Training Supplies for Your Bird Dog Puppy
If you’re the happy new owner of a puppy that you plan to train to someday be a hunting or gun dog, then you’ll be wondering what you’ll need to make that happen. Besides patience, love, and a sense of humor, you’ll need some tools to make the training process easier. Before you bring puppy home, make sure you have the things you’ll need to make him comfortable and get him off to a good start.
When you first bring your puppy home, chances are that he is not going to be housebroken. This is perfectly normal since most puppies are not housebroken until they are a year old. If you are like many other owners, you might be considering a crate as a way to keep your dog safe while unsupervised and protect your home from accidents.
Fortunately, regardless of the size of your dog, crates are easy to use, they come in a variety of sizes and some can even be collapsed and put away once you are done using it. Some dog owners only use a crate until a puppy is housebroken and then only for rare occasions.
The good thing is that most dogs like the experience of a crate. Crates will help dogs feel more protected and secure, and will soon become their choice spot when they need a safe retreat. In fact, most dogs begin to treat their crates as a den. As long as the size is correct, it won’t matter whether you choose aluminium or metal wire. If the crate is too small, your dog will be uncomfortable because turning will more difficult, and when it is too large, your dog won’t get the den-feel of safety and may be scared of the crate. You can opt for a dog crate with removable panels which you can add or remove to the size of your dog.
Let us be honest, dogs do not train themselves! For those who are training hunting dogs, you will want to find the best possible dog training collar that can be found in the same supply store that you purchase your other hunting dog supplies. Whether you elect for an electric dog collar to teach your dog to hunt or a simple choke collar for simple obedience training, make sure that the collar is the right one for you and your dog.
Most dogs respond well to positive reinforcement (treats when they do well), but some require something more severe to help them learn. Safety and obedience training are a must for all dogs and training collars are the tool to use for these. Hunting and field training are also important for gun dogs, so find the system that works best for you and begin when your dog is a puppy.
Other Hunting Dog Supplies
Start working with puppy early to begin the training process and to set a schedule of training, play, and down times. The earlier you begin obedience and hunting training, the more effective it will be. There are a lot of products out there to help you accomplish these tasks and they are generally available at all hunting and pet supply stores:
1. Dog whistles: both obedience (call) whistles and water fowl imitation whistles are available and useful in training.
2. Dog training bumpers/dummies – for teaching retrieval and flushing, they simulate the bird to be hunted.
3. Launchers for teaching to fetch and retrieve
Your new puppy will be a part of your home and hunting experience and will become your best friend for many years. Make sure you have the right hunting dog supplies and tools to make your training effective and fun!
