Northern Flight Retrievers!
Published in
Jun./July 20
Good Kenneling
Invaluable to good training
written
by Butch Goodwin
of
Northern
Flight Retrievers
Everyone thinks of an outdoor kennel run as simply a secure home for their dog. Outdoor kennels certainly provide security and a place for the
dog to feel at home, but they also serve another important function: a place to keep dogs
out of the way and under control when the necessity arises. Crates are thought of as serving much the same purpose inside of the house, but crates are also
considered the safest means for transporting a dog in a vehicle and a necessary tool for teaching housebreaking.
But did you know that outdoor kennels and indoor crates can actually contribute to your dog having a more enthusiastic training attitude?
Let me explain.
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Maybe not the best time to tell him it's time to go work on some yard drills. |
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Most people who have been around
hunting dog training for very long know about using a "chain gang." A chain gang is exactly what the name
implies - multiple dogs are chained from their collars by short "dropper" chains to a
longer chain that is securely anchored on both ends to the ground. The idea is that dogs
chained out like this can be used to "train" the other dogs on the chain.
And it works.
Among the problems that you can improve through the use of a chain gang are
dogs that have little interest in birds or in training in general. By chaining them out with dogs that are
eager for birds or eager to do the work and then letting them watch as dogs that are loose in the field are trained,
the enthusiastic dogs on the chain get the ones with little interest quite "fired up" as they lunge and
jump while watching the other dogs work.
Kennel runs and crates provide an experience that is actually quite similar to
having dogs on a chain gang. One of the advantages a professional trainer has is
that he has multiple dogs to train and those dogs are confined - either in outdoor kennel runs,
or on his truck or trailer whenever they aren't working. And, like being on a chain gang, they watch other
dogs get out and get their turn to work, which tends to make the confined dogs more eager to want to get
out and train.
Over the years, it's not uncommon for me to get at least a half-dozen or so
phone calls or e-mails every few months from new trainers asking a common question: Why is it that their
dog, that since the time he was a youngster has always enjoyed retrieving tossed bumpers, now simply
doesn't want to get out and do the "yard work" heeling and fundamental training drills? Generally, after
a little inquiring, it becomes obvious that the dog is allowed to run loose in a
fenced yard most of the day fending for himself, or he spends his days inside lounging on the sofa or playing "dress
up" with the kids!
Please don't misinterpret the last part of the previous sentence to mean that I don't believe in dogs and kids
playing together. There is no better way for bonding and socializing a young pup than by having kids around
to romp with - but not all day, every day, and especially not immediately before a training session.
The fact of the matter is, the dog that is left to entertain himself loose in
a yard or allowed to play all day in the yard with the kids will likely resent being
snatched out of such "fun" surroundings by some guy with a leash and a choker collar. He'd rather be
back in the yard with his kids or just lying around in the sun protecting them instead of being jerked around
by the neck! Sure, a retriever should always want to retrieve bumpers because, hopefully, an irrepressible
obsession for retrieving has been bred into his genetic makeup. But he doesn't understand or care much
about the mundane and routine heeling and drill work that is necessary for good fundamental training. The stuff
that bores dogs as well as trainers is simply not part of his agenda.
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Most trainers, especially those with
only one dog, come to realize as they progress that even if their dog spends a large measure of his time indoors
as a family member, his training will benefit significantly by a period of confinement
immediately preceding and also immediately following each training session. And I'm not talking
about confining him for only the few minutes it takes to find your whistle and gather your leash and collar. I'm
talking about confining him for like an hour or so - at a minimum. For a crate scenario, it may be the length
of time that it takes to drive to a training area, meet a training group, and watch
while the dogs belonging to the others get a chance to work.
In the case of the trainer who is going out on the front lawn or to the local
schoolyard to work on heeling drills - just him and his dog - that time of confinement for the dog
should be an hour or so spent locked in his outdoor kennel run before the training session begins. The dog that
is confined prior to training will be more enthusiastic and looking forward to getting out of his crate
or outdoor kennel (or as one of the kids who used to work for me called it, "dog
jail") to learn his lessons.
No one wants his dogs barking or raising a ruckus while another dog is working. A good illustration of my
point is that when I have several dogs in their kennels on my truck, I very often have to park where they
can't see the other dogs that are working, or I have to close the vents on the doors on the side
of where we are working. If they are able to see what we are doing, the dogs bark or
whine incessantly the entire time. They are confined. They don't want to be confined. They want to get out
and do the work that they are watching another dog do, and they are letting me know that they can do the
job better and want their turn - now! That's enthusiasm, and it's enthusiasm that builds in
intensity by having the dogs confined while another dog is being trained.
And, if one of the dogs on the truck needs his training attitude improved, I
leave the vents on his kennel door open so that he can see everything that is going on to build
his competitive desire to want to get out and work. That is why the chain gang is effective for building enthusiasm; that is why kenneling is
effective for building enthusiasm.
And this isn't limited to dogs that are crated on the truck. A nearby pro
trainer friend of mine purposely puts his young dogs, especially the ones that need a
little more "inspiration" as he calls it, on the front side of his outdoor kennels.
Then, with other dogs, he does all of his heeling drills and yard work, happy bumpers,
simple retrieves, and shackled live birds on a grassy area that is directly in front of these pups to build their
enthusiasm and desire to work.
Another aspect of kenneling that's invaluable to good training is re-kenneling
or re-crating a dog immediately after his training session is finished. 30-plus years ago when a pointer trainer was
teaching me to force-fetch, he told me that at the end of each force-fetch session, I should immediately put the
dog back into a crate without even giving him the opportunity to run around and relieve
himself.
I did as he said but didn't really understand why until much later when I
began training a bunch of young dogs with different mental attitudes toward the training. The
reason is because it forces them to relax undisturbed and absorb the lesson they have been taught. The dog,
more than likely, had a lot of information shoved into his brain in a short period of time, and if allowed to run
around tree, there is a good chance that something else will distract him and he will not digest all that you
have taught.
Again, this is easy if you are training with a group or have to crate your dog
in your truck and drive some distance to get home; but if you are one person training one dog on your front lawn or
in a nearby field, it is a good idea to put him in his kennel run or a crate for an hour or so after each and every
training session.
Your dog's kennel and crate may be his homes, but they can also be tools that,
if used wisely, can help your training progress much more smoothly .
