to work for my cocker as she runs to heel when she reaches me and won’t run past me. I was browsing the internet and I found one method where you teach them to run around a cone on either side of you and then place the cones in a zig zag and get the dog to follow your signals to go around each one. I was wondering what your opinion would be on this method or do you think I’d just be wasting my time? My cocker has lots of drive and energy and loves to please.
Thanks in advance
Kind regards
Sophie
owain says
Hi Pippa, i have a 10month old cocker which i have been training over the past few month. My biggest concern is that she is not focused on me when she works, she will turn (most of the time) to whistle, but it’s almost a forced movement and not somthing she wants to do. She also tends to push out too far, and the only way to tighten her quartering is to use a 10m leash. Reading the article above, i’m concernned that i’m appraching the training in the wrong way…….every morning she gets a free run of the park as well as after a 15min training session in the evenings. When she has a free run she does as she pleases and I try not to give any or very little commands during ‘play time’. the free run is almost her reward for the training.
If i’m to take your comments on board, and not give her any free running time, how do i approach this and stop her from going too far? Any help/advise would be much appreciated. Thanks
Pippa says
Different trainers differ in their approach to this Owain. I do not allow my young spaniels to free hunt. So, they are either ‘at heel’ or ‘retrieving’ or ‘quartering’. If you want to allow free running, you would need to talk to a trainer that does this while being successful in maintaining a good hunting pattern and attention in a young spaniel. The Positive Gundogs Facebook group has some members that do allow free hunting, but I have found that most people struggle to get a good hunting pattern in young spaniels that are allowed to free hunt some of the time.
John says
Hi Pippa
What would be the best age to start training my cocker spaniel pup to the art of quartering
Thanks John.
Pippa says
Hi John, you can start to encourage a side to side pattern from the very beginning. I never walk anywhere in a straight line with a spaniel puppy 🙂
Sophia says
Hi Pippa
I have two cocker spaniels. One is two and the other is 10 months. I have looked in to training a gundog and believe it would be great fun for both the dog and I. However our two year old cocker has only just got a solid recall and I feel it might be too late to train him. He loves to retrieve and wants to please me but he has slowed down a lot and doesn’t seem to want to hunt. Do you think it is too late to train him? On the other hand our 10 month old is excellent and I intend to start quartering her this weekand I find your articles very helpful. Thanks in advance sophia
Pippa says
Hi Sophia, it is never too late to train your dog, but whilst quartering teaches the dog to hunt under control, the dog does need to want to hunt to begin with. If your dog won’t hunt, then you can still train him as a retriever, cockers are often excellent at this important role. 🙂
David says
Hi Pippa, I have a 2 yr old male springer who has been described as a Ferrari by a local Gundog trainer. I have no previous experience of hunting or training a Gundog and I am struggling. Hugo (my spaniel) is a excellent hunter and a good retriever, I can throw multiple dummies and he will retrieve them as directed. Quartering is a bit hit and miss and he will not always turn when instructed. Stop / Sit coromandel is ok but he tends to take 5 to 10 feet to stop. However, all this goes to pot when we go out for a “walk” on the fells when he gets out of control and goes “deaf” and chases everything;he chased a lamb today! Is it too late to correct? Should I stop all free running?
Pippa says
Hi David, yes, free hunting is a very bad idea for a hard hunting dog with control issues. Keep him very close and work hard on the turn and stop whistles.
Pippa
kerry says
Just seen this article now, My little cocker is two years old and we did not do any quatering work at Gun Dog Training untill 3 months ago and even then we where asked to quater suddenlly and not taught . I have now bought numerous books, DVD’s etc and I am really struggling to get her to do it. she won’t do the running thing, she just stops when she gets to me. She will do the two pip pip turns and go in any directions she is told but then she won’t hunt, she she jumps up and down and looks at me all the time. I fear she is too old to learn something we should have been taught 14 months back. What can be done at this age?
Pippa says
Hi Kerry, it sounds as though your cocker has not discovered the joys of hunting yet. A pleasure in hunting needs to precede the imposition of a ‘pattern’ onto the dog’s hunting style. Two is quite late to get a dog hunting, but it can sometimes be done with the right facilities. Your best bet is to have a chat to a gundog trainer with a rabbit pen, and ask for some advice.
Pippa
kerry says
Hi Pippa, errr I would not say she did not hunt. i habe taken your advice and found a v v good trainer but can only travel down about Once every 6-8 weeks. We where not taught to quater or stop to flush in gun dog class. ( Obedience was not the top priority either ). ( Loads of dummies and water work ). . She has free run and chased rabbits for the first two years of her life!!! She is bunny obsessed. I am a complete novice and put my and my dogs training in what I belived was good hands. I have now seen a proper professional and he has helped a lot in trying to get her to quater. she has been in a rabbit pen but worked out it was a cotrolled environment v quickly, caught the rabbit and ragged it!!!!
quatering wise she is still just jumping up and down and won’t put her nose down unless it’s game land and at the point she is a good 8 meters either side running like a loon. Loosing any sence of pattern and not coming in close as she crosses. But a Lot better than it was. Still chasing !!!! is she two old to be taught to quater v tight, stop chaseing and shown how to flush?
Mike Smith says
When the quartering is working well it’s like someone has turned a radio on and Dean Martin is singing “Sway”.
Pippa says
🙂
Lourens says
Hi Pippa, aplogies, I wasn’t clear:
“During this process you will need to stop all free-running exercise in the countryside.” – My question is, if you stop these exercises, my dogs will destroy the house. They need exercise…?
Thanks
Lourens
Pippa says
OK, I understand 🙂 Firstly you will not be stopping all exercise. Just stoppiing ‘free running’ exercise where the dog is allowed to follow scent and generally go his own way. You want all your dog’s energy diverted into quartering. So that he is not running aimlessly about with no purpose. As a rough guide, during this training phase, when you are out and about in the countryside and your dog is not ‘at heel’, your dog should be moving from side to side in a pattern in front of you, OR, retrieving.
Don’t forget that your dog should also have access to an ‘exercise area’, where he can stretch his legs and run around without being ‘controlled’. For most people this is their garden. But you might have access to a particular field or paddock for this purpose.
I have to emphasise again the importance of retrieving in a well rounded gundog. Retrieving allows you to give a dog a massive amount of exercise whilst under complete control.
Some people find that their dog can distinguish between ‘running around free’ on a family walk (which is ok), and running around out of control in a shooting situation (which is not OK). But from personal experience I have found that many dogs simply cannot distinguish the difference. At least not until they have had a lot of practice.
Also, I think your fears about the dogs destroying your house if they don’t get a walk, might be overstated! People often over estimate the role of exercise in a dog’s behaviour. 🙂
Hope that makes sense.
Pippa
Lourens says
Thanks again for a simple clear article. I have a 1 -year-old lab who quarters naturally (but needs refinement ) and with great enthusiasm. If I had to stop free play for a month, he would go insane. I “walk” him daily. Walk is a misnomer. We go down to the park or field with his brother and they tear it up. I train them separately. They are calm then, with plenty of drive when needed. But they must exercise. Suggestions?
Lourens
Pippa says
I am sorry Lourens, I am not sure what your question is? Pippa
steve roe says
hi pippa
i have a 6month springer and have just started your grade 1 book how old should i wait to start the quartering excersise i do a zig zag walk with him anyway as mentioned in your article the problem with springers to keep him concentrateing on me and not the smell of game
Pippa says
Hi Steve, six to eight months is fine. Just keep lessons short and sweet, and make it fun. Pippa
Paul Thackray says
Hi Pippa
What a great site. I have Marley a 3 year old rescue Sprocker. Had him just over a year and have had great difficulty in keeping him under control. Perseverance has paid off and recently tips from the Labrador site have helped enormously. He has picked up quartering skills without any real training although he gets distracted after a while. I am now going to follow your training advice and will report progress.
Regards Paul Thackray
Pippa says
Hi Paul and thanks for your kind comments. I hope you continue to make progress with Marley. Pippa
Pippa says
Hi Sarah, thanks for your comments. A gsp would normally take in more ground than a spaniel, but the principles are similar. Have fun!
Pippa
Sarah says
Hi,
This site is great, thanks. I have a GSPxlab and want to try and get her to quarter so I have a bit more control over her while we’re on the move. Can we just go ahead as instructed above for a spaniel? I was thinking of keeping her on a very long line at first as she has a tendency to run off and hunt for herself at the moment!
Thanks.
Derek says
I have just come across these notes and find them very useful. Re quartering, ls there a verbal command associated with this task? She will turn to the whistle but simply running back and forth seems to confuse – “why am I doing this?”..
Pippa says
Hi Derek, I am glad you found the notes helpful. Most people use a verbal command to ‘set the dog hunting’ . I use ‘get on’. But if the dog seems confused as to the purpose of the exercise the most likely reason is lack of scent. Try and hunt your dog on gamey ground, obviously taking precautions to clear the ground of game first. And keep hunting sessions short.
If the dog slows down and starts to lose pace or ‘potter’, call a halt and try again later when she is fresh.
Later on, when she gets onto game, she will be in no doubt as to what the point is 🙂
Hope that helps
Pippa
Ryan Doering says
This is a fantastic article. Thanks so much!!