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Ike in training
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Many people have told me " I sent my AWS to a trainer and it just wasn't worth it, the dog didn't learn a thing and wouldn't work with the trainer" or I've heard from trainers " AWS are not trainable, I've worked with several and none of them are any good". I tell people over and over again these little hunting machines are to be trained by you the owner and caretaker, an AWS bonds with it's family and that is who they will please unless you get a trainer that will take the time (and you give them the time) to bond with the AWS, than and only than will you get any results from a professional trainer. The AWS still has that natural hunting and retrieving instinct, it hasn't yet been bred out of them, you need to do obedience with your pup and than you will have a wonderful hunting partner, who knows it's job and is a delight to be around. It's like would you rather be around a spoiled rotten child or a very well behaved polite child. A dog out of control can ruin the best of hunts with birds flying out of range, you yelling until your hoarse and your friends, swearing that you'll never go hunting with them again unless you leave THAT dog at home!
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Another problem I see is over training, yes that can be done. An AWS is very intellegent is can get bored with retrieving a training dummy 50-75 times. First, they were born with retrieving instinct so work on steading from the beginning, do not let that young dog retrieve every dummy, SIT STAY COME are the commands you want to work on and only once is a command given and in a normal voice, no yelling, your pup will learn that if you yell three times and than go get him, he has three yells more time to do something he wants to, but if you call him once and than inforce your command, he has to react now. This all takes time, I know this from having a full time job out of the house and running a kennel. If you want a wonderful hunting partner, you need to make the time to train your pup, 20-30 minutes each day is wonderful but even 15 minutes aday will work, something is better than nothing at all.
Obedience classed are great, I try to get to at least one if not two a year and in this rural area it's not easy to find one. They help socialize your pup/dog, teach you short cuts and get you to work with your dog.
I am so proud when someone comes to look at the dogs and I toot my wistle and my dogs plunks it's butt to the ground and looks at me with that look of Okay, lets work!
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Even though this isn't something I can do with all my dogs I highly recommend keeping your AWS as a house dog, they do so much better as a hunting dog if it can be raised with the family in the house and "Robert Milner" a DU author of Retriever Training agrees with me or I him.
They already have had your love, attention and constant obedience, so you can go right to the training, I find kenneled dogs have the obsticale of having to bond with you each time you take them out to train. AWS are very affectionate dogs, they like to be close to you, hugs are one of their favorites, so kenneled dogs want to be hugged all the time, that's the bonding they need. All our dogs have that natural born hunting retrieving instinct but our best hunting and hunt test dogs are our house dogs, they are better behaved and progress further in the hunt tests, they are wanting to please us not bond with us.
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Friends grandchildren playing with a litter of pups
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Introducing a young pup to water.
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