THE "HERE" COMMAND
The Here or Come command is so important! Strong obedience in the house and in the field will pay dividends! Here are the steps to teaching your Gun Dog to come when they are called!
First, you’ll need an e-collar, a check cord, and a helper. The helper holds the dog while you walk to the other end of the check cord.
Next, tug on the check cord, command HERE, use a low-level stimulation and Nick, Nick, Nick, the dog all the way until it gets to you. If the dog barely reacts, slowly turn the stimulation level up. Each time you have the dog come to you, bump the pressure up a few notches until you get a reaction and you can tell the dog is feeling the pressure.
Repeat that step 10x or so. Take the dog back to your helper, walk to the end of the check cord, tug on the cord, say HERE, and nick, nick, nick all the way to you.
When the dog gets to you, the nicks stop immediately, and must you praise them heavily.
The idea is, it is uncomfortable for the dog to be away from you, and AWESOME when they get to you!
I do this for 5-6 sessions before moving on.
I’ll then let the dog roam the yard freely, and when they seem distracted, I will command HERE. If they come, I don’t nick them. If they hesitate, I will say, No, Here and Nick, Nick, Nick them a few times until they get to me. Then praise heavily.
Here are a few E-collars I highly recommend for the hunter and dog trainer!
Good luck and if you have any questions about Force to Here, feel free to email me at: info@loneduckoutfitters.com