How to Train Your Brittany Hunting Dog
Brittany dogs got their name because they were primarily bred in the Brittany province of France during the 19th Century. The Brittany, originally called Brittany spaniel, is a very popular breed as a hunting companion. It is medium-sized, so the dogs can be transported easily. They have a natural enthusiasm and tendency to roam that makes them effective hunting companions. Brittany dogs are normally very easy-going in personality, very adaptable to the environment but require a lot of exercise and socialization. Training them for hunting takes some time and patience.
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Things You'll Need
- Dog treats
- Dog toy
- Frozen quail
- Bird launcher with pigeon
- Check cord or leash
Instructions
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1
Teach the dog basic obedience and commands. Before a dog can hunt effectively, he needs to be able to sit, stay and come to you upon command. Teach these words to the dog through repetition and use dog treats or small carrots as positive reinforcement when he correctly follows a command.
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Use hand gestures with your basic commands. At times hunting dogs have to obey commands at great distances from the owner and a voice command is not always practical. Create specific hand and arm gestures that can be seen from a distance and use them in conjunction with your verbal commands.
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Practice giving your obedience commands to your dog from a larger and larger distance until he will respond reliably only to the arm gestures at great distances.
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4
Teach your Brittany to fetch at as early an age as possible. Take a toy that the dog likes and entice him with it by moving it around so it has his attention. Toss it 4 or 5 feet away and tell him to go get it. Once he picks it up, call him back to you. Increase the distance and then start a new exercise: Place the object somewhere and teach the dog to fetch it on your command, without you having to throw it.
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Advance your dog's fetch response by placing the desired object in front of your dog and then walking the dog away from it. Sit him with his back to the object and then tell him to fetch it. Once he starts remembering where the object is placed and fetches it on command, you can do it over longer distances.
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Replace the usual retrieve objects with frozen quail or some other type of game. Frozen is better because it discourages the dog from chewing on it.
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Place bird launchers in an open field and use a check cord (similar to a leash) to encourage your Brittany to point and not to lunge. If he detects the scent of a bird in a launcher and runs at it, release the bird and keep the leash tight so he associates his lunging with the bird getting away. This encourages pointing behavior, so he will smell and indicate where game is without rushing after it.
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Tips & Warnings
Keep training sessions with puppies to 10 minutes or less.
Avoid punishment in your dog training. Positive reinforcement works better for training purposes and unless you catch your dog in the act of doing something wrong, he will not associate the punishment with the action that caused it.
