Beginner Gundog training exercise for steadiness- "round the clock"

Working on steadiness- Round the clock exercise
* This exercise is to work on steadiness for gundogs but is useful for any dog to work on their stays and impulse control.
* Start with your dog in a sit/stay in the center of your clock, the handler moves to 6 o’clock.
* Start by dropping a dummy at your feet, if the dog does not move pick up the dummy and reward the dog. Reinforce the stay if needed.
* Build up to throwing the dummy at 5 & 7 o’clock. Always pick up the dummy and then return to the dog and reward them.
* Continue round the points of the clock. When you get to 3 & 9 o’clock the dummy is the same distance from the handler and the dog and the exercise gets more challenging.
* Only when 3&9 are solid would you move on to the final clock markers.
* Throwing to 12 o’clock is the most difficult as the dummy goes over the dogs head, only go onto this point when you know all the other points of the clock are solid.
* Do not do any retrieves during this exercise to reinforce the dog does not move from the stay.

[@martinnash9900]

Absolutely brilliant stuff xx

[@Tagtraum_]

Do you not find repeating commands so much dilutes them? If they know the command, surely you shouldn’t have to say it a dozen times. 😕

[@Imperialdogtraining]

Absolutely. The aim is to be able to say as little as possible, however sometimes the reinforcement is needed to start with to make sure the exercise is successful. Our aim is to only ever have to give the command once, but the dogs we use to demo with are at various stages of their training and we do what is required in the circumstances.