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Styling Up with Barrel Work The cast swung the complete edge and the gallery fell silent as the white spot moved through the high grass in a single unhindered line whose purpose was clear - sweep the likely places for game in the most efficient and expeditious manner. Bam! Your dog is on point and looks like a million. You ride up, work the bird and... and... your dog seems to have lost interest while you were concentrating on the game. Is it pressure from you? The bird? The gallery? No matter what the reason a winning performance can be tarnished by a lackluster style on point. It's a good time to go back to basics. Actually it's always a good time to go back to basics. Your dog knows the basics and this is a chance to get some positive reinforcement for knowing what to do and how to do it. And it is a good way to "tune up" your dog's style on point. The most common tool used for this is "the barrel" and is known as "barrel work". Look around at most bird dog trainer's facilities and you will find a barrel station. For a good barrel station:
Barrel work is a quiet time activity. You are trying to teach the dog to feel comfortable standing on point, fixed in concentration, relaxed, in a trance like state, all the while showing intensity. Sounds like a lot but our bird dogs do this naturally and with a little help will do it under a pressure situation. I work even my most experienced dog on the barrel and it always helps. After getting your barrel station ready take the dog over to the barrel and place him or her gently on the barrel. Some trainers make the surface rough or put a piece of carpet on the barrel to keep if from being so slippery. Others claim the slippery surface makes the dog stand more carefully. Either way works. Once on the barrel connect the overhead line to the collar and take any slack out. The line will catch the dog if he or she slips off and allows the line to correct the action and you to help the dog avoid correction. Line bad. You good. Help your dog relax with stroking from the mid back to the lower back with one hand while stroking the underside of the tail from base to tip, lifting the tail up towards 12 o'clock. Keep the head facing forward with a tap on the chin or moving the muzzle forward. Some call this "styling up" your dog. Make a little sound now and then, a sound that you will also use in the field when you dog is on point. Some people make a "shhhhhht" sound and others a "chhhhhk" sound. You want to create a link between the sound and the action. No other sounds. It's quiet time.
Now here is the real secret! Work up to about 10 minutes or more at one time. Remember, this is quiet time, a good time for the dog. No corrections here. Some trainers will later put a bird in a cage about 15-20 feet up wind in front of the barrel. Most dogs love seeing and smelling the bird and it makes the connection between bird and point. There will be natural distractions while doing this work - dogs barking, birds calling, squirrels going up and down trees. Let these distractions work for you by keeping your dog on focus.
Now the next time your dog is on point in the field and you go in to flush make that little sound. If you have done your homework your dog will follow the conditioning and be relaxed, intense, and show with a beautiful point no matter what goes on around. Good luck with your program and if you have any problems let me know. I will try to help.
See our Tom Tracy, Jr. Updated 06/25/2004 |
