Using Pressure

Several years ago there was a group of us training dogs at Rick Bauer’s in Wisconsin. On Friday night we bought six really beautiful rib eye steaks, with a big baked potato and a salad to go along with them. When it came time to do the cooking, Ron Ainley, the well-...

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Training a Retriever Puppy

What could be more exciting than getting a brand new puppy? You have studied the bloodlines, made countless phone calls, talked to breeders, examined the consequences of genetic health issues, looked at photographs of the mothers and fathers of various litters. You...

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Role Model your Retriever Training

Statics show that it costs $16,400 to raise an average sized dog to reach age 11. Can you even calculate what it costs to raise a dog for competition? Nobody even wants to know the answer to that question. So wouldn’t it make sense to do the best job possible in the...

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Picking a Puppy

One of the most talked about topics when retriever people get together is how to pick a puppy. In fact, it is one of the most common questions that people ask me. As with many topics, there are many opinions. Some people say, and this is especially true of the old...

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The Dog and Handler Relationship

Dog training is about the relationship between the handler and the dog. The dog looks to the handler for guidance, stability and rewarding experiences. The relationship between man and dog should be based on admiration and respect, not based on fear. In my opinion,...

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Training a Retriever Puppy with Bill Hillmann -a New DVD

By Dennis R. Voigt I already know a couple of folks using this brand new DVD to train their puppy. They are all doing well and are really pleased with their progress. As long-time subscribers know, I always play hard ball on these reviews so what do I think? Well...

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THE FETCH COMMAND — LESSONS IN FEEL, FUN AND FORCE

With a Review of the New Bill Hillmann Fetch Command DVD by Dennis R. Voigt Working retrievers must fetch without question when commanded. A failure to fetch is a failure to retrieve to hand. Many decades ago trainers developed ways of ensuring that dogs complied....

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Better Marking with the 80-20 Rule

HOW TO TRAIN A RETRIEVER TO BE A BETTER MARKER – The 80/20 Rule Some time ago I was conducting a seminar in which the subject was, ‘How to train a retriever to be a better marker’. It was to be a two day event – everybody had notebooks and the mindset on learning how...

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