At around 17 weeks old Homer was ready for the advanced training needed to be a “REAL” gun dog. I was walking Homer at heal at least 3 times a week and he had “HEAL” down pat. Up until now I was not getting on him for “BREAKING”(taking off at the throw or sound of the gun) on a retrieve. Homers desire to retrieve was now insatiable. He was ready to be steadied.
A hunting dog that is steady at heal will be able to mark a fall much better than a dog that breakes. It’s also impossable for a breaking dog to make multipal marks.
I used a 4’ rope attached to my belt and his collar to stop his breaking at around this age. I would not try this with a full grown 80lb dog. I would sit homer at heal with the rope attached to his collar and throw a dummy. If he broke, he was in for a real surprise at the end of that 4’ rope. If he held I’d unhook the rope and release him with his name. It only took about a dozen throws for him to GET IT and he learned not to break.
I started to steady Homer at a very young age, there are many opinions about steadying a retriever at this age. Please feel free to add your comments about this subject
Joe Dynarski