Training Pointing Dogs - George Hickox
The official title of this gun dog training video is "The Hunter's Guide to Training Pointing Dogs". I had to dig out my little 13" TV/VCR combo out of the camping gear trailer since that is the only VCR we own anymore. I don't think you can find this title on DVD anywhere, at least I didn't have any luck. I tried to sign up for one of George Hickox's training seminars because he had one in Utah but it was sold out months ago. Maybe next year I can get some trainer training from somebody as knowledgeable as George Hickox.
This video was filmed at the Orvis endorsed Flying B Ranch in Idaho which looks like a fine hunting lodge. Run time was 75 minutes and it was pretty engaging overall. I only dozed off once during a section on retrieving. The puppy section at the beginning of the video has some good tips on introducing your pointer puppy to birds and building the prey drive. Basically George feels strongly that you can't train a bird dog without using live birds. He suggests using pigeon or quail in the beginning when pup may be a little timid and suggests using a taped wing pigeon to help buld his confidence. He also had a cool trick for spreading the scent around a little when planting live birds for training.
I am working on training and reinforcing the Whoa command with my dog Jake, so that is the section that stood out to me the most. George focused on place orientation and showing the pup what you want many times before any correction takes place. He uses a square piece of plywood to stand the dog on when teaching the whoa command. If the dog moves simply pick him up and place him back on the plywood square. He had a handy little suitcase lead that he made with 40 inches of check cord with snaps on both ends. Basically one end snaps to the collar and the other end wraps around the haunches and snaps back on itself. This creates a nice suitcase type handle for replacing the dog when he moves. A barrel on it's side is also used in teaching the whoa command. Basically, the dog learns that if he holds still everything is okay. If he moves he'll fall down.
The other really good section he had was on using the E-collar in training and correction. George Hickox lays out the ground rules of using the e-collar to ensure that the dog doesn't get traumatized while training. He encourages e-collar users to find the stimulation that works best for the individual dog. Proper stimulation should just make the dog flinch but not so much that the dogs yelps or runs. Once the optimum stimulation level is discovered, George goes into teaching the proper use of the e-collar in training. Since I am trying to train my german shorthair without the use of an e-collar I didn't listen intently. But, if you want to use an e-collar this is a great training video for showing the proper use.
Overall I would give this video a 7 out of 10. I am sure this is not George Hickox's best video. I plan to order his 4 volume "Training Pointing Dogs" collection which is much more detailed. As a rookie I have found that it will probably take me at least a few dogs before I become proficient in dog training and develop my own skills. It is definitely not something that can be learned by reading a few books or watching a video. The learning comes more clearly for me when I actually get out with my dogs and get to work.