A common example of an inexperienced trainer’s wanting to test too soon can be seen in the early stages of teaching obedience drills. I’ve seen novice trainer’s get all bent out of shape while attempting to heel their trainee off lead after only a week or so of teaching the heel command. After only a week on the lead, no dog understands the command well enough to be tested without a leash. For a dog to learn to live with a command, he must be given the time needed to understand what this command means to him in everyday life as well as in the field. Repetition teaches good behavior, and can’t be hurried without consequences.

 I work on the “heel” and “sit” commands for almost two months before I consider the job thoroughly taught and solid enough to test my trainee off lead.  As a professional I need to keep the training moving along at an acceptable rate, so I double up and teach the “force fetch” discipline at the same time as the “heel and sit” drill. Once I feel these commands are pretty reliable I combine the drills in the field.

This is a good test for the dog and shows me where I may need to touch up the dog’s performance. Once in the field I work on having the dog come to a proper heel and sit with a bird or bumper in his mouth. If I get into trouble, such as the dog spitting the bird out, I can always put some pressure on the “heel and sit” commands to regain the animal’s obedient behavior.