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    TIPS ON TRAINING YOUR SETTER 

By Marian Schorsch written in 1993  

These are some good dog training books  to buy or borrow :

C.A. Johnson on “Here, Whoa, Dead Bird" by Clarence Winans.

"Training Pointing Dogs" by Paul Long.

"Best Way to Train Your Gun Dog The Delmar Smith Method" by Bill Tarrant.

There are many other books to read about the English setter, with some on training, one is: "The New Complete English Setter" by Tuck, Graef, and Howell.   The more you read, the more informed you would be.   

Here are some things that we do with our pups that is somewhat different than each of the books:  

At 6-8 weeks we start taking the pup out for short walks just to let them explore and investigate. We are with the pup, so he gets used to the idea that you are there near him.     We aren't trying to teach him anything other than to keep track of us and stay to the front of us.     This happens naturally. I always say    ALRIGHT as I start out for a walk. As the puppy gets older, we go for longer walks and I start to holler    HUP every time I want to turn. The puppy's legs are getting longer, he is getting braver and starting to get farther away from me in his exploring. I will walk into the wind with the pup out front, after a few minutes I will holler   HUP long and loud and turn in at least a    90 degree angle and start walking in that new direction.   I only holler once, the pup will see me going a new direction and eventually turn and come to the front. I will do this no more than 3 times an outing. Repeat: Say    ALRIGHT. Start walking into to the wind, go for at least 5 minutes, holler    HUP and turn to the right, pup looks and turns with you to the front, walk another 3-5 minutes, holler HUP and turn again, pup looks and turns, another 3-5 minutes turn back towards the origin of your walk. Do this for several weeks. After the pup understands the Hup word, introduce the whistle.     I use a large Acme Thunderer. I holler HUP and give one long blast on the whistle and turn as I did with the  HUP alone. A whistle will carry farther into the wind than a voice. You are training by association, don't expect your pup to always listen at that moment, but he will usually get to it and swing to the front on his own. Two important things are being learned, for the pup to stay to the front of you and to learn to look to you and turn when there is a whistle or HUP.

If your puppy seems to just take off and run ahead and won't turn or look back to you,   DON'T keep chasing him. It will cause him to keep pressing forward.   Stop, whistle and then either go back the way you came, or stay where you are and wait for him. Usually if you start the pup at a real young age, he will always look back to you, and you won't have the problem of him running away on you.  

Another thing we permit is to let our pups chase birds to their hearts content as puppies.    Let them learn to run through brush, creeks, whatever while they are having fun, instead of having to take them to water and try to introduce it as fun. It is more natural for the pup to get used to things, if he encounters them while he is having fun.    We introduce the blank gun during this time.   When the pup is at least 50 yards away running and playing, I will point the blank gun to the ground behind my back and shoot. I will keep walking and act like nothing has bothered me. The pup may look and stop, and then continue on with his fun. If he comes back to you, do not shoot again this day; try again in a few days at a greater distance. You were probably too close, or the wind was too strong in his direction. If the pup continues on, you can shoot again one more time during this outing. Do this several outings a week.    No need to do it every day.      You can gradually shoot closer to him.    Always watch the dog to see his reaction.  

I just can't express enough how important it is to walk with Your pup while he is still really young. WE FEEL THAT WALKING WITH YOUR PUP IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO WITH YOUR PUP BEFORE SERIOUS TRAINING BEGINS. Alot of things are happening. The Delmar Smith book has really good ideas as to working with a puppy.  

Another thing we do with real young pups is to teach   HERE. To do this we bake a bunch of liver, heart, & tongue into jerky hard texture.    Then we cut this meat into little ½  ” X ½” chunks. Freeze it in little zipper baggies. About 3 times a day, in the yard when you have his complete attention,     we whistle 3 short blasts and call HERE    Spot or whatever his name. When he comes you give him 1 piece of liver and   pet him and give him lots of praise.   Later on you can do this again. The first time you do this, make sure the pup is really close and you whistle real gently not to startle him. Maybe just use your natural whistle the first times. They learn quick and come running to you. Do not call him if you do not have a treat that he loves. Do not do this out in the field while he is having fun or what you will teach him is  NOT to come.  This is also a good time to start associating the word  “Dead Bird”.  I drop the liver treat to the ground and say  “Dead Bird”.  The pup will learn real quick that   “Dead Bird” means liver treat on the ground.  This will be an easy association for him to transfer to a real dead bird in later training.  Another plus is if you drop the liver the pup  won’ t  start nipping at your hand for a treat. Later you may want to play the dead bird hiding the liver treat game.    That is self-explanatory!  

When you are associating the word  HERE and three toots on the whistle, just do it in the yard at first, and on very rare occasion in the field and only when it appears that he is already coming to you.   Do not catch him and lock him up every time he comes in to you because if he' s still having fun and you keep locking him up, he will just not come in to you either.     Liver seems to be the tried and true treat.     Paul Long has some good ideas on this. His book is really good on teaching  HERE, and has real good solutions on problems.

Another thing we do in puppy work at about 6 months of age is to introduce the word      WHOA. To do this we go into the kennel early in the morning, hold the dog still by the collar and say WHOA. When he stands still  for just a moment, (don’  t make him stand too long), then we release him by the word ALL RIGHT, which means he can move forward.   We then move our right arm forward as if in a bowling motion. It is called a send off. The pup dashes out of the kennel and you take your walk or do your daily routine. This can be done in the house at the door before he leaves to go out. What you are doing is familiarizing him with commands  in a natural way. It is all positive repetition that he is learning from.  

If you want your pup to retrieve, it would be a good idea to play fetch when he is still in the puppy stage, starting the day you get him.   You can do this with a tennis ball, old rolled up sock, a glove, a hat or whatever. Just play with him and reward him for bringing it back. I usually do this in the garage, in the kennel, or a fenced in lot and do it alone with no distractions. A hallway works well, because he can't run off to the side. I t ’ s just you and him having fun. Being in an enclosure takes away the urge to run off with the ball. Only do this a few times a day, or he will get bored. Don't get into a tug of war with the dog as you play fetch. When the pup brings the ball to you, let him hold it for a while and enjoy the moment.      After a little while, say, "Give". If he won't give the ball, say "Give" again, and gently blow in his ear. He will drop the ball. Don't walk toward a pup as he retrieves to you as this might cause the pup to turn away. Instead, as the pup comes to you, take a few steps backwards, and then catch him as he comes by. Make it fun, and do not reprimand him if he does not retrieve.  Just keep trying to get him to chase an object and pick it up.     You should quit before he does.    One or two retrieves is good enough at first.  

All that we have done so far will be reinforced when the pup is in serious training at 1 year of age or when he comes around. Coming around happens when the pup starts to seek your companionship rather than running all over. He likes it when you do a little work with him.   He shows he wants to please you and isn't just playing around. Usually this coming around happens at about 10 months to a year of age.  

We always kennel our dogs at night. We say the word KENNEL whenever we put the dog in the kennel. We start this as a puppy. If you want to keep the pup in the house, put the pup in a crate, (Say KENNEL) with a wind up clock at night, or possibly put him near a running appliance, but not where he can chew the cord. A dog crate is really the best thing to use when trying to house break your dog.   Get a crate the size  the dog will be when he is full grown. Then you will always have a safe place to keep your dog whenever you  take him anywhere with you in a vehicle.       You can visit, go in to eat, or just put him up for the drive, and  not worry about him jumping off the back of a pickup, tearing the interior out of your car while you are eating, or breaking his neck should you decide to tie him in the back of the pickup and he has enough rope to hang himself. We have seen or heard of all these things happening to dogs in our vicinity. A crate is very useful, and I doubt you will ever regret owning one. A large crate 36  ”L x 24”W x 26”H will be as big as you need. Keep your eyes open for a new crate on sale, or a used one. A Large crate on sale runs for about $50.00.

We really like to let our dogs have a full year of puppy hood, before we do any serious training. The pup has learned to stay to the front, turn, hunt cover and run terrain, come to the HERE command, KENNEL, WHOA and ALL RIGHT. These will all be reinforced during training.  

As for tying your pup up and getting him used to a rope, chain, and check cord, we use the Delmar Smith method. All three books are very similar on this. We usually don't chain our pups till they are 4-6 months.    We do collar them as little pups and sometimes have to use a leash or check cord. We use the tug and release method for this. At 6-8 months we will start taking the pup out on a check cord occasionally. He should know to stay to the front from your previous walks. We just want him to get used to the check cord. Absolutely never teach your dog to SIT or HEEL the first year of his life. This sets you up for troubles during serious training. These are easy commands for a dog to learn, and he can learn them later. The reasons being, the sit command is so easy to learn and sticks in a dog’s head like glue. Later when you want to teach Whoa, Every time you say Whoa, your dog will probably sit.   You will have to stand him up each time you say whoa. After 100 or more times you will regret the day you taught SIT. If you let him sit when he   Whoas, one day when he is in the field on point and wants to break, you holler Whoa, your dog sits and you have a dog that sits on point. Not a good thing. As for HEEL, once he has learned to heel, any time you may discipline him, he will feel badly and may follow you in the Heel position.       He knows that makes you happy. Except now you want him to the front and hunting, not making up to you by heeling. The proper time to teach heel is after a good successful year of hunting. He knows how much fun it is out there. Sometimes he gets disciplined, but he tears off again to the front.   He has never learned to go to your back or heels; he has only learned to stay to the front.  

SERIOUS TRAINING

We teach WHOA differently than any of the books suggest and have been successful. We use the barrel or table method. We do not teach HEEL, at this point in training. This can cause a dog to heel and never leave your side when hunting.    I have seen it happen. In fact we do not teach our dogs to heel till they have one good season of hunting under their belts. We also do not teach them to SIT, since field trials do not allow sitting, and the dog may want to sit when in training during the WHOA command. Or he may sit when on point also.    Sit can be taught at a later date after the dog has a good season of hunting.     Most dogs easily learn sit and Heel, so there's no rush.    This can save alot of headaches in training.  

We teach WHOA at one year of age. This is serious training. We no longer let the dog run free. When we take him out, he is on a check cord. This is school. Time to learn.  

Whoa is accomplished with a 55-gallon barrel on a stand. We place the dog on the barrel and say WHOA.    He will scramble and scratch and dig his toenails into the barrel trying to keep his balance. He will try to lean on you; he may try to lie down. He will eventually learn to stand still. We say WHOA several times as he stands still. When he does, you press your knee against the barrel to hold it steady. This is his reward for standing still. Pet him and then lift him down. You can do this several times a day. Always walk around with him and play a little with him each time you take him off the barrel. So it has all been fun for him.  

After he stands still on the barrel (you may repeat " whoa  ”  reassuringly) and you can take your hands off him, you then can start moving around slowly to the front of him. After he stands totally still and you can move around him, you can introduce the bird. We use pigeons that we raise. We put the dog on the barrel. Another person has a plainly visible bird in front of the dog. The dog may be overeager and fall off the barrel; the person working him must say WHOA and keep him still while the bird is being moved in the front of the dog. When the dog stands still staring at the bird, have the helper let the bird fly free, and let the dog watch. If the dog lunges at the bird or tries to chase, steady him up to Whoa again. Then have the helper walk to him at your nod and give him praise and say all right and tap his head or shoulder to release him from the Whoa position.    Lift him down and go for a little walk. Have fun. You do this for at least 2 weeks several times a day. After he has it all down well, you can move him to the ground. Repeat everything on the ground.  

Instead of using pigeons, you may also use wild birds. Find an area in the fall that has some young pheasant broods that come out on the edge of the country roads in the morning and evening. Take your dog for a ride. When you see some of the birds in the ditch, take the dog out with your 20 ft. check cord, and let him  sight point or get scent, and then make him stand on point and say "whoa”.  

Do not let him creep forward to get a better look or better scent. He should stop at first sight or first scent. You should have a helper for this.  

While you are holding the cord to make sure your dog doesn't chase the birds, have your helper run out and flush the birds. Your helper needs to be fast to get around the birds before they run off.    He should flush them coming towards the dog from the front.   As the birds’ flush, have your helper clap his hands to simulate a gun. After a few times, you can use a blank gun, your dog should not mind it because you have already introduced it during your walks.     Make your dog stand as the birds fly away. Then, at your nod, have the helper come in to the dog and say "good boy", and release him with a pat on the head or shoulder and say "alright". What you are teaching your dog is that you don't want him busting into a brush patch when the first bird flies. Pup is to stay and watch. There may be more birds in the brush patch, and you want to be close enough for the shot! This is called "steady to wing." You are also reinforcing the release from the point, to move on.  

During the same period you are training your dog on the barrel you can also have a session on turning to the whistle. This time you have the dog on a 20-30 foot check cord. He should be at the end of his rope going forward as you are walking behind.  You whistle one long blast and do a 90 degree turn. Give a short tug and keep moving in that direction. The dog should be turning and staying to the front during this session. You can do this 5 -7 times in a 15-minute session. You can also call the HERE command during this session. Call HERE Spot, and tug him to you. Reward him with the liver dropped to the ground. If he is coming in on his own to the HERE and three short toots on the whistle, do not tug or pull on the rope. Once the dog is listening to the turn and here command (whistle) you can let him drag his check cord and get a little farther out and you still have control because you should be able to get to the rope and step on it or reach down and grab it. Delmar Smith's book is real good on all of this stuff. His Whoa post may be a little too harsh for a beginner to understand how to use it. A beginner can be too harsh from inexperience and cause his dog to drop to his belly on the Whoa command, where on the barrel it seems to make the dog stand tall. The whoa post is very effective and can be used should the barrel not be effective or should you have a really hardheaded dog. Setters are usually a long way from hardheaded. They are usually very easily trained just by repetition.  

You will have to decide what method you want to use and then go about understanding what it is you really want your dog to learn. Some methods are easier to teach than others.  

The more you read, the more you will be able to decide how you want your dog to work for you.  

We follow the Delmar Smith method very closely in our training, except the whoa post.     We use the electronic collar during training the way Delmar suggests. We use the Paul Long book alot for solving problems, and for teaching HERE.   The C.A. Johnson's Here, Whoa, Dead bird book by Clarence Winans is good for DEAD BIRD and general information.    ABSOLUTELY NEVER GIVE YOUR DOG CHOCOLATE!   It can cause seizures or too much can kill your dog.  

GOOD LUCK!                       click on a picture below for a larger image!

    Whoa on the barrel!

     Whoa alone on the barrel!

     Whoa from the barrel to the ground!

  Approach a pointing dog from the side or front, not right up behind him.

  Pups backing naturally.

    Honoring (backing) another dogs point.

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