As we start our training season again, I am reminded, as I am each year, why it is important for owners to teach their young puppies to deal with pressure. The dogs that come for training can generally be placed into two groups: dogs that handle pressure and dogs that don’t. The ones that handle pressure learn and progress quickly. The ones that don’t handle pressure struggle mightily the first few weeks.
What is pressure in dog training?
When I use the term pressure, I am simply referring to teaching your dog to handle adversity and understand that everything will be okay. So, pressure can be as simple as a stern NO command. For some dogs, that is all the pressure they need to obey. Pressure can also be teaching obedience using a chain or pinch collar (when used correctly). It can be a tap on your dog’s bottom to get him to sit, or it can be more sever, such as rolling your dog over on his back and holding him down until he stops fighting.
Why is pressure training important?
Hunting dogs need to be able to work in tough conditions. They will need to hunt in the heat and the cold. They need to navigate tough terrain and still retrieve the birds. They need to sit in a boat for hours waiting for the birds to arrive. Sometimes they might even have to break through ice to get the birds.
These conditions require a strong-minded dog that is not deterred by these challenging situations. They need to learn to handle the pressure and not let the pressure deter them.
How much pressure should I use?
The amount of pressure needed is different for each dog. The dog’s personality will often dictate the amount and type of pressure needed to obtain control.
If your dog is soft, a stern voice may quickly bring your dog into compliance. But if your dog is a strong-willed dog, he may require you to roll him over to his back and dominate him weekly or in severe cases, daily.
The key is to use the amount of pressure necessary to see a change in your dog’s behavior. If your dog is jumping on you (and everyone else) and saying NO makes no difference in his behavior, then you need to adjust and use more pressure to stop this behavior. This may involve a knee to your dog’s chest. Some dogs need to be knocked down many times before you see a change in behavior.
Now, before I am completely ostracized for my suggestion that you knee your dog, understand that I am not condoning excessive force on any dog. There is no reason to beat a dog, and I would never do that or promote that kind of behavior. But there is also no reason to allow a dog to potentially hurt or scare people because you are too afraid to apply the necessary pressure to stop terrible behavior.
Hunting dogs are working dogs, and they need to be able to handle adversity in their lives and still do their job. So, you need to prepare your dog for those working conditions. If you prepare your dog while they are still very young, teaching them about pressure, they will quickly learn and adjust to changing conditions, even difficult ones.
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Simple ways to teach your puppy to handle pressure
One of the best ways to teach your puppy to handle pressure is to discipline your puppy like a mother dog would. This is easy to do with an 8–12-week-old puppy. You won’t be able to do this for older and bigger dogs without extreme effort. But if you start this type of correction with a young puppy, your puppy will learn faster and adjust quickly to correction.
Discipline your puppy like a mama dog
When your puppy is being disobedient, grab your puppy by the scruff of the neck and lift him off the ground a couple inches. This does not hurt the puppy. Give him a little shake and say the NO command. Then set him back down.
When a mama dog is trying to keep her pups in line, she often growls at them, picks them up by the scruff, shakes them and drops them to the ground. It is very interesting to watch this interaction because the change in the puppy’s behavior is immediate and severe.
I often use this technique with our young puppies, especially when they keep doing something that I have already scolded them for. It is very effective.
As the puppies get a little older, you can grab both the scruff of the neck and the excess skin on their back to get a better hold. As I stated, I only use this technique on young puppies, but if you do this while they are young, you will avoid many problems as they get older.
Use domination techniques
Another way to teach your puppy to handle pressure is to use dog domination techniques. Dogs are very attune with domination. They are constantly using these techniques on you, whether you are aware of it or not. The key is to understand the domination techniques and to use them on your puppy to get control.
One technique we have already discussed. Roll your puppy over on his back and hold him down until he stops resisting. For some dogs, they stop resisting right away. These are less dominate dogs and probably the same ones that respond quickly to a stern NO command.
Other dogs resist like their lives depend on it. These dogs can give you quite a workout, but it is vital that you do not lose this fight. These are the high energy dominate dogs, and you need to show them that you are the boss, and they are not.
For the very tough ones, I even growl at them while I hold them down. I know, it makes me sound insane. But I am mimicking what their mama dog would do and what other dogs do when they are dominating each other.
Unexpected pressure drill
Another great way to teach your puppy how to handle pressure and adversity is by letting them drag a leash or a long rope and occasionally step on the leash so that they get jerked. This is especially effective if you attach the leash to a chain collar. A longer rope is very useful for outside work on this. Just let your puppy run around with the rope attached and occasionally step on the rope so that your puppy gets a quick tug. Your pup may yelp in surprise but should recover quickly.
Final thoughts on why you need to teach your dog to handle pressure
Teaching your pup to handle pressure and adversity while he is young will help your dog in more ways than you can imagine. Your pup will become much more trainable. He will be able to learn more and learn faster.
If you really want your retriever to grow and progress in his/her hunting and obedience this year but doing the training yourself sounds overwhelming or maybe your schedule is just too busy to get it done, I’m here to help! You can email me ottertailkennels@gmail.com. I would be happy to discuss your goals for your retriever and tell you about the programs I offer.
Until next time happy retrieving.
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