Hunting season is upon us! If you hunt with your retriever, there are some things you should do to prepare for the season. Here are 5 things you need to do now, to get your dog ready for the season.
Condition and exercise your dog
This is the number one thing I think most hunter’s neglect. Your dog is not a robot or a computer, you cannot expect him to lounge around on the couch for 9 months and then be ready to hunt for hours. Honestly, how well do you think you would do in a 26.2-mile marathon if you never ran in the months leading up to the race? Your dog is the same. If you don’t take time to condition your dog, it is going to show on opening day. And likely for weeks after that.
In addition, your dog is way more likely to be injured.
Dogs need to stay in shape. They need to run or at least take a walk daily; they need to do retrieves (long and short) daily.
Many owners complain that their dog can’t hunt very long before they are exhausted. But they never stop to think about why that is happening. They never consider that the dog is not getting adequate training week after week during the off-season, so that they will be in their prime during hunting season.
Do some obedience work
Nobody likes this topic. Obedience work, boring.
I get it. Obedience is boring. Both to you and your dog. But if you don’t work on obedience at least weekly, your dog is losing his edge on obedience. There is nothing worse than a disobedient dog in the hunting blind!
You must work on obedience (preferably daily) but at least weekly to keep your dog sharp and listening well. This doesn’t have to take a lot of time. Five minutes a day would give you incredible results.
Introduce dog to hunting gear
Did you buy any new hunting gear this year. A new dog ramp or hut? A new blind? Don’t wait until opening day to introduce your dog to this new gear. There is a lot of excitement and stress on opening day, help your dog by not adding learning to use a new dog ramp or expecting them to get into a hut they have never seen before. Even a new whistle takes some time to get used to. Do the introductions long before opening day.
Reintroduce water retrieves, deep-cover retrieves and delivery work
When was the last time you worked on retrieving with your dog? And, yes, a ball does count but that is not ideal. Prior to hunting season, take some time to work on retrieves, preferably with another person to throw for you, but even by yourself. Check out our Stand Alones post. This drill can show you how to do longer marks even when you don’t have another person to throw.
Don’t forget delivery work. Make sure your dog is delivering the bumper/birds to your standard. Our standard is delivery to heel and holding them until we take them from his mouth. Clean up any problems now, before your start the season.
Replenish or make sure you have first-aid kit for your dog, and water dish
You likely will remember to bring your gun, ammo, waders, etc. but don’t forget to prepare gear for your dog as well. Is your dog vest in good shape? Do you have a water dish packed. Is your dog first aid kit stocked and up to date? Do you even have a dog first aid kit?
Reintroduce your dog to hunters and dogs
If you regularly hunt with friends or relatives that your dog rarely sees during the off-season, consider taking some time to reintroduce your dog to these people. The goal is to make your dog as comfortable as possible. Do you hunt with other dogs? Be sure and reintroduce these dogs and get them used to each other before opening day.
Keep your expectations realistic.
Lastly, give your dog some grace. If they have not been hunting or even training for hunting for months, you need to keep your expectations in check on the first hunt of the season. If you have a lot of problems with your dog opening day, it is more likely a reflection of the training or lack thereof you have done during the year. Take notes, and realize you have work to do. We cannot expect these dogs to operate like well-oiled machines if we have allowed them to sit dormant for months on end.
Happy Hunting!
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