Understanding the Check-cord

Sometimes the simpler a tool, the harder it is to understand. The human mind seems to like making simple things more complicated; perhaps simple is more complicated in the long run because it is harder to see the fundamental nature of things. Take the check-cord: There are very few pieces of training equipment as simple as this one, yet this short piece of rope—the single most important tool you will own—is vastly misunderstood.

Unlike walking a dog on a leash, where the animal walks next to you, a dog should hunt in front of you while walking on the check-cord. With the Bill West method, the length of a proper check-cord is about twelve feet, with a snap at one end. If the check-cord is any shorter than that, the dog won’t have room to move; any longer, and you’ll have problems handling the rope. If you are right-handed, you hold the check-cord in your right hand, and vice versa. Timing is everything, so it’s important to use your stronger hand.

The rest of the check-cord drags behind you on the ground; you don’t carry the extra length in your other hand. It takes practice to get the feel of the rope. Let it slide through your hand to slowly feed more rope to your dog, or place one hand over the other to choke up on the rope and get closer to the snap. The single most important purpose of the check-cord is to control your dog.

A few years ago a fellow came by with a young pup that had never been worked on pigeons and asked if his pup could chase some of them. I loaded up a couple of launchers and placed them around the training field. He got his check-cord, hooked it to his pup’s collar, led him to the field, and then dropped the check-cord. Before I could react, the pup had run over the first launcher and was heading to the second one. I asked him why he’d dropped the check-cord, and he said he’d wanted his pup to run free. Running free is great when birds are loose and can get up, but as soon as you set limits—such as controlling the area a dog can hunt, or restraining the bird’s ability to fly—you need to have control of your dog.

When working a young pup on launchers, it’s best to use the check-cord to bring him into the area so his approach is cross-wind to the launcher. Then, drop the check-cord once the bird is in the air. While he is free to chase the bird, you control the approach.

Once your dog is ready for formal training, you can use the pinch-collar and check-cord to teach him the here command and stand command, continuing to hold the check-cord to stay in control. Your dog should pull as he works in front of you, but not too hard. It’s a fine line: You want a happy dog that pulls with excitement, not a disrespectful dog that drags you around. A disrespectful dog needs to learn to be respectful, and you do this with the check-cord by asking him to go with you and come to you. As your dog becomes more steady, you begin to drop the check-cord.

While it may not seem like a big step to you, dropping the check-cord can be a big step for your dog. Often he will chase once he’s realized you are not at the other end. Sometimes a dog that has advanced to dragging the check-cord starts making mistakes. You can help set him straight by taking a step backwards in training, picking up the check-cord and holding it for a few sessions.

Recently Maurice Lindley and I were talking about the check-cord and how often new trainers misunderstand it. Maurice explained how much trouble he goes to in setting up different training situations: “I look at the check-cord as the tool that guides the dog into the different training setups. I take the time to set up training situations with birds so the dog can learn from the bird. Without the check-cord training, it would be really hit-or-miss—very inconsistent. A good example is bringing a dog into the bird setup cross-wind at a certain distance,” Maurice continued. “Too far away, and you cause creeping; too close, and you might have the dog right on top of the bird, so he catches it. The check-cord is the early guide, and critical to this method.”

As you become more comfortable with the check-cord and understand how to use it to properly control your dog, hopefully you’ll see how helpful this simple tool really is, and why no trainer should be without one.

Delayed Chase

Delayed chase is when a dog runs in the direction birds fly once the dog has been released from pointing, backing, or stop-to-flush. Most hunters don’t see delayed chase as a problem, and some even welcome it, especially when a covey flushes and their dogs take off in the direction the birds flew. However, if you compete in field trials or hunt tests, judges will fault your dog for delayed chase and attempting to pursue birds once they have flushed.

Last summer, I had a three-month-old pup that I’d just started running on foot. The second time out, he took off and was about 800 yards ahead of me on the Garmin GPS dog-tracking system. This range floored me until he did it again, and I realized he was running from johnny house to johnny house. Even at such a young age, he remembered where the birds were.

In the 1990s, I had a big-going Brittany on the circuit and was visiting the trainer. He ran the dog on horseback, and about halfway around he lost him. It was not long before the trainer took off, riding hard. He returned with the dog. I was in awe that he’d known exactly where to look. Later, I learned it was simple: This dog had found birds, he’d remembered where they flew, and he’d ditched us to go back and find them again. The trainer was not psychic; he simply knew the dog, and knew to look where he’d had last found birds.

Delayed chase shows intelligence and the ability to mark the bird’s flight, but in competition, a delayed chase may keep your dog out of the ribbons. If you compete with your dog, you need to teach him not to delay chase.

The best way to do this is to build good habits during formal training, while your dog is wearing a check-cord. Anytime you release your dog after bird work, say, “Here,” walk in the opposite direction, and give a light tug with the check-cord. You may prefer using the heel command, but either way, your dog learns to go in a different direction after bird work. Do not tap your dog to release him from bird work as you would from a stand command or relocation. Also, avoid using verbal commands such as okay or all right, which can get you into trouble when used around birds. If you are consistent and always give the here command (or heel command) to ask your dog to go with you, your dog will never learn to delay chase.

Bird dogs are predators. The better the breeding, the more intelligent they are, and the more driven they are to find birds. Good bird dogs naturally want to follow birds—it’s their instinct. Sometimes their ingenuity can surprise you, as well as remind you not to underestimate them. By anticipating your dog’s instinct to delay chase, you can use the here command (or heel command) during formal training to build good habits early, and to teach your dog to go with you, and not after the bird.

Advice on Picking a Pup

Spring is one of the best times to think about getting a new pup, and it’s also the time people start calling me to ask for advice. I give the same recommendation regardless of whether the person wants a hunting dog or a family companion: Look for a field-bred pup. A field-bred pup is from field trial lines, and one glance at the pup’s pedigree will give you this information. You want to see one or more champions in a four-generation pedigree.

Reading a pedigree can be confusing, because the two major registries for pointing dogs—the American Kennel Club (AKC) and the Field Dog Stud Book (FDSB)—use different titles to designate a champion in the field. In an AKC pedigree, a field champion has an FC in front of his name, while a show champion has a CH in front. In an FDSB pedigree, a winner of an American Field championship has a CH in front of his name, so you have to pay close attention to the registry. Look for FC titles in AKC pedigrees and CH titles in FDSB pedigrees to tell you if the pup is from field trial lines.

The best bird dogs are bred and not made; it’s as simple as that. Natural ability and pointing instinct come from parents, grandparents, and so forth. So does health, temperament, intelligence, biddability, and trainability. Many bird dog qualities that make a field trial dog successful also make a hunting or family dog successful.

Field trialers are a competitive lot, and they want to show up at a trial with a dog that can win. Here are a few important traits that make for a successful dog:

• If the dog is not healthy, he is not going to be able to run for an hour.
• If his temperament is bad or if he is aggressive toward other dogs, or people, he is not going to win.
• Intelligence and a calm mind are big assets in the field. A dog that remains calm in the kennel saves his energy for competition.
• A dog that is biddable and wants to work for his handler finishes the hour, while the dog that doesn’t care gets lost.
• Trainability matters. Pro trainers talk about high- and low-maintenance dogs. High-maintenance dogs need constant work and review. Low-maintenance dogs retain their training; they may chase a bird on occasion, but they’ll point the next one.

Successful field trial dogs have proven they have what it takes to be trained to the highest level. Of course, not all field trial litters make good hunting dogs, or family companions. In an effort to breed great champions, sometimes field trialers will try to breed more-extreme types of pups, with increased athleticism, independence, or range. This type of pup is generally more dog than most people can handle. That said, two or three generations removed, field-bred pups become less extreme as the laws of nature move them toward the middle, while they still retain many of these bird dog qualities.

If you are looking for a started dog, a dog that is not quite good enough to make it in field trials may be your perfect hunting companion. Often, these dogs lack the independence necessary to win, but less independence is an advantage for the foot hunter. An added plus is the fact that these dogs usually have a fair amount of training in them already. Whether you are a hunter or a family looking for a companion, my advice is to consider a field-bred pup. Pointing dogs were developed for the purpose of finding and pointing birds, and the qualities that make them successful in the field are the same qualities that make them successful in everything else they do for us.

Stay Out of the Way

You will often experience times in training when you don’t have a clue what to do. A Brittany pro trainer who has trained dogs to National Championship wins told me once that dog training involves a lot of guesswork. The trainer guesses, and the dog’s reactions tell him if he is right. Undoubtedly, the more dogs you have had on the end of a check-cord, the better your guesswork.

When I go to the training field, I carry a short list of rules in my head to guide me in making better guesses:

• Don’t say anything.

·         Let the bird teach the dog.

These simple rules are part of the Bill West method. A few years ago I added another one to the list:

·         Stay out of the way.

Too often as trainers we think we know more than our dogs. For example, I see trainers using the whoa command to tell their dogs when to point. They tell them when to be cautious, where to hunt, and a hundred other things their dogs already know how to do, rather than simply letting their dogs learn on their own.

Last week I was working a two-year-old Brittany on quail in releasers. I had opened the releaser early and was letting him drag the check-cord as he hunted down the feed strip. When he got about halfway down, he pointed, and then he began to creep. Instead of yelling “Whoa” or nicking him with the e-collar, I stayed back and out of the way. Sure enough, he crept closer to the bird and then pounced big-time, putting the bird in the air and chasing it. Only after the bird flushed did I take charge and nick him with the e-collar as he chased. Once he stopped, I went to him and gently but firmly stood him up and walked in front to let him know that flushing the bird was my job.

The concept of staying out of a dog’s way is appropriate throughout all stages of training. Maurice Lindley recently posted his thoughts on a pointing dog message board regarding the concept of staying out of a dog’s way to help the dog learn to not blink (avoid game):

I have a dog right now for training that was made bird-shy with the gun. She thought if she found birds, the gun was coming too. The first couple of days of running this dog were very interesting. If a bird flushed close to her, she spun around and hightailed it out of the area. I just kept running her on birds and stayed out of the picture.

She started pointing some birds, but would leave the bird after a few seconds. I still stayed out of it. She returned to that bird after a few minutes and pointed it. I could see her getting her nerve up, and she started to creep real slow toward the bird, and finally, she flushed it and ran away. She did this about ten times, and I watched her getting a little bolder on each bird. Before long she was pointing and not blinking; she still hesitated when the bird flushed, but she was chasing it.

These last ten days, she has really come along, and is showing no fear; she’s very bold around game, and really hunting hard. With dogs like this, I find it best not to try and help them in any way. Allow them the time to figure it out and get over their fears on their own. Stay out of the way and let the dog learn.

A famous cutting-horse trainer said that the secret to training horses is knowing what the horse is going to do anyway. The same holds true for training dogs. If you get to know your bird dog—the intelligence, superior nose, and genes behind him—you will develop the confidence to stay out of the way and let him learn on his own so he can become the bird dog he was born to be.

Flushing Birds for Your Dog

Last week I was explaining to a training buddy how to flush birds for her dog. As we were talking, I realized that as trainers, we are constantly adapting to each situation—both the dog situation and bird situation—and that makes for a myriad of flushing situations. Flushing in front of young pups is different than flushing in front of older pups. There is flushing for green-broke dogs versus broke dogs, birds in launchers versus planted birds or wild birds. How you flush can help your dog or hurt him, and while an entire book could be written on this topic, for now, here are a few tips:

1) Try not to flush birds for young pups. If your pup points, wait and see if he is bold enough to flush the bird himself. You want to build boldness in your pup around birds, and it begins here. By waiting, you give the bird a chance to move around, thereby allowing the pup to be tempted into getting closer and eventually making it fly. As pups get older and start holding point, do not mess around. Get up there and flush. Also, be careful how you approach the bird. If you walk in alongside your pup, your approach may act as a cue for him to go with you. Instead, make a half-circle around your pup, which encourages him to remain standing. Whenever possible, try to position yourself so you are already in front of him; this way, you can flush toward him. Being in front encourages him to hold point and discourages creeping.

2) During the steadying process, you want to do everything you can to encourage your dog to stand still. If you are working with launchers, you don’t need to walk all the way to the launcher. Once you are in front of your dog, you can launch the bird. Again, try to avoid walking in alongside him. It’s important to act calm whether you feel that way or not. If you are using releasers, you may have to walk farther to make the bird flush. Once your dog becomes steadier, you want to challenge him to remain standing by taking longer to put the bird in the air.

3) Once you move to loose quail, flushing requires more skill. Often you do not know where the bird is located, and you may find yourself longing for the control that the launcher releases gave you. Making the bird fly becomes a challenge, and sometimes you have to calmly walk a running bird away from your dog, and on occasion throw your hat to make it fly. Probably the biggest challenge at this stage is determining when to walk in front of your dog. A lot of dogs point and then begin to creep. Here is where the art of reading your dog’s intentions is so important. If your dog points but starts to creep as you approach, you may want to step back and see if he continues to creep. If he stops once you step back, he may move forward when you step forward again. Tapping him on the head and asking him to relocate may encourage him to remain standing, or, better yet, encourage him to pounce so you can get a good correction once the bird is in the air.

4) Having good flying quail and planting them in loose cover so they can escape if your dog pressures them are both critical ingredients for success. Murphy’s Law is always at work, and the dog with the problem is usually the dog that has the bad-luck bird work. Ideally, birds should flush as you walk in. If you have been stomping around and cannot produce a bird, it may make more sense to gently pick up your dog and carry him back a short distance before taking him on rather than relocating him into a quail that has buried itself in the grass. Picking up your dog may also be called for when the bird allows the dog to get too close. In other words, some situations are better avoided when you know they will likely end in your dog catching the bird.

5) If you have the opportunity to train on wild birds, make a small half-circle in front of your dog and then walk straight forward in the direction he is pointing. You want to be calm but aggressive, because these birds may be running. If nothing gets up, birds may be sitting tight. Walk back to your dog and then walk forward again, but this time walk more slowly and in a zigzag pattern.

Flushing is a difficult skill to learn. It really is more complicated than it appears, and takes a lot of experience on your part. If you pay close attention to each situation and try to learn from it, you will help your dog become steady. Dog training is a two-way street; both you and your dog have to learn so that together, you can help each other.

Before the Workout

Taking a little time before the workout begins can help set your dog up for success in the training field. What am I talking about? Dogs have to be in a submissive state to learn, and there is a short period of time once you arrive at the training field that can be used to help your dog get into the right frame of mind.

When I arrive at the training field, I have a routine. The first thing I do is put the dogs on a stakeout chain. This chain restrains their movements and requires them to submit. I get my equipment ready, plant birds, and by the time I return, the dogs are focusing on me and eager to go.

Next, I get the pinch-collar and check-cord and select a dog to work. I hold the pinch-collar in a vertical position in front of the dog’s head as an invitation to put his head through the opening. Right there the dog’s reaction tells me how he is feeling. Some dogs can hardly wait to put their heads through the opening, and I see this reaction as a willingness to learn. Other dogs purposely avoid the opening by dodging their heads from one side of the pinch-collar to the other; this reaction tells me the dog thinks he is the leader. If he continues to refuse this invitation, I gently nudge him with my knee in a dominant way. Usually a nudge is all it takes for him to comply and put his head through. Next, I unhook him from the chain and walk a short distance before asking him to stop with an upward tug of the pinch-collar. Once stopped, I straddle him and hold him between my legs to put the e-collar around his neck. Straddling a dog lets him know I am the leader.

If you think about it, maybe fifteen minutes have passed, and I did three simple things before the workout began to help the dog get into the right frame of mind: First, I put him on the stakeout chain. (A crate also works, because it confines the dog and requires him to submit.) Second, I asked him to put his head through the pinch-collar. Third, I straddled him to put on the e-collar. All three actions let him know that I am the leader. While these actions may seem minor, in a dog’s world, once he becomes the follower, he is ready to learn.

The next time you train with a pro trainer, pay close attention to his routine before the workout. Often, this routine is so subtle it is easily missed. You will learn that by taking a little time before the workout begins, you can increase the odds of having success in the training field.

It's a Nothing

Ever hear the expression, “It’s a nothing”? Ever wonder what it means, and why it’s an important concept in dog training? Basically a nothing is something a dog does that you choose to ignore. In other words, you don’t correct him and you don’t praise him; you act as if it never even happened.

I first heard Dave Walker use this term in the early 1990s. Dave had flown to Pennsylvania to do a seminar, after which Dave and I had kicked back and relaxed around a picnic table. I had an eight-week-old pup with me. He had found a dead quail and was lying under the table eating it. Feeling a little self-conscious about what to do, I glanced at Dave. He was watching the pup too.

“So, what would you do?” I asked, pointing at the pup.

“Nothing,” he replied. “It’s a nothing.”

Dave went on to explain that if I took the bird away from the pup, the pup would remember, and next time he might be less willing to bring me a bird. On the other hand, if I praised him, I was sending him a message that would be a contradiction once the steadying process began. By treating it as a nothing and ignoring him, I kept myself from being involved and sending the pup mixed messages.

Over the years I have thought a lot about this exchange, and the concept of a nothing continues to help me in training. Just the other day one of my training buddies missed an e-collar correction when her dog broke at the shot. She felt badly and asked me what she should do. I told her to treat it like a nothing, which is just what she did. She did not dwell on it or feel frustrated. Instead, she stayed calm and ignored what her dog had done. She moved quickly to the next setup, and this time her hand was on the transmitter and she was ready to correct him if he broke when she fired the blank gun.

I asked Maurice Lindley, who trained with Bill West, if he was familiar with nothings. He said he knew all about them. “I think it takes people a long time to understand that most stuff is just not that important,” Maurice said. “If a little mistake happens, they worry that they’re ruining their dogs. Bill West said that most people think if a dog catches a bird, it will set him back thirty days. Bill said it usually just sets him back one workout—maybe two. Bill knew the dog would try to catch a bird in the next workout, and if so, he’d be ready to make a correction the dog would understand.”

So many times things happen in training that we cannot control. There are missed corrections, unusual situations, and times when we simply don’t have a clue what to do. By not making a big deal out of these events, we avoid getting upset, or worrying about whether we should correct or praise the dog. By ignoring what the dog did and staying calm, we can move directly to the next setup, knowing that the dog will most likely do it again, and this time we’ll be prepared. To quote Maurice again, “Training dogs is so much nicer when you can stay calm.”