FROM SIT TO GUNDOG

By Steven B. Reider

From Sit to Gundog is a wonderful book. Steve Reider's comfortable prose, practical wisdom, and dog-training expertise guides the reader along a rich and colorful journey that addresses virtually every key step of dog ownership, basic discipline, and hunt training. It is informative and fun to read and weaves a masterfully descriptive narrative with an attractive collection of corresponding photographs of the dogs, tools, and methods used to prepare competent bird hunting dogs and responsive family dogs. From Sit to Gundog is a book for anyone who loves dogs and appreciates the indelible bond that can flourish between a well-trained dog and a loving human companion. —Dr. Stephen Davis Professor Emeritus California Polytechnic University

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 26, 2020
• ISBN: 9781645449218

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FROM SIT TO GUNDOG

A Practical Guide for Dog Owners

Who Wish to Train Their Next Bird Dog

or Family Companion

Steven B. Reider

Copyright © 2019 Steven B. Reider

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING, INC.

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2019

Picture Credits

Cover photographs, Steven B. Reider and Marcus Clawson

Robert Reid Photography, all photographs and illustrations with the exception of those listed below

Marshall Baker’s dog, Luna, black Labrador, Jackie Gomez’s and Sterling’s dog Shasta, black Labrador, Dave’s dog black Labrador, John’s dog, Bella, black Labrador, Jane’s dog Simon, yellow Labrador, Noelle Seusy (Steve Klassen photo) Steve Reider, Dogs of the Feather

ISBN 978-1-64544-922-5 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-64544-923-2 (hc)

ISBN 978-1-64544-921-8 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

To Katie, Molly, Storm, and Sky…

You are truly one-of-a-kind dogs, each in your own way.

You have given me more than I could have ever dreamed of,

more than I should have ever been blessed with,

and more than I will ever see again.

A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more then he loves himself.

—Robert Luis Stevenson

Acknowledgments

Thank you. Two words which are spoken several million times a day in over six thousand different languages. Two words used to express one’s gratitude toward another. Two words that have meaning but not feeling. To express feelings, they say that all one has to do is put himself in the character’s shoes. Well, there you go! I guess you could say the book is my character.

I have been blessed in so many ways. I am one of the luckiest men in the world to have been graced with a wonderful wife, who loves me and cares about and loves all animals. Without her and the support she has given me since the beginning, it would have been very difficult to succeed, much less get a chance to write this book. My four beautiful and wonderful dogs—Katie, Molly, Storm, and Sky—I have been blessed to be their guardian, and they are some of the best hunting dogs and family companions in the world. To them I owe it all! They have taught me more about dogs than I could have ever taught myself. They have helped me unlock some of the mysteries that hide within them. Don’t get me wrong, they are willing to share, but in order to do that, you have to be able to communicate in their language. It reminds me of a quote that Delmar Smith made in the book, Best Way to Train Your Gun Dog: The Delmar Smith Method, by Bill Tarrant: You got to be dumb to understand animals. Take me, I’m probably the most mentally retarded man on earth. That’s why I made it. To train like a pro, you gotta think like a dog. I have been blessed somehow to be able to do just that.

This book was written with compassion, feeling, and a lot of love. There are a lot of people that helped make the ink come to life. Without them, it would still be a work in progress. Hats off (thanks) to Pat and Steve Davis, who were so much of an inspiration in getting this book off the ground and for their expertise in editing and structuring (making sense of all this mess). You both are a very big part of this book. You are great friends, and I am so blessed to have you as such.

To Robert Reid of Robert Reid Photography for all of the help on the illustrations and nice graphic work. I appreciate all the late nights and longs days we spent working on them. It was an adventure and a very big learning experience for me. A lot of head scratching on my part and troubling telephone calls to you. You were always there to get things straight and went above and beyond anything I could ever ask for. Thanks, Robert!

To all the folks that I have been blessed to have been acquainted with during my efforts in writing this book, thanks for all your praise and support. You have put the C in CONFIDENCE to inspire me to the completion of this project. I want to give a shout-out to all of my hunting friends and clients that have passed through the training program at Dogs of the Feather. Some of you have gone on to become close friends of mine, and I am truly grateful for your friendship. If I may take a quote that Rick Smith penned on a photograph of the two of us, he autographed for me: MY BIRDDOG FRIENDS ARE FOREVER. Rick Smith is one of two bird dog professionals that I admire and respect the most. The other is a gentleman who helped me become what I am today. Steve Klassen of Blue Ridge Kennels in Dixon, California, a dog man! Thank you, Steve, for all of your help and inspiration, your kind words, and teaching me how to teach myself. You are a class act, and I will always be indebted to you for all of your help. You are a professional among professionals.

Last but not the least, I want to thank the good Lord for all of the blessings he has bestowed upon me. Without him, there would be no meaning. Without him, there would be no life. Without him, there would be no dogs. For all that he has given me, I am grateful.

Foreword

To my friend Steven Reider. Ten years ago, you arrived with a chocolate Labrador pup named Katie.

I still remember those first visits with you and Katie in the field. Your enthusiasm and sincere eagerness to learn really stood out and impressed me, almost to the point of me thinking, Whoa, this fellow needs to cut down on his morning coffee! You have come a long way developing your patience and training skills. I am proud of you.

We as trainers can appreciate the time and patience it takes to work with people to develop skills in their dogs. Your in-depth and straightforward approach detailed in this book will be a useful tool for anyone working with and training their own hunting companion.

I am pleased and honored to have been a part of your journey, Steve. To know that some of my guidelines, philosophies, and techniques have influenced you in your training routine, not to mention this endeavor, is both rewarding and humbling.

Thank you and may God bless you going forward.

Steve Klassen

Blue Ridge Kennels

Steve Klassen of Blue Ridge Kennels

To all my dog friends…here’s to long hours, a million memories, and the love of the dog.

—Steven B. Reider

Introduction

Heck yeah, I brag about my dogs all the time; they’re too humble to brag about themselves.

—Steven B. Reider

Dogs of the Feather—that’s what I call them, but they are better known as gundog, bird dog, flusher, pointer, and retriever. And let’s not forget about their names like Preacher, Storm, Gunner, Vapor, Hunter, Decoy, and Josey Wales. They are graceful and elegant with so much drive and determination you can’t help but admire them. From first hunt to last, you will find them during the hunting season working the fields with their hunting companions, tracking the scent or looking up into the sky for those warm-blooded vertebrae better known as game birds. From ring-necked pheasant to green head mallards and all the upland and waterfowl in between, you’ll find them in the Dakotas, Kansas, Minnesota, Texas, California, and Louisiana and most likely every state in the United States. Where you find them, you will find the gundog, and where you find the gundog, you will find the hunter.

I am blessed to be surrounded by hunters who are friends, clients, relatives, and even strangers, and their gundogs who love the great outdoors as much as I do. There is a special bond between them and their dogs, which I say can’t be described but only felt. The true game bird hunter loves his dog more than he loves the hunt. His dog is not just a hunting dog but a lifelong companion. The bond is closer than what you might think. Bonding with your dog will put you on the right path if you stay with it. It is up to you to stay with it, no one else. There will be plenty of times when you’ll be saying, What the heck was I thinking? And guess what, I have been there and said that. There will be times when you think you can’t do anything right. There will be times when you think that your dog can’t do anything right. Your preparation, work ethics, and leadership, along with being consistent, patient, and using repetition will be the keys to your success. As James B. Spencer, author of Training Retrievers for Marshes and Meadows, said, The more battles you win with procrastination and the earlier you win them, the more certain that you will one day have a working retriever you can be proud of and one that your friends will envy and rave about.

Your dog will be what you make of him. And remember this—what your dog is born with, or better yet, what is in his DNA can’t be trained out of him, but you as a trainer will learn how to manage it. Your dog will be the mirror of your skills and how well you are at communicating them to him. And remember one last thing—some people make better trainers than others. Bottom line, they just might be a little more talented than others. They are more creative. They have abilities you swear they were born with. Who knows for sure, maybe they were. It reminds me of something else that Spencer said in his book: Some athletes play in the major leagues, some in the various levels of the minors, and some peak out in slow pitch softball. Yet they are all ball players, all athletes. If you want to train a retriever, you can train a retriever. We all have a trainer hidden within us. If you look hard enough, you’ll find him, and I am confident this book will help bring out the best in him. Don’t worry, because with hard work and dedication, you will get there and be very proud of yourself and your dog.

It brings to mind a great quote I read from a gentleman by the name of Gene Hill, an acclaimed outdoor writer. He said, When a man is proud of his dog and shows it, I like him; when a dog is proud of him and shows it, I deeply respect him. Whether it be a future bird dog or a friend and family companion, this book will help you get started on the right path. This book was written to help everyone who is thinking about taking the time to train their dog and will help you open the doors of knowledge, which will help you become a better leader and trainer. Welcome to the world of dog training. If you have read this far, you’re on your way to being a very proud owner, and your dog will be very proud of you. Good luck and happy training.

Molly and Katie Dove Season 2017

About This Book

The bond between an owner and his dog can’t be described but only felt.

—Steven B. Reider

This book was written for anyone who is interested in training their dog, whether it be a family dog or your next hunting companion. It is for the outdoorsman who hunts waterfowl and upland game birds. It is for an owner who has very little or no knowledge at all on how to train a dog. This book is for the dog owner who cares about his dog and who is willing to learn how to train. It’s for the amateur dog trainer and the avid hunter. This book is a step-by-step training manual with illustrations and pictures that will help you understand the concepts and the training methods and drills.

The Basic Obedience section in this book will help any dog become a better canine citizen. Whether you are one of the people above or you’re just plain interested in dogs and dog training, then this might be right up your alley. My dogs (Katie, Molly, Storm and Sky) were trained to hunt. Your dog might be trained to chase a ball and deliver it to hand. It might be trained to be an agility dog. It might be trained to roll over, shake hands, or hunt like mine do. It doesn’t matter. This book is about training yourself and training your dog. This book will give you that chance and the skills necessary to train your dog rather than sending it away during a critical time in the dog’s life—the bonding period.

My passion for the love of the outdoors and dogs (especially bird dogs), gave me the inspiration to write this book and to share with you what I have learned from others, from my dogs, and from my experience in the field both hunting and training. If you haven’t guessed it already, the outdoorsman is close to my heart because I had the fortune of growing up and learning at an early age how to live off the land. I learned how to survive off the land. I’ll never have to worry about food or starving to death. I’m a country boy and an outdoorsman. The outdoorsman gives back much more than they ever take from this beautiful place we call earth. The outdoorsman is one who lives for the love of the hunt and loves his dogs that much more.

If you are a professional field trainer or a seasoned field trainer, then this book might not be too much help to you. I’d be willing to bet that you’re already thinking, Hey, I know more than this guy does, and maybe you do. With that said, however, I believe everyone can learn a little something from someone else, even if he thinks he knows it all. We never, ever know it all. You quit learning the day you die. You can go ahead and disagree, but believe me, I am not one of those guys who claim to know it all. I want to share with you what I have learned through the years of training and hunting with my dogs. I want to share with you what I have learned hunting with my clients’ dogs and many other owners and their dogs trained by them or someone else. I want to share what I’ve learned from other professionals in the business, Rick Smith and Steve Klassen, whom I have been blessed to be around. Rick is a tall soft-spoken gentleman and the son of Delmar Smith, a legendary bird dog man who lives in Oklahoma. I have always referred to Delmar as one of the three wise men, with the other two being Rick (Delmar’s son) and Ronnie (Delmar’s brother’s son and Rick’s cousin). Delmar groomed the both of them and turned them into the best bird dog trainers in the United States, if not the world.

Steve Klassen is the owner of Blue Ridge Kennels in Dixon, California. Steve is also a soft-spoken bird dog man and has a soft touch (his temperament and demeanor) when it comes to training hunting and nonhunting dogs. Steve once helped me with two of my Labradors, introducing them to live birds and to gunfire (the sound of a shotgun, also known as gun breaking). Every time he worked my dogs, I would be by his side soaking up what he was teaching my dogs and me. He was always willing to share his techniques and tips with me. Steve would send me home for a week or so to practice what the dog and I had learned. I had so much fun running my dogs through the drills and using the different methods. I worked my dogs hard on the drills, and Steve would probably be the first to tell you that I worked them too hard at first.

A big lesson I learned from Steve was to be patient. I’ll be talking about that a lot in this book. I remember one particular time when Steve told me, The training and drills are not a race. Just slow down a little. Don’t press her too hard, or you might regret it. You have plenty of time to teach your dog what she and you have learned. You will be spending many, many years with your new dog. She is just a pup, so slow down and enjoy it. His words of wisdom still hold true to this day. They have been a part of my training philosophy ever since the day I heard those words.

I now have my own words of wisdom that I use when I talk about dog training in general and about the pace of training one’s dog. I tell my clients, When it comes to training a dog, keep in mind that it is not like running a hundred-yard dash. Think of it more like you are running a marathon. If you remember that at the start of your training, you will not regret the outcome and your dog will respond much better.

Since hearing Steve’s words, I have never regretted the outcome. All of my dogs have always been exceptional hunting companions. Maybe not field trial champions but hunting and family companions