# Tito's Training Today



## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

It sounds like a good session! Go Tito!


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## Jige (Mar 17, 2011)

Sounds like a very productive day. Good Job Tito!!


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## DNL2448 (Feb 13, 2009)

Awesome! Wish I were closer, Dan sounds like a real find. And Tito, well he's amazing. Barb, you're not to shabby either, you and Tito are a great team.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Dan is amazing. He always talks about "balance" in training. He uses it in a lot of different ways, for example, the balance between positive and negative. Dan believes that almost all of the training should be positive, corrections mostly thru attrition, with only enough negative to ensure that the dog succeeds. Interesting concept, and seems to work really well. For example, today, we had to give Tito some negative feedback when he insisted on heading for the brush to flush his own bird when we cast him over toward the blind. He knew what we wanted, didn't do it, and had to be negatively reinforced in order for him to succeed in running the blind. Otherwise, everything we did was positive/praise based. 
Also he talks a lot about balancing aspects of training like lining with casting, balancing marks with steadiness drills, etc. 
He's fascinating to spend time with. I wish I could download his brain onto my computer, LOL.


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

hotel4dogs said:


> On to the bucket drill. Me sitting on the bucket, gun in hand, Tito in heel position next to me, Dan behind me with some dead birds. I swing the rifle, when Tito is looking down the barrel, Dan tosses the bird. I'm not sure Tito gets this one yet. We did it a few times, including some doubles, I still didn't think he gets it.


Swinging with the gun is a valuable skill (and one I reinforce constantly) but I found with my guys that they learn this inadvertently by just using a gun in every multiple marking situation. In senior and master you MUST shoulder a gun during marks. By being consistent and using a gun in every multiple mark setup, the dog learns by himself to swing and push/pull off the gun. In the above drill, a lot of dogs just learn to turn around and look at the guy behind them throwing the bird (duh 



> What Dan said was that this kind of mark is hard because a lot of dogs will run parallel to the tree line after they cross the road, and lose the mark. I thought that was interesting, because I wouldn't have had any idea of that being hard for the dogs. I learn so much from Dan!!


I don't think it has so much to do with the road but more the tree line. Dogs do not like to run straight at any barrier such as a tree line, hedgerow, wall of higher cover, fence, etc. Rather than run straight at it they will veer left or right and hunt parallel to it. I think in this scenario the road was just a decision point for the dog. Early on in learning to both set up and run blinds, I would put them against fences (end of the field) and always had a hard time hacking it up at the end. Well DUH -- the dog did not want to run right at the fence. Once I started moving the blind out from the fence things went much more smoothly.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Good boy! I used to never understand why my training buddies always did singles. Thought that if they were running MH or SH they should be running more doubles and triples. Well, when I started doubles I want to do them a lot and learned my lesson. You get a dog that swings its head. Always hard to find that happy medium.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

*I was thinking of getting one of those toy guns that shoots marshmellows! :*



K9-Design said:


> Swinging with the gun is a valuable skill (and one I reinforce constantly) but I found with my guys that they learn this inadvertently by just using a gun in every multiple marking situation. In senior and master you MUST shoulder a gun during marks. By being consistent and using a gun in every multiple mark setup, the dog learns by himself to swing and push/pull off the gun. In the above drill, a lot of dogs just learn to turn around and look at the guy behind them throwing the bird (duh
> 
> *Makes sense, especially about the road being the decision point. Of course these obedience dogs are pretty used to being run into barriers like blank walls, lol! *
> 
> I don't think it has so much to do with the road but more the tree line. Dogs do not like to run straight at any barrier such as a tree line, hedgerow, wall of higher cover, fence, etc. Rather than run straight at it they will veer left or right and hunt parallel to it. I think in this scenario the road was just a decision point for the dog. Early on in learning to both set up and run blinds, I would put them against fences (end of the field) and always had a hard time hacking it up at the end. Well DUH -- the dog did not want to run right at the fence. Once I started moving the blind out from the fence things went much more smoothly.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Dan says goldens are so darned smart sometimes he swears they can count how many birds have gone down 



GoldenSail said:


> Good boy! I used to never understand why my training buddies always did singles. Thought that if they were running MH or SH they should be running more doubles and triples. Well, when I started doubles I want to do them a lot and learned my lesson. You get a dog that swings its head. Always hard to find that happy medium.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Sounds like a great training session  You, Dan and Tito sure pack a lot into a session!!


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