Positive Reinforcement-A Foundational Building Block to Steadiness with your Small Munsterlander Puppy
- Jeff Mizenko
- Mar 15
- 9 min read
Updated: Mar 23
There a numerous ways to approach developing steadiness in your Small Munsterlander companion. Most methods today involve the use of an electronic collar in North America. The approach we've been using with Cedars Point Glitzy Spitz has been primarily centered around positive reinforcement and a clicker based reward system. Positive reinforcement, versus negative reinforcement or a collar as primary means. We're also providing negative feedback verbally when we're not achieving the targeted result, but our hope is that with an appropriate progression centered around her learning we will be able to keep the negative verbal reprimands to a minimum. Depending on how Glitzy responds to the methods we will adjust accordingly.
A bit of history on the use of the barrel:
What will be discussed:
Still to come:
Back Yard Barrel Pigeon in Kick Cage and Flushed Day 5-Intro Steady to Flush with Half Hitch of Glitzy-Video 5
Field Intro with Pigeon in Kick Cage from Scent Point Day 6-Intro Steady to Flush with Half Hitch of Glitzy on Tie Out Stake-Video 6
Back to Yard Gun Intro Day 7-Intro to Steady to Wing and Shot Video 7
Back to Field Gun Intro Day 8-Intro to Steady to Wing and Shot-Scent Point Day 7-Intro to Steady to Wing and Shot in Field-Video 7
This blogs focus will be built around the following teaching progression-it may be adjusted as needed:
Basement Intro to Whoa command with Clicker
Back Yard Intro to Whoa command on ground-not shown
Back Yard Barrel Intro Day 1-Video 1
Back Yard Barrel Day 2-Adding Distance and Duration-Video 2
Back Yard Barrel with Pigeon in Kick Cage Day 3-Addition of Half Hitch to Flank of Glitzy-Video 3
Back Yard Barrel with Wing Tied Pigeon Day 4-Addition of Half Hitch to Flank of Glitzy-Video 4
Back Yard Barrel Pigeon in Kick Cage and Flushed Day 5-Intro Steady to Flush with Half Hitch of Glitzy-Video 5
Field Intro with Pigeon in Kick Cage from Scent Point Day 6-Intro Steady to Flush with Half Hitch of Glitzy on Tie Out Stake-Video 6
Back to Yard Gun Intro Day 7-Intro to Steady to Wing and Shot Video 7
Back to Field Gun Intro Day 8-Intro to Steady to Wing and Shot-Scent Point Day 7-Intro to Steady to Wing and Shot in Field-Video 7
By the time we hit the field, which will be a ways out, our hope is that Glitzy will understand what we're looking for before we move there. Steadiness in the yard must be proofed before we move to the field. Hopefully she will apply yard competency in the field and not test things there and break. If she does, learning will have been achieved and the half hitch tied to a tie out stake will be a backup to address this and provide immediate feedback for the digression. Sometimes both dogs and trainers need to make mistakes before we can achieve our end. Actually mistakes are required...
Once steadiness has been proofed and we're steady to flush in the field we will add the addition of steady to wing (flush) and shot. For this we will go back to the yard and barrel. We will again build our foundation in the yard with shots now included before and after the flush and then take this foundation back to the field again. All steadiness efforts will include the concept of the three D's-distance (first), duration (second) and distraction (third). Hopefully you will see this employed in all scenarios as we progress. If not, we haven't done our job preparing her for the increase in difficulty.
You didn't see this as part of our early progression to the foundational command of "whoa" conditioning in the basement, but it was a virtually distraction free environment. We just proofed distance there. Then we went to the yard and asked for her four feet to be steady on the ground. We proofed this with duration and then distance-even asking Glitzy to retrieve a blind bumper which she did amazingly on. Our first video however starts with the barrel introduction. Ensuring the barrel is a positive learning platform-first video.
Why the barrel..., you might ask? When we take things off the ground learning is enhanced, our back is saved and the pup is more prone-out of its element, to focus on the task at hand more diligently. It's the same reason handlers use training tables for steadiness, teaching heal, and force fetch. It enhances the learning environment. Sorry, we just weren't prepared for the basement and yard work videography when we started. A tripod was needed to obtain the videos. I'm solo flying here so even finding the words has been a bit challenging.
We will not be finishing the progression to wing shot and fall in this blog. The reason for this is that Glitzy Spitz is being prepared for her run in the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association's (NAVHDA's) Natural Ability (NA) test, where no birds are actually dispatched during the test. We're focusing on the steadiness to wing and shot, as these two disciplines are assessed in the NA test. Shot is assessed completely aside of bird presence, but it does enter into the assessment picture. Following her testing we will work towards finishing her steadiness to shot and fall prior to her second season of hunting. We will also address her retrieve. This will likely happen before completing the steadiness progression. It becomes part of steady to wing, shot and fall process as the retrieve now becomes the ultimate reward or positive reinforcement. If she's not reliably retrieving negative associations with the retrieve can become an issue.
Disclaimer: Cedars Point Kennel is not presenting this material as a professional trainer. We are far from this in our process. In fact, this is the first dog that we've trained in any steadiness progression without the use of a training collar as the primary or a negative reinforcement method. We're attempting it different with Glitzy. We will be learning and adjusting the progression to meet her where she's at as we move through the process. We are also not a seasoned videographer/speaker. Even finding the words to explain the barrel conditioning process gave us grief the first day. Use of the barrel and the language associated with it is not part of our muscle memory as of yet. We hope that by learning as we go you to will be doing the same. Maybe we'll both learn what not to do. We shall see...
Foundational Conditioning Prerequisites Needed Prior to Our Teaching Progression:
Before jumping into these lessons we'd suggest your pup be competently demonstrating the following disciplines:
Basic Obedience foundations recommended prior to this steadiness teaching progression:
Sit-your call-some pointing trainers don't teach sit before whoa breaking
Stay
Come/Recall
Heal conditioning
Crate conditioning
Exposure to operant/clicker based reward conditioning, ie., powering up the clicker
Place board conditioning
Foundational awareness of "whoa" meaning-stand still
Pup should be collar conditioned-if negative reinforcement is needed you'll have somewhere to fall back to this way
Exposure to field search
Exposure to birds-maybe the pups has been hunted over during its first season
Gun conditioning=Dog is not gun shy
Tools and Equipment Needed for Teaching Progression:
Cedars Point Kennel used remnant carpet left over from the original construction of their home to bungee to our barrel. The barrel used in this progression was also used as a Johnny house for chukar. We are "throw away" adverse people-despite the message constantly being taught by our society. We lost $400 worth of recalling chukar several years ago when our neighborhood's youth flushed all of our chukar out of our two johnny houses which we had positioned remotely on our gracious neighbors land. Honestly, we haven't felt the need or desire to restocked the houses since obtaining pigeon and building a coop for them. We had food and water tubes in the houses that were a major chore to maintain, especially during the winter. Having to walk out into the field weekly with both water and food to restock the houses, especially during the winter when the water would freeze was a major undertaking. We felt almost relieved when the birds were released. We also had coyote, skunk and racoon that made attempts to get into the houses, so all said the addition of pigeon and a coop was a step up over recall houses with chukar, especially during Sout Dakota's cold winters.
A picture of the house design, the press board loft, the recall funnel tube access holes at the top of the houses is provided if you want to go down that path. In retrospect, we see this as a better warm weather state alternative to teaching steadiness. We'd recommend quail over chukar though. They are much heartier. The top of the barrel was cut out and replaced with hardware cloth-which became the bottom of the Johnny House. Your looking at it from the bottom to the top in the picture provided. The food and water tubes were 3" PVC pipes zip tied in place with access covers at the top and water nipples and a custom made food dispenser at the bottom. We also had a hinged door for the loft, to facilitate flushing the birds out, and a recall funnel door cover to protect the recall tube from being accessed by predators over night-another reason we needed to go out each day. There was also a loft window which was covered in hardware cloth to aid cross ventilation-as much as it's cold in winter it's hot in the summer. The houses were both placed in the shade of trees. The design worked flawlessly. A picture is provided below as food for thought for those interested. As you can see again, we're into recycling....:
Steadiness Progression Equipment List:
55 gallon plastic barrel
Carpet to place on barrel to provide traction for dog and make the barrel more comfortable to stand on
Base to support the barrel and keep it stable-we used salvage lumber for this base
Bricks to put base on so that the barrel doesn't hit the ground
Check cord or lead to half hitch the pup should they break their steadiness from ground or barrel
Climbing chalk bag for treat bag
High value treats-we used dried liver for this progression
Kick cage for pigeon
Homing pigeon
Coup for pigeon to recall to. You could use feral birds but they fly away and can't be reused
Clicker
Bungees to secure carpet
22 caliber pistol and blanks
Back Yard Barrel Intro Day 1-Video 1
Our first tips to you and self after watching our own video: talk less, allow Glitzy to learn more on her own. Second, be less concerned about her eyes-focus more on her enjoying the barrel and her feet. Third, treat more.
Inspirational Quote for Day 1
"I regard it as the foremost task of education to insure the survival of these qualities: an enterprising curiosity, an undefeatable spirit, tenacity in pursuit, readiness for sensible self denial, and above all, compassion."
Kurt Hahn
Day two on the barrel. Short and sweet.
Inspirational quote of Day 2:
“LOVE, TRUST, DEVOTION…To find it look no further than into a dog’s eyes”
Steve Reider
Back Yard Barrel with Pigeon in Kick Cage Intro Steady to Flush-Day 3-Addition of Half Hitch to Flank of Glitzy-Video 3
Inspirational quote of Day 3:
Repetition builds success and consistency speeds it up.
– Unknown
Back Yard Barrel with Pigeon Day 4-Repeat Session of Day 3-Video 4
Couple of notes about this learning session:
Birds were placed closer to her than in previous session to increase difficulty.
Duration of initial steadiness with no bird was extended for longer period of time as was the time she was asked to stand her birds.
Jack pot clicked and treated Glitzy after second bird flush due to the fact that she didn't leave the barrel. This continued too, until adding more difficulty by throwing birds in front of her.
Notice how she jumps up on the barrel after first thrown bird almost as to say sorry, I messed up..., or lets go again.
On second thrown bird, she sees it this time, so less of a challenge. The first bird was brought up on the opposite side of my body and she didn't see it adding a means to mistake and half hitch correction. She doesn't leave the barrel on the second thrown bird and we finish on that note.
Note release after putting her back on ground, nothing in the world is free-sit, and then...., free.
Here's a link to a great clinic that's happening at the NAVHDA of the Black Hills Chapter the beginning of April. Foundational skills for all NAVHDA test including Conditioned Retrieve. Kyle Hough is a dog whisperer. We've attended a number of his clinics and they've been the best money we've ever spent with respect to developing our dogs. We actually used his methods for steadiness training on all our breeding dogs. The whoa post is new and it doesn't involve a collar so we wanted to see how Glitzy at a young age responded to the technique and positive reinforement method.
Inspirational quote of Day 4:
We learn through the exploration and reflection of the discoveries and experiences in life; the more exposure we get, the more knowledge we will gain.
Unknown
In Closing:
We'd love to ask you to inspire us. These blogs are time consuming, fun, educational, and geared towards beginning handlers, breeders, wild game munchkins and keeping everyone current with Cedars Point Kennel. But for us to keep them coming and fresh we need you too. Please join us, comment, request content and rate. We need you to inspire our process and make it more complete!
Jeff Mizenko
Cedars Point Kennel
Summerset, SD
425 241-7788
Jeff Mizenko is the owner of Cedars Point Kennel in Summerset, SD. He's a late onset hunter, aspiring trainer, husband, and breeder of Small Munsterlanders. He loves adventure and acquiring life experience.