Where to Start with a Trained Dog

I get clients from time to time who want a dog that is already well on its way to being trained. They don’t want to go through puppyhood and all the pleasures of house training, chewing, obedience, and those razor sharp teeth. No, they want a dog that is between 9 and 12 months old or older and is on their way to a successful hunting season and running in seasoned hunt tests.

When they come to me they tell me their dog can run a 100 yard blind on land and water, can pick up a double or triple with distractions, and is brilliant at doing walk ups and upland. Sometimes they will tell me that the dog has been with numerous trainers and has some hunting experience. “Great, let’s run them through their paces and see where we are” is my response.

On almost every occasion when we run the dog through some training exercises, it appears they are not up to the standard my client expected. They went to whoever was selling the dog and observed as the dog completed a scenario, believing this dog was the one they had been searching for. Once they bring their new dog home, it's in a new environment with a new owner and a new training regime, and things seem to fall apart. Did they buy the dog and the previous owner hadn't been truthful? Had the dog been put through the same exercise so many times it knew it off by heart, and when the client came to see the dog, it performed like a seasoned champion? Did they err in not buying a puppy and starting from scratch?

Sometimes all the above items are true to some extent, but the mistake is thinking you can purchase an older dog and not have to put much effort or training in on your part. It’s up to you to get the dog to the level that you want. It will take some time for the new dog to trust you and I will almost bet that you will not train in the same way the dog's previous owner did. So what do you do now?

The answer is simple, start from the beginning. Start with obedience training. This will help get the dog used to you and your body language and vice versa. It will also let the dog know what you expect from them. Spend as much time with the dog as possible so you and the new dog will learn each other’s mannerisms.

As for the field work, start from the beginning with basic retrieves, known blinds, T-patterns, line drills. This will again help you understand the dog and where his or her weaknesses and strengths lie. This will also get the dog used to your training methods.

I can teach 10 people the exact same way and none of them will do it alike. This is one thing we need to understand as trainers, we are not all the same, neither are all dogs, but what all great dogs have in common is great trainers...and what all great trainers have in common is patience.