# First training session of the summer video



## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2011/07/vizsla-first-summer-training-day.html

Bailey and I spent the morning in field trial training. The above videos might be as boring as watching paint dry. 

Happy trials and trails.

Rod aka redbirddog


----------



## kellygh (Oct 25, 2010)

Loved it  ! I never grow tired or bored watching Vs in the field--birds or no birds! At what age did you introduce Bailey &/or Chloe to the e-collar? Was it in conjunction with hunting training?


----------



## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

Kellygr,

Chloe had never had a training collar on until just this Saturday doing the snake avoidance class. Poor girl screamed at a setting of two. At a two setting if you put the contacts on your arm you would bearly feel anything. She now will avoid rattlesnakes.
The girl is soft.

Bailey, on the other hand, I had a professional field trail trainer start him out at about 6 months old while we working birds. He used it when Bailey would chase the bird at a low setting.

Training collars are all about timing and something you want a veteran to explain and show. Always use the collar on yourself (on your forearm) to see what it feels like at the different settings. You'd be amazed at how little feeling the lower setting create. The upper settings are the "come to Jesus" attention getters and very seldom used. I've used it only a couple times for chasing cows, chickens and coyotes. 

Here are a coupple quick posts of about it, along with a cool Vizsla song..

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2009/09/introducing-bailey-to-training-collar.html

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2009/10/i-am-vizsla-song.html


----------



## datacan (May 15, 2011)

HI, Rod your Bailey looks like a world class hunting dog. 
How old was he when you introduced the "whoa" command?
I read some hunters never introduce "sit", at least not before "whoa" is well established.

Julius


----------



## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

Whoa was introduced at 6 months in Bailey's training. Actually we use "whoop" and never "whoa" as "whoa" sounds too much like no.

Outside the house I NEVER ask my Vizslas to sit. 

They come to me and they *stand* perfectly still by my left side. Retrievers sit, Pointers stand. Just custom in the field.

Rod aka redbirddog


----------



## kellygh (Oct 25, 2010)

Thanks, Rod. Pumpkin (almost 11m) does know sit (puppy class); however, we rarely ask her to do it. We too never ask for a sit outdoors. I use a "hup" sound which means "hold-up." She does pretty well with this, but she is not 100% reliable w/ distractions. As for the e-collar, we have not introduced it yet. We will have our trainer, Maurice Lindley, do that when the time comes. He's very experienced (great book) training bird dogs, hunting Vs, trialing, & hunt tests. He says he will not introduce "formal" training (pressure) on Vizsla before the age of 15m as a general rule. He wants them to mature, develop a very strong bird drive, have a lot of fun, and be on the safe side of the soft nature. He gets a lot of dogs for training that are rehabs. Too many people being too zealous with e-collars & have nearly zapped the dogs spirit & drive into eternity! I consider him to be a "bird dog whisperer ." The last time we went, I saw a dog that I had not seen since 4 wks prior (the biggest GSP I have ever seen-a giant), and he was wagging his tail on the "chain gang," friendly, so responsive to Maurice's quiet voice, and generally just loving his job. The 4 wks before, he had his tail tucked, head hanging low, & I was told to slowly approach if I wanted to pet him. Maurice said he tried to bite him when he arrived just at the sight of the e-collar! Poor fellow ended up in SC from Montana, because of cruel "training" in hopes of titles. E-collars are useful, sometimes life saving tools, but they can destroy a dog in the wrong hands


----------



## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Thanx 
I will follow your suggestions. I now see the methods used for GS dogs are worlds apart from what a Vizsla needs (I have a cousin who helped with retired service GSDs). 
I used GSD methods on my V. but didn't respond as crisply I expected, so I gave up and looked at pointer dog training instead. I think it is more natural and in tune with their instincts. 
I am about make a training table or just use a sturdy box and introduce softly the command. I don't think it will be hard for Sam to forget "sit", he hates it anyway. Yeah, he never sat without a fuss.


----------



## Mischa (Feb 17, 2010)

I've read about pointing dogs not being taught sit, and the explanation I read was that if they get confused or spooked, they will go back to the command they know best. The idea behind it is that the dog may sit, instead of point a bird, if it gets confused in a high pressure situation. 



It sounds like I may be alone on this one, but I like it when my dog sits, inside and out. I like it even more when she does it after I tell her too.. 
For us, "sit" means: stop everything and wait. 
She has a solid stay, and we've introduced "woah" on standing blocks with our bird lady. 
Even if one day she stops dead in her tracks at "woah", I'll still have her sit before she touches her food, before the leash goes on or off, at cross walks, etc...

One dreaming goal of mine is the "sit at a distance", where I'd yell "sit" as she's chasing a squirrel into traffic, or perhaps a deer into a hunters path, and she comes to a screeching hault on her butt, just because I told her to. 
This is a far fetched dream, but who knows, it could happen! ;D


----------

