One of the most important things I’ve learned from training Homer is to keep the sessions short and FUN. One thing I do, that is not stressed in the DVD’s, is FUN BUMPERS. Fun bumper’s are a reward for doing a good job.
Homer learned fun bumpers at around 10-12 weeks old as a way to get him SUPER excited about retrieving. I’d get him riled up with the dummy and just say his name as I tossed it. Homer LOVES this game to this day and I end every training session with 3-4 FUN tosses. This game completely reinforces retrieving is fun and creates a MASSIVE desire to retrieve.
Keeping training sessions to 15 minutes daily and ending them with a few fun bumpers will keep you dog “wanting more”. Training a dog that WANTS to retrieve is far easier that training a dog that thinks retrieving is work. Give your dog lots of praise and fun while training and he will have a burning desire to retrieve and makes training a joy.
Having fun with a dog is what is mostly lost when he is trained by someone else. The dog associates the fun with THAT trainer and not you, and will never preform as well for you as the trainer. I get a kick out of watching Homer “foam at the mouth” for his fun bumpers, he will squeal and bark on his way out after a fun bumper. Hope this tip helps you have more fun with your dog
Joe Dynarski.