Tejas Hunting Retriever Club

 Training Principles

Retriever training is a team effort; you are the coach, and as such you must lead the team.  Successful training is determined not only by the dog's ability, but also the trainer's ability, attitude, the time and effort you are willing to put in and giving your dog a variety of places to train.

1. Be sure that your retriever keeps a good attitude.  When they become worried their performance will diminish, use praise (especially when teaching something new).  Some retrievers get overly excited if too much praise is given, in that case praise on, praise off.
2. Learn to read and understand your retriever’s behavior while training.  Ask yourself why he/she did that.  Mix up your training actions and response to build a successful retriever. Be sure not to blame the dog when they don't perform as expected, a good trainer will take the time and work it out with them . . . simplify the training task.
3. Vary your training days and be careful not to overtrain or expect immediate results from your retriever.  Training takes perseverance; remember your dog deserves a day off, and so do you.
4. It is very important to maintain control of your temper toward the dog.  They get corrected because they broke the standards set before them.  Do not train when you are angry, neither you nor your dog will perform to your highest potential.
5. Most importantly teach your retriever before using the collar.  Use the collar to reinforce what you already taught.  Never collar correct the dog before you give a command.  The proper way is: "Sit." (nick) "Sit."  Be sure the dog thoroughly understands the command before using the collar.  If you have any doubt, do not give your retriever a collar correction.
6. Establish and maintain a standard.  The dog must know what is expected of him/her.  This is the fair way to train. Remember dog’s can have bad days; just as you do.
7. Your retriever is not out to “get” you - dogs do not think that way.  They make mistakes and may look for an easy way out, but that’s in their nature.
8. If your dog did something right, so did you. Go celebrate!

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