I took the boys to a picnic test over the week-end. Picnic tests are mock tests set up like a real hunt test so that you can see how your dog performs in that environment. One pro trainer told me you get about 50% of the dog you normally have at a hunt test. That is why it’s a good idea, in day-to-day training, to train at a higher level of difficulty so that when they get to a test, it is easier.

A picnic test is widely used as an opportunity to teach your dog that the rules still apply at a hunt test. In a real hunt test you cannot correct your dog using an e-collar or any type of negative reinforcement (like shouting NO). But if you can replicate a behavior that you are dealing with, in the picnic test environment, you can train your dog there so that the dog learns not to do it at a hunt test.

For example, when I’m out training with a small group or alone there aren’t as many dog urine scents around. So when they run out to retrieve a mark they usually aren’t tempted to stop and sniff. But at a hunt test or picnic test, those scents are there and so if they stop and sniff I can tell them to go fetch it up and give them a nick correction with the e-collar and they learn not to do that. That is exactly what happened yesterday. Both my boys did a double marked retrieve followed by a blind retrieve. They both stopped to sniff in the same spot (probably where another male dog had urine marked) and I had just taken them both through a refresher course on the trained retrieve (see a few posts back on backtracking). To finish that process I taught them to turn off e-collar pressure by fetching. Once you’ve taught that when they feel a nick they know what it means and both of them high-tailed it on out there to retrieve their birds after I corrected them by saying “fetch it up” with a light nick. And, they did not sniff on their memory birds (a memory bird is the first bird down that they have to “remember” where it fell). In a test I would be allowed to say “fetch it up” once as an encouragement though so they most likely would have both passed that test. And, it is discouraging them from doing that again in the future. I really liked how they both did on their double marks. They were steady at the line, with no attempt to “break,” (leave the retrieving line before I released them) and delivered their ducks nicely to hand. I should add that they threw us a “diversion” bird on the way back from the second mark which the dog is supposed to ignore, deliver the one he has, then you send them back for the diversion bird. They did fine on that.

Prinz lined his blind retrieve, which means he took a straight line all the way to the bird (which in the training was an orange bumper, but would be a duck in the test). That is the best! Exactly what you want. Q veered off the line early and I stopped him and gave him three casts adjusting him back to the line and then he retrieved his bumper, his line would have passed. He did show it off at the starting line and the gentleman who was running the line took it from him, he was happy and high spirits though I don’t like it when they do that since it’s not allowed at the test. Then we gave him a fun bumper to retrieve.

So some really nice lessons for the dogs on the marks and nice confidence building on their blinds. We all left happy and wanting more. Picnic tests are rare and so helpful for training. I try to take advantage of them whenever they are available.