Advanced Retriever Training

Okay, so we have a dog that can mark, remember, and handle. It has received its Senior Hunter Title and is starting to develop confidence in the field. What's next?

Advanced Retriever Training works to generalize and develop all the skills taught in the previous ten phases of training. Mark complexity, numbers of birds to remember, and factors faced increase in complexity.

Once through advanced training, the retriever will be able to handle everything from poison birds, triple marked retrieves, and delayed quads are all part of the game. This is where a truly great retriever is made and the AKC Master Hunt tests are the tool used to measure progress in this area of training. Please read on to learn more about the focused training elements present in Advanced Retriever Training.

Diversion Birds

A diversion bird is thrown when a dog is returning from a retrieve with game in its mouth. The diversion bird is intended to distract the dog from its task at hand, erode memory of other marks down in the field, and entice the dog to drop what it is doing and go pick up the mark. The dog is trained to complete the retrieve it has started, remember the diversion bird, and go and pick that bird up when commanded.

Click here to see a slideshow of Diversion Bird Training

Poison Bird Blinds

What is it? Well, a poison bird blind is a blind retrieve with a mark the dog must ignore until after he completes the blind retrieve. It is fairly common in the FT and AKC Master tests to see this concept. It’s call "poison" because it is considered a failure to retrieve the mark while being handled to the blind location. If the dog picks up the poisoned bird before getting the blind, it is out of the competition.

Competency with this concept is all about control.  The dog is taught that it must remain calm and not take control from the handler by breaking under the excitement of the recently thrown mark.  A poison bird can either be a mark in a multiple set thrown while the dog is at the line, or it can be an "en route" poison bird that is thrown while the dog is lining to the blind location.

Triple Marked Retrieves and Other Multiple Concepts

So our retriever learned to remember one mark in the field, and to remember a poison bird. Remembering that third mark, or perhaps even a fourth mark, is yet another skill an Advanced Retriever Training that will be required.

A Triple Marked Retrieve is A marking test where three birds are thrown sequentially in three separate areas. Usually all three are down before the dog is sent. This requires the dog to sit quietly and focus while the marks go off and to remember the exact location of each.

Memory is the product of excellence in the skill of marking. This fundamental of the trained retrieve has been focused on and repeated throughout the entire training process. Getting this right ensures the dog will be successful in its testing program and will act almost as if on auto-pilot in the duck blind.