Easy retrieve training for pups

No matter how young, spaniel pups can used to easy retrieves!

Did you know that spaniels are not "born retrievers"? (the clue's in the name, I guess!) Yet we assume that our lovely spaniels will, as if by magic, know how to search & find for that item you want them to bring back (ball, rolled-up sock, pheasant.....) as if they've inherited some sort of ancestral retrieve-gene. And, in a way, they have - but it's up to us spaniel-owners to flick that switch on - and the best time to do that (guess what) is when they're a pup.

It all starts at home

It doesn't get much easier than this. Sit your young pup down on the floor with you - start inside, where he/she has hopefully got a bit familiar with the territory - make yourself comfortable, perhaps with your back against a cupboard door or the fridge. Make sure you have a ball or a pair of chunky, smelly, rolled-up socks to hand. Spread out your legs in front of you, to create a V-shape. Get pup to sit right up close to you, at the top of the 'V'. Now, intrigue him/her with that lovely smelly item. Right up by the nose, tantilising him/her... to one side and the other... give them a real temptation. Then - OUT! You roll the item away from them, at the same time speaking "OUT!" in your best-possible Micky Mouse voice. He or she SHOULD chase afrter it - now it's over to you with the "Good boy, good girl" (gender appropriate!) as they pick the object up and hopefully potter back to you with it.

Needless to say, when they bring the item anywhere near you (doesn't have to be right into your hand in the first instance), you must PRAISE THAT DOG like it's just discovered penicillin. All the kissing, fluffing and tickling you can muster.

Why do I have to squeak like Mickey?

The good news is, only your pup & your family will hear you (for now!) Young pups LOVE a high-pitched voice - perhaps because they've been used to hearing the speaks of their own litter-mates? Essentially, with an excited-sounding, high-pitched voice, you are communicating that you are familiar, and no threat at all.

Proofing your 'OUT'

I am really going to hammer home 'OUT', rather than 'Fetch', as you DO want your dog to distinguish the behaviours. Personally I have nothing against every other breed-owner in the world using 'Fetch'. But for spaniels, we need a brief, clear command that can be repeated again & again, consistently. That's really important, and I'll come back to that in later posts. For now, please always use "OUT!" when you're getting your spaniel to 'go get' an item.

Importantly - once your pup has got the basic hang of retrieving ('OUT") in your designated first-room, move to a different room. And again. And again. Then outside - the garden or yard. Eventually, a field. A different field. Etcetera. The point is to get your pup to understand that 'OUT' is a command that applies EVERYWHERE.

Tools & toys

I would ALWAYS advocate keeping training toys and general house-toys (squishy things, squeaky things etc) totally separate. Stuff for outdoors: smelly tennis balls, rabbit-fur balls, awful old socks balled-up (maybe with a tennis ball inside them), canvas dummies, and eventually maybe pheasant-pelts. The stock on Sporting Saint is great - with lots of options.

What you don't want is for your pup to see you lobbing his/her precious Mister Crocodile fluffy bed-time snoozy toy across the park - that's for cuddling only! Training toys are for training only, so put them away when school's over, and don't get them out again until it's time for the next class!