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Basic retriever training for any breed Page 2 of 2
  Now you can hold the dummy lover and lover until it finally lies on the ground. Do not rush but adjust the tempo to the dog's temperament and learning ability.
   You can also start to combine the calling in with the retrieve command. Sit the dog with a dummy in its mouth. Walk out in the length of the lead, wait a while and then call the dog in. Praise it as soon as it starts to move and come toward you and at the same time be prepared to correct if it drops the dummy. If it is reluctant to come to you, then start it with a short jerk from the lead but do not pull it in. Make it sit in front of you for a while before you remove the dummy. Vary this by calling the dog in and make it sit but without removing the dummy walk again out in the length of the lead. Now you can call the dog in again or walk back to the dog and take the dummy or do some heeling before you take the dummy. These exercises have the purpose to make the dog attentive and prevent the dog to start to make any automatic actions just because you do the exercises in a monotonous way. During actual shooting there might come a situation when the dog is running towards you with a bird and when it is about to offer you the game you might already be aiming at the next one. In this case it is good if the dog has learned that you sometimes can behave in an unexpected way and patiently hold the game until told to do something else.
We have now trained the dog step by step. First to hold the dummy, then to carry it and to grip it, whatever comes first. We train the dog under total control. If we are attentive it has never a chance to make things wrong but always exactly what we want - nothing more and nothing less. We must keep in mind that we must make things simple for the dog. "Right" or "wrong" it can understand as long as we keep things simple. And last but not least: Never overdo it! It is better to do it 2 x 5 minutes a day than 1 x 15 minutes. Now and then take a few days break. Sometimes take a few weeks break. Have the sight set far in the future. It is better to have a confident, superior worker after 24 months than an indifferent worker after 24 days.
When you have got the dog to the stage where it reliably runs to and picks the dummy from the ground at some distance and immediately returns to you, sits down in front of you and holds the dummy until told not to hold, you can continue using any retriever book (In Scandinavia you can buy one from our homepages) or video with a good, proven reputation.
Text: © Torsti
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When the dog can hold, grip the dummy from the ground, carry it and bring it to you on the lead and continue to hold it until told not to hold, no matter what you do to disturb it, then it is time to start the training without the lead. Repeat all the steps to make sure the dog has understood everything and then start to lay the dummies out longer and longer from the dog. If anything goes wrong - then back to basics. Lay the dummies at the ground, do not throw them. If you throw the dummies it will call the dogs prey drive and you don't want that at this stage. You want the dog to retrieve in order to please you. Later, when the dog has got some experience from actual shooting its prey drive will be useful when it faces the really difficult and demanding retrieves. With this very carefull start only its experience and inherited characteristics like prey drive, competition drive and courage will finally limit its ultimate performance. 
If all these conditions are well fulfilled there is no limit even for an English setter to outperform a Labrador or other specialist retriever during actual shooting over pointing dogs. The setter has the advantage to know the entire course of a shooting day at the field while the retriever only knows a little part of it. 
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