Retrieving: introducing steadiness to fall

Waiting for a command before setting off to fetch a retrieve,  is all part and parcel of learning to be a well behaved gundog.

We looked at why steadiness is so important in the importance of steadiness to fall for retrievers

In this article,  we will look at one way of introducing steadiness to fall.

This will take you several sessions over several days to complete.

With a very ‘hot’ dog it might take a week or two.  Once you have started the process,  all opportunities to run-in should be denied.  It is best to stop all retrieving practice for the duration.

Why this method

This is a method which enables the dog to progress with very few, if any, corrections.  It is not the only method,  but it is now my preferred one.

Make sure your dog is ready to begin

There are some pre-requisites for this steadiness training

• A passionate retriever
• A solid sit/stay
• A basic delivery to hand

A passionate retriever

It is important  that you don’t attempt to ‘steady’ a dog that is not yet passionate about retrieving.[wp_ad_camp_1]Serious steadiness training may interfere with a young dog’s enthusiasm for retrieving if introduced too early.

Let your puppy chase after retrieves for a while.

Build up some passion before asking him to be a ‘grown up’  and wait nicely for your cue.

A solid sit/stay

You will sometimes see people teach steadiness by ‘restraining’  the dog with an arm or a lead whilst they throw a dummy.   I don’t teach steadiness like this.  I teach it initially with the dog sitting facing me,  and without touching the dog.   This gives me more control over the ‘power’ of the dummy (see below).

For this reason you will need to teach the dog to sit and stay reliably whilst you move a short distance away,  before you commence this training exercise.

Delivery

You don’t want to be attempting this training with a dog that still plays ‘keep-away’ or drops the dummy,  it will interfere with your ability to focus on the job in hand.   If your dog doesn’t deliver to hand yet,  check out this article  Delivery problems: playing keep away

The power of distractions

The sight of a falling dummy is a ‘distraction’  for a keen retriever that has been asked to sit and stay.  It is a strong temptation to move and disobey you.

As always in training,  we can keep our handling methods more positive if we set the dog up to win by introducing distractions very gradually,  from low power distractions to very powerful ones.   And by increasing the power of any given distraction very slowly.

But how can we alter the ‘power’  of our falling dummy?  How can we make it less distracting to the dog?

Altering the power of the dummy

The answer lies in a number of different factors.

• The speed at which the dummy is travelling
• The height at which the dummy is travelling
• The proximity of the dummy to the dog
• The proximity of the dog to the handler
• The position of the handler relative to the dog and the dummy

Speed of the dummy

To begin with we introduce the dummy by gently dropping it to the ground from our outstretched hand.   The dummy has only a short distance to fall and is relatively unexciting to the dog.

Once we are confident that the dog can hold a sit/stay,  through this process we can start the make the dummy move a little faster.

The height of the dummy

Some dogs find a dummy that falls from a considerable height,  far more exciting than one that just skims the ground.   Be aware that introducing a high thrown dummy can trigger a break from the stay.  So do this gradually.

The proximity of the dummy to the dog

A dummy thrown to land at considerable distance from the dog,  may be less exciting than one that lands just under his nose.  Especially if the other factors of temptation are high.

The proximity of the dog to the handler

The dog is less likely to ‘break’ the stay if his handler is very close to him,  than if his handler is far away

The position of the handler relative to the dog and the dummy

The dog is less likely to ‘break’ the stay if the handler is placed between the dog and the dummy,  so that the dog would have to pass the handler in order to reach the dummy.  This also enables the handler to pick up the dummy before the dog does,  if things go wrong.   Thus ensuring that the dog does not get a reward for breaking his stay.

Making a start

Using the information above,  we can make a start at setting the dog up to win with steadiness to fall.

Begin with the dog sitting facing you and back away a few steps.  Have a dummy ready in your hand.  Bend over so that your hand is only a foot or two from the ground and drop the dummy very gently behind you.

Most dogs with a practiced stay,  will not move when you do this.   The dummy just is not tempting enough.

Watch the dog carefully the whole time.  If he starts to get up give him a ‘no-reward’ marker (I just say AH-AH! quite sharply).  Return to the dog,  walk him on at heel a few paces then try again.

As soon as the dog remains seated whilst you drop the dummy on the ground, which may well be the very first time you do it,  give a reward marker (I use ‘good’)  pick the dummy up again,  return to the dog and reward him.   Walk the dog on at heel a few paces and repeat.

When you can do this successfully five times in a row,  it’s time to increase the power of the dummy just a tiny bit.

A faster dummy

If you look at the list above,  you can see that there are several ways to do this.  Pick just one.  I suggest you start by making the dummy a bit more lively.  Throw the dummy to land a few feet behind you.

Imagine that you are standing in the middle of a clock.   The dog is sitting facing you, with his back to 12 o’clock.  Start throwing the dummy well behind you towards 6 o’clock.    The dummy is moving a little faster now,  but you are still between the dog and the dummy.

Get this right and then you can start throwing the dummy to 7 o’clock and to 5 o’clock.   The dog has a clearer view of the dummy now.  But your position is still quite a strong visual barrier.   When he is successful with this you can start throwing the dummy to 8 o’clock and to 4 o’clock.  This is more tempting for him now,  so throw gently and shorten the distance a little.

Remember to reward the dog

This is where people often start forgetting to reward the dog.  Don’t switch to intermittent rewards yet,  you are increasing the level of difficulty and the dog needs a reward for every correct response.  Go to the dog and feed him or give him some affection if that is what he likes.  Walk him on a bit to relax him before trying again.

Close to the dog

When we increase one factor of difficulty,  it is important to decrease the others for a while.  As you begin throwing the dummy towards 9 o’clock and 3 o’clock (to either side of the dog) things are getting more tempting for him.   Make sure that you are really close to him so that the two of you are in the middle of the clock together.  Use your physical presence to focus his attention on to you.   Use bigger rewards if he is struggling.

Moving away  from the dog

Once the dog is able to sit calmly and watch the dummies fall to either side of him you can begin to move further away from him.   Leave him in the middle of the clock,  still throwing dummies to 3 and 9, whilst you back away towards 6 o’clock.   Just a few feet at a time.  Take it slowly.

Increasing the power

To increase the power of the dummy further,  you will start throwing them so that they pass slightly beyond the dog (to 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock).   Always move closer to the dog before you do this and back away slowly once he is steady.    Keep progressing until you are able to leave the dog in the middle of the clock,  back away to 6 o’clock, and throw the dummy directly over the dog’s head to land at 12 o’clock.

Once your dog has mastered this,  you can begin to increase other factors of difficulty.  Start introducing faster moving dummies,  and high thrown dummies.   It can be helpful to get a friend to throw for you at this stage,  so that you can stand very close to the dog until you are sure he is coping.  Then move away gradually.

Once the dog can sit very still whilst dummies soar over his head, or skim past his nose with you stood twenty yards away.   You will have  done a good job at basic steadiness to fall.

Re-introducing retrieves

Now you can begin to re-introduce some retrieves.  Only allow the dog to pick up one or two dummies for every dozen or so that you throw to begin with.  Unless you have a regular ‘thrower’, you will need to do quite a bit of walking!

Build on basics

You now need to build on this with steadiness to fall at heel and for spaniels, steadiness to fall whilst hunting.  We’ll look at that in another article.

You can find more information on developing the retrieve in a young retriever in the Gundog Club’s training guides.

Enjoy your training sessions

If you enjoy my articles, you might like my new book: The Happy Puppy Handbook – a definitive guide to early puppy care and training.