The dog is also familiar with blinds, calls, and decoys, as well as shotguns fired over its head. Most dogs take four to six months to reach this point. While humans tend to see retrieves in terms of lines and angles superimposed on the landscape, retrievers understand everything in relation to the terrain, so much practice is needed on different configurations of terrain, cover, and shoreline. Either the blind-retrieve or the marking session may involve drills, that is, shorter retrieves allowing for enough repetition to help teach a concept. The longer a retriever stays with us, the more polished its work will become.
Dogs learn to pick out a destination and run to it.
They become sophisticated at entering water or cover at whatever angle is required to maintain their line. A typical training day includes a triple or quadruple blind, often in a configuration similar to that of a field-trial marking test, and a set of multiple marks, often with a blind retrieve through the middle. When we feel dogs are ready, then with their owners' permission we enter them in competition. We keep owners apprised of our opinion of their dogs' progress and potential throughout the program. Call or email us if you are interested in having your retriever trained at Oak Hill Kennel.