Delivery to hand
Delivery to hand is a central part of our training and something we spend a lot of time training. Our definition of delivery to hand is not just the moment when the dog leaves the object in our hand, but rather from the moment the dog picks up the object, turns around, runs straight towards us. The last thing that happens in the delivery process is that the dog releases the object in our hand. In the book there’s an entire chapter about how to teach delivery to hand using clicker training where we describe how to tackle different challenges with your deliveries and how you can vary the distractions to proof your delivery to hand. In this section you can read all blog posts we’ve written about delivery to hand.
Singing the praise of the switching game
The switching game is one of our favorite games. We use it to train everything from taking and holding to the full retrieve. Sometimes it can be a bit difficult to show and explain the game – particularly when we don’t have our own dogs with us – so when we were...
Water trial with Quling
Quling has made his debut trialling today in a water trial for Spaniels. Passing the water trial is a prerequisite for going on to open (where the dog flushes game that is shot and then retrieved). Quling is 18 months now, but still very immature. However, he’s...
The Great Delivery Challenge
We always crack jokes regarding the saying ”You don’t need to teach a retriever to retrieve, it’s innate”. Congratulations to all that don’t need to teach their Retriever to retrieve! Sure, most Spaniels and Retrievers have parts of the retrieve hard wired, but far...
Go on, let go! – Developing the Switching Game
We’ve just started another round of our online course on the foundation skills of the retrieve. In one of the first lessons, we of course introduce our favourite game, ”the switching game”, and how you can begin, proceed and really get into the retrieve with just this...
Delivery to Hand with Distractions
You might think that I only train delivery to hand considering how many of my blog spots focuses on that behavior. Well, I obviously train a lot of different things, but I put a lot of effort into the training of delivery to hand. So here’s a short film about delivery...
Great course weekend!
A while ago Åsa and I had an gun dog course and came back so happy! Great participants that had really developed since last time we saw them and that also made great progress during the weekend. We started with two working test stations where each participant chose...
Play to Inspire Delivery to Hand
I have had – and still have – a very good use of the Switching Game when I train obedience with my dog Tassla. She is now doing obedience training on the elite level (FCI class III), and there is more retrieving at this level than at the others. We – all the obedience...
Online Course: Five Simple Steps to Master the Perfect Retrieve
Do you want to have fun together with your dog? Do you want to learn how to master the perfect retrieve? Then this is the course for you! No matter if you're training your Pet Retriever, an obedience retrieve, a therapy dog or a gun dog for field trials great...
The you can’t play tug with a gun dog myth
The most common misunderstanding we discuss with our students the first time we meet them is the idea that you can't play tug with a gun dog - it will make them chew on the dummy or crush the game. We'd like to bury that myth once and for all 🙂 We use tug to teach...
What can I do if the dog doesn’t come back with the object she has in her mouth?
When I had my last puppy class one half of the puppies were (in the beginning of the class) completely uninterested in coming back with any object to their handler. We meet them very often; the dogs who haven’t understood why they should give their handler the funny...
Teach the puppy taking, holding and releasing
The “Switching Game” – One of the Best Games for Your Dog This game is a favorite of mine. It is a very good basic exercise for the gun dog training as well as a great exercise for puppies, but it can be trained with any dog, regardless of age. It’s a game – of course...
Online Course: Delivery to Hand
Do you need inspiration and more structure in your training? Then we recommend our online courses! The first part focuses on delivery to hand - one of the most basic skills every retriever needs. You can chose between two different courses - one self study course...
Åsas’s 101 Tips about Retrieving – part 3 of 4
Our friend and instructor, Åsa Jacobsson, has kindly let us use this article with her 101 tips about retrieving. Åsa does obedience and rally obedience, but the retrieving and delivery to hand training is the same so you’ll get lots of tips on how to train your dog to...
The Pet Retriever
Retrieving is a very useful skill even if you're not planning on competing in field trials or obedience. In my every day life my dogs help me out with a lot of stuff - picking up things from the floor, delivering messages, finding lost items etc. In the video below...
The first month with Tod
When I wrote this, Tod had already been with me a month! Time flies with a puppy and since he was already 16 weeks when I picked him up it feels like he’s grown into a lanky youngster at the speed of light. He’s a great puppy with lots of good qualities that I really...
More puppy retrieving exercises
The puppy period is wonderful! And short... Tassla has a lot of energy and she enthusiastically embraces all things we come up with, which of course is a great quality. I try to make use of this period to create good habits, so that I won’t need to redo a lot of...
Retrieves to hand with my puppy
When I wrote this, Tassla had lived with us for almost 14 days. I must say, she’s an amazing little dog. She is already using her delicate little nose all the time, she gladly retrieves almost anything, plays with commitment, learns with a staggering speed and...
My dog switches dummies, how do I teach him not to?
A while ago I got a question about how I teach the dog not to switch one dummy for another when retrieving, and I decided to share some of the answers with you. I train delivery to hand, delivery to hand, and some more delivery to hand, so that the first thing the dog...
Do you want more training inspiration? Try an online course!
Online course: Five Simple Steps to Master the Perfect Retrieve
Such a great resource presented in a way that nobody else is. My dog will now take, hold and give on request without one bit of force