Dog Training Means Repetition, Consistency, Time

Upland bird season has arrived, and hunters tend to separate into two loose groups: those who hunt with dogs and those who hunt without the assistance of a four-legged friend. Those who prefer to have trained dogs along to help with the hunt generally use either pointing or retrieving dogs in their quest for game birds.

Bob Crandall, Yellowstone Kennels owner/operator, Sidney, trains both pointing and retrieving dogs but he specializes in the retrievers, as he believes retrieving dogs best fit the bill when hunting the most popular upland game bird – pheasant.

“The vast majority of upland hunting is for pheasant,” Crandall remarks. “It is the most popular game bird and the most heavily hunted. Pheasants don’t sit tight like Bobwhite quail. They seem to have roadrunner genes and prefer to hightail it out and keep going, and they generally go to the nastiest terrain they can find.”

He continues, “Labs are the most popular and most used bird dogs in the country today. Retrievers will go into nasty terrain and flush birds, the hunter then shoots the bird, and the dog retrieves it. Because of this, Labs and pheasants are a natural match, so I spend my efforts on the largest area of interest; that of pheasant hunting with a retrieving dog.”

Crandall summarizes good dog training into five words: repetition and consistency over time. Without consistent repetition of a task over a period of time, dogs will not perform as people expect them to. “The biggest mistake people make is that they try to go too fast,” Crandall says. “A pup born in April cannot be a finished dog by October. Dogs have to have time to mature, and education has to come over time, just like with a child.”

He continues, “You have to understand that you can never expect anything from a dog if you haven’t given it enough repetition, and a dog is only as good as you expect it to be. To accomplish training, you must repeat and repeat the lessons, and you must have high standards to adhere to, which means consistency.”

The repetitions and consistency in standards begin at weaning and continue on through the dog’s early years, with additional learning added after the dog masters the basics. “Dog training is choosing the right tasks to repeat and repeat until it becomes a conditioned response,” Crandall comments. “Obedience is a conditioned response obtained through a tremendous number of repetitions.”

Crandall believes all dogs need a basic foundation before they can learn additional tasks and become a finished dog. “I call the basic foundation ‘yard work’ where the dog learns basic commands so when you go to the field, you have some control,” he says. “Basic yard work teaches a dog to come when called, sit when ordered, to heel on both sides, and the ‘NO’ command. I don’t teach ‘stay’. Rather, I teach an extended sit, which means the dog is taught to sit until it is told to do something else. The extended sit preps the dog to anticipate another command. This anticipation for the next command is what allows the trainer to teach dogs to respond to whistles and hand signals.”

Ideally, a pup begins its education and training at weaning, learning its name, the word ‘no’, coming when called, and to learn and feel comfortable in its environment. “Dogs need a good environment to learn social skills,” Crandall says. “Teach them the basics like their name and take them on walks around other people, expose them to noise, distractions, and change. Serious yard work then builds on what the dog already knows.”

It takes a few years to produce a finished dog. Crandall teaches the basics the first year of a dog’s life, including exposure to gunfire. He takes the dogs to the field and allows them to chase birds, have fun, and stoke their enthusiasm and interest in birds. The second year he refines the basics the dogs already have learned, refinements that turn them into finished, well trained retrieving dogs. “I build on the basics,” Crandall remarks. “Dogs learn skills such as how to mark falls, run blinds, and run through obstacles and water.”

Crandall trained dogs for years as a hobby before he turned to training dogs professionally. He credits both humans and dogs with teaching him the ropes. “I was introduced to dog training in 1970 when I worked for a kennel while attending college,” Crandall remarks. “I knew five professional trainers who taught me a lot, and I’ve met a lot of very good dogs that taught me even more. The best teachers are the dogs, because each dog is unique and each dog teaches you something.”

He adds, “I trained dogs for years as a hobby, but when it came time for me to retire, I turned an avocation into a vocation and began training dogs professionally. I enjoy this very much. I take fewer dogs each year due to my age, but I really enjoy what I do.”

As a young man, Crandall learned from other pros. He has returned this favor in his later years by helping in the training of an up-and-coming young area man, Tim Averett, who shows extraordinary promise as a trainer of retrieving dogs. “Tim is the best young trainer in the area,” Crandall remarks. “Tim has trained with me and with Bill Nankivel as well as with several pros. He’s as good a young retriever trainer as there is anywhere around. I’m proud of him.”

Crandall also runs the Yellowstone Kennels, located just south of Sidney on County Road 122. He enjoys the kennels, and says that eventually the kennels will become the major portion of his business endeavors. “As I slow down in training, boarding is expanding,” he concludes. “I like having dogs around, and I like to watch them. I have my training dogs but I also run a kennels but I do ask people to make reservations for boarding in advance.”