Team Dog! Learn the Secrets of Effective Dog Training!Reliable and Gentle Dog Training Based on Clear Communication

September 11th, 2007, Pat Nolan’s “Fly” whelped a litter of puppies that are sure to make some waves in the dog training world! The proud new owners of these pups include leaders in Search and Rescue, Explosives Detection, Drug Detection, Obedience and of course, Hunting/Field Trial work. Our puppy, “Piper”, is the first female added to our pack, and is already making a big impact!

On November 11th (Veteran’s Day!), I traveled to Hagerstown, MD to visit Pat Nolan at his Ponderosa Kennels to pick up the puppy to later be named Piper. I took Monk with me, so that I could maximize my time to train with one of the nation’s top gun dog trainers. As usual, Monk did extremely well, and impressed the other trainers and handlers assembled at the training grounds!

Back to Piper…part of what is separating Pat from a lot of other trainers are his puppy development beliefs. Pat is training all of his puppies, from about 6 weeks on, pieces of the very difficult and intricate tasks that will later be called upon to work effectively as a companion, Field Trial Champion, Detector Dog, SAR Dog or whatever task you foresee with your dog. By breaking the tasks down into smaller pieces, luring with food, maximizing motivation and being as clear as possible the objective of each “training session”, the pups are exposed to a whole wealth of experiences that stimulate them visually, physically, audibly, olifactorily (scent) and of course, through their taste! During this 6-12 week age period, many trainers will call this a “fear period”, is when these pups are seeing and experiencing everything they can to build confidence. Some trainers say keep the dog away from anything that can hurt them, startle them, scare them, etc., but this is when the training should be taking place!

Many trainers and behaviorists are acknowledging that the pups’ “neuro net” is developing and is solidified. Not to say a dog can’t learn after that, of course, BUT so much can be imprinted right from the beginning that can influence life experiences later on. Socialization during this period is important, and the lack of it has been one of the greatest causes of the dog problems we have seen over the last decade. While many want to protect their dog from the dangers of the world during this formative time frame, they can also be robbing the pup from some of the greatest lessons that can be learned.

There is a HUGE difference in dog psychology and human psychology, but there are many similarities as well. Developing social skills, dexterity (both cognitive and physical), allowing/shaping experiences and just having fun in a structured learning environment shows us that the capabilities, work ethic and overall attitude in those that are “stretched” are exponentially more evolved. Many say “It is just a puppy, I will start training when they are about a year old” or “it is just a baby, we’ll teach the ABC’s when he/she starts talking”. The boat is being missed!

Piper is going through a series of drills each day designed to teach on many different levels. Difficult tasks, including visual, scent and physical obstacles to negotiate, as well as social skills are being considered and experienced by pup and owners alike! This is fun, as she is, at ten weeks, sitting at her crate door prior to being let out, sitting at the doors leading out of the house, going out to a target about 50 feet away, coming when called from almost 100 feet away, going to a place board, following directional hand signals, running in to her crate and more! All fun, and each training opportunity is maximized…when she is sent to her crate, she negotiates obstacles to do this, and the obstacles get harder each time!

We are taking an approach in her training that is greatly influenced by both Pat Nolan and Wendy Volhard. For more on this topic, drop us an email! We will keep you posted on Piper’s progress, and will be publishing her daily training blog starting next week! Check back for details! Happy training! Brice