Ever picture a beautiful pointer locked in a point over a wild ringneck rooster in the picturesque Ozark Mountains? Well, if this is you, read on!
This is part one of a series of articles dedicated to bird dog training, contributed by George and Debbie.
George and Debbie design and implement programs providing proven beginning and advanced canine training fundamentals. Their group and individual training support hunting, upland hunting, pointing dogs, flushing breeds, and field trial competitors.
Also, George and Debbie offer one on one training for owners and their dogs at their facility near Thomasville, GA. In the winter, and in the prairies of North Dakota during the summer.
The first twenty weeks of the puppy’s life is critically important. The way the canine student is introduced to the world around it, the positive and negative associations the dog makes affects the future training and development success or lack of. During this stage of psychological development, the youngster can develop good habits through proper training and environmental control. Conversely puppies are monumentally impressionable during this time and it may only take one incident of a negative association as perceived by the puppy to be negative to scar the pupster forever.
During the imprinting stage which covers roughly the first twenty weeks of the pup’s life the pup is learning what works for it. Thus, a few repetitions of a specific behavior followed by perceived positives (cause & effect) may forge a desired response to future stimuli, commands and or similar places or circumstances. It is the owner’s responsibility to understand the subtle stages of the imprinting period and open the dog’s mind to ensure better response to future training.
A dog that has not been exposed to various situations and learning and improperly exposed to others during this critical period may forever be handicapped in reaching its full potential. For example, a pup denied of human or canine contact during the first three months may never be the well-adjusted companion and student desired. Studies have demonstrated that pups totally isolated from people for the first seven weeks still can become normal and develop proper social skills. Additional studies have shown that human contact for only 20-minute sessions a couple of times a week is adequate to create normal development-as long as these sessions take place during the critical stage before the pup is 12 weeks old.
As trainers we need to understand and be able to recognize the critical development periods throughout the imprinting stage. Stages are not finite in each dog; it is important to recognize that each pup has unique prenatal and neonatal stimuli and is influenced by its genes as well as its mother’s hormones. However, the concept of the critical periods and sub-stages can serve as benchmarks and an excellent guideline.
The prenatal period is the time the fetus spends in the mother’s womb. There are indications that bitches that experience high levels of stress during pregnancy may produce that demonstrate behavioral extremes and decrease abilities to learn. It is important that the bitch is heathy, is fed a top tier diet, exercised, and housed in a proper environment.
The neonatal periods occur from birth to two weeks of age. At whelping the pup’s brain is not fully developed. The way the mom treats her pups during this stage will have a lasting effect on the developing pup’s mind.
During the transitional period from 14 to 28 days the sensory abilities turn on and the pup’s awareness of the world around it begins. The pup receives stimuli from its environment that can affect it for the rest of its life. During the transitional period puppies should be regularly handled and picked up.
The US military’s “Super Dog” program documented that neurological stimulation occurring from three to sixteen days following whelping has a profound effect and lasting effect on a dog. Recommended stimulation includes tickling between the foes and holding the pup perpendicular to the ground (body vertical), both with its head up and down. Puppies exposed to stress during this period become more adept at handling stress later when encountering new situations, training or corrections. Debbie and I highly recommend our readers to become familiar with the Super Dog studies.
During the socialization period which lasts until twelve weeks exposing the pup to outside influences is critical to sculpturing the dog’s personality. We socialize our pups to other dogs as well as to people. Pups denied this exposure in a positive way will be way ahead of the learning curve. During the socialization period there is a “fear” stage. The “fear” stage normally occurs around 8 to ten weeks of age. At this time the pup is much more inclined to permanently associate fears. The pup that is frightened now may take a long time to return to normal if it fact it ever does. We do not believe this a a good time to introduce a dog to corrections, birds, horses, four-wheelers gunshot or any situations that would handicap the dog’s learning further down the road.
After 16 weeks the pup becomes less susceptible to a one-time negative association. After twenty weeks the imprinting stage is really on the downside. The dog’s personality is pretty much made by five months of age; the rest is teaching. After twelve weeks we allow the pup to explore independence and allow him to develop that independence running free in the fields without trying to develop obedience -yet.
In future articles we will discuss bird introduction, gun introduction, avoidance training involving corrections and rewards and accountability, clicker training, and what we do during the first year of the canine protege’s development.
Nationally recognized as one of today’s top professionals, George Hickox has owned and campaigned numerous field champions and Dog of the Year. 23 X Champion Chelsea Thunder Bolt is the winningest dog in the history of Open Shooting Dog Field Trials, having won the Purina Dog of the Year four times & the Us Open Shooting Dog Invitational 3X. For over three decades, George has conducted clinics, private one-on-one training, and Bird Dog Schools for owners and their dogs. He has guided from Alaska to Georgia, appeared on TV, written articles for magazines, worked with elite Special Forces canine groups, and produced award winning dog training DVDs. The George Hickox School of Bird Dog Training has helped thousands of owners and their dogs across the US.
In addition to being an Emergency Medicine physician, Debbie is a professional bird dog trainer. Debbie currently owns and campaigns Silver W JillZ, the winner of the Purina Open Shooting Dog of the Year & 6 X Open Shooting Dog Champion. Debbie”s expertise and passions centers around developing puppies and young dogs into bragging rights companions and hunters. Debbie incorporates clicker training and implements initial canine behaviors with positive reinforcement. She is responsible for the the conditioning, health, and training program for the dogs of a private wild quail plantation. and guides wild quail hunts.. Together, George and Debbie offer one on one training for owners and their dogs at their facility near Thomasville, GA. in the winter and in the prairies of North Dakota during the summer.
If you have a USDA License, you need to understand that things continue to change with how they are enforcing
the Animal Welfare Act. I want to introduce myself and my reasons for writing this article and some future articles about the USDA.
We are aware of a recent increased number of canine respiratory cases that are not responding to antibiotic treatment. At this time, we suspect Canine Influenza Virus (CIV) is the underlying cause.
The problem with the puppy mill conversation is that it is loaded with emotion. In fact, just writing these articles will cause some to think that I support puppy mills or puppy mill behavior. There is nothing further from the truth.
