E327: 제니퍼 헤니온(Jennifer Henion) - "리트리버 사냥 테스트를 위한 R+ 훈련"

So it's kind of crazy how much our early years can make a difference, you know? I know it is. So I know you kind of mentioned positive training there in the first question, but can you just talk a little bit about kind of your approach to training? Yeah, it's definitely all about positive reinforcement for me. And, you know, Candy, the golden retriever really made me, uh, realize the connection relationship that we can have with the dog. That was the first time I had ever experienced that being, you know, a seven year old. And I've always been after that feeling since then. So for me, um, training, the relationship is the priority. So everything I do with training is about making the relationship a priority. And, um, yeah. So positive reinforcement and I like to use games to make it fun, make it fun for not only the dog, but for me. Cause who, you know, why would it be worthwhile otherwise? So choice, I like to use choice games where the dog gets to make the choices and I get to control the reinforcement. So that way, uh, if an incorrect choice is made, uh, an incorrect, meaning it wouldn't succeed in a competition, then I can reset. I can control the reinforcement. So the dog knows that only the correct choice gets to be, um, rewarded with, you know, treat or toy or whatever. So that's how I, that's how I approach things. Awesome. So you kind of mentioned Candy obviously got you into, uh, hunting breeds, right? But what kind of led you to be interested in hunt tests tests specifically? Oh my goodness. My tongue didn't want to say that word. Can you kind of share that story? Tell us about that. So after striking out on my own as an adult, I had two dogs and they were retriever breeds. Um, and you know, they lived their entire lives with me. And when the second one passed away, I was ready to get a new dog. And I thought I'm ready to take dog ownership to the next level. And I know I love golden retrievers. So how, you know, what would that look like? One of my employees at the time had worked with people who trained for hunt tests. And she, you know, I was just sort of spitballing with her about my new golden puppy and what I could do to next level, you know? And she goes, what about hunt tests? So I was like, what are those? And exploring it, I realized that's, you know, really what goldens were. Um, not only how they, their natural inclination, but that's how they were shaped by breeders to become excellent at that. So I thought, oh, that would be so fulfilling for the dog. And in turn, fulfilling for me because it's fulfilling for the dog.

So that's, I just started down that road and here it is 12, 13 years later. Yeah. Down a rabbit hole, huh? Yeah. So what does a typical hunt test look like? Can you kind of describe that for us? Yeah. Yeah. So if you've ever been hiking or like to a wildlife area, you can sort of imagine the scene with, um, wild fields with, you know, open, fairly open, but taller grass ponds with tall grass around it. Um, so that, that's kind of a scene setter. If you can imagine. So what clubs, hunt test clubs will hire a couple of judges, the judges will look at this beautiful wildlife area or ranch, and they will set up tests to match, um, the requirements. And usually the requirements would be having, um, hidden stations in the field, um, between two or four. And, um, um, um, what happens is those stations will then throw a bird, shoot a gun. Um, and you're at the line with the judges about between 30 and a hundred yards away from these stations. The dog will watch the birds. The dog will watch the birds. And then you work as a team with your dog to retrieve those birds. Basically how it works. And so it's land. And then they also do a test on water. So. Yeah. Do you have to do both the land and the water for that initial title? Is it both? Yeah. So every single, you have to pass four tests to get a title and each, each of the four tests will have a land series and a water series. Very cool. Obviously you're in Goldens and you mentioned field Goldens a couple of times. So how much of like the ability to do those things kind of falls into genetics? How much of that is really like about the training and about training the specific behaviors? What kind of, where's that balance in your mind? Yeah. You know, at the entry level, the junior hunt test level, uh, it's not, it doesn't make a huge difference. Um, but I mean, if you think about anything else, like herding, you know, are you going to get a, a beagle to go herd sheep? Probably not. Yeah. So you, you just increase your chances the more that a dog is bred for that inclination or that instinct. Right. So, um, yeah, you're increasing your odds. I think if you get dogs with the pedigree, that's been bred for that sport, been proven to succeed at that sport. Um, but that said, I think, um, at the entry level, especially it can, it can easily be trained. Because all of these behaviors are trainable, right? All behaviors are trainable. So, um, it's definitely possible. Speaking of trainable, right? So which aspects of the hunt test kind of, what are the skills that we're looking at here? And then which aspects can you work on with food and toys?

And which aspects do you really need the actual birds to kind of work on and train? Yeah. So, um, a lot of it, it can be done with food and toys. So, um, the part regarding birds, um, at some point, your dog's going to have to pick up the bird in their mouth and carry it. Right. And, uh, they're also going to have to find the bird in the first place. It's usually thrown in some fairly tall grass or, you know, around some cover where the dog is going to have to do some hunting. So, yeah, you want to have the dog be attracted to find the bird, know the scent, and be able to pick up that scent and find the duck. Um, then the second, they're going to need to be able to pick up and carry the duck and deliver it to hand or whatever bird they're using. Um, so those elements are important, but a majority of it can be done with food and toys. Uh, even the professional traditional trainers use bumpers, which, I mean, let's face it, bumpers are a rubber toy, right? Yeah. So, um, yeah, I think, you know, it's important. They're both important. Bird work is important, but it's a specific part of it, right? That you can separate. If listeners are kind of interested in learning more about this stuff and maybe finding a hunt test in their area, how do you kind of go about that? How can folks find other people who maybe are participating in the sport near them? Um, you know, a super easy way to start that search is, um, number one, where do you live? So I live in Roseburg, Oregon. So I would just basically go to Google or some search engine on the web and go, um, retriever hunt tests or retriever clubs in Oregon or in Roseburg, Oregon and see what comes up. A lot of times, um, regional or local clubs will have a website or there'll be a Facebook page that pops up. And that's an amazing way to get started. They usually have clubs, usually have events to get new members and to help educate new members. Uh, so they'll have group training or they'll have educational things on their website. Uh, that's an amazing way to get to know people and to find out where tests are going to be held and when. So you can go check them out. Yeah. So I know that a lot of aspects kind of of the culture around hunt tests and hunting dogs in general are maybe, um, they're taught in more traditional ways still. Any tips for listeners who may be tend to lean more towards positive reinforcement based stuff and kind of navigating that aspect of the sport? So by that, do you mean, um, navigating the fact that a majority of the people are traditional trainers that they'll be running into? Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

It's a, that's a thing, you know, um, and here's the deal. It's kind of a culture of the sport because that's the program that 98% of the people follow because it's been proven successful. Right. So when a new person goes to a group or a test, everyone wants to come and help you succeed, right? So they come and they tell you what you need to do to succeed, which is follow this, uh, traditional training force program. And so the intention is really to help you. But the deal is their traditional program is based on science and a behavioral, um, you know, progression. That's what positive training is too. So that's kind of the response is thank you for trying to help me. Um, thank you for your intention, but I know about this positive side, this positive program that also follows science and is based in, you know, the behavioral sciences. And it also works. And it also works. So the good news to everyone is the, over the past five years, at least, uh, there's a lot more education about positive training and how it really does work. So it's not a totally foreign concept to the traditional trainers anymore. And there's a lot more tolerance and like, Oh, okay. Yeah. Well, if you know what you're doing and you are going to spend the energy to do that, that's fine. So, yeah, but yeah, I don't let it discourage you because people really are just trying to help. And, um, yeah, I think they just believe that because this sport relies on such, um, instinctual drives, like to chase prey. I think most people think you can't train a dog to ignore its instinctual drives and sit steady when a bird's flying by their face. Um, they think you can't train that unless you threaten the dog with a negative consequence. And so it's just, it's an education thing. Um, and we know that that is possible. So, yeah. So you recently offered a webinar for FDSA and you're now kind of gearing up for a workshop on hunt tests at FDSA. Can you talk a bit about the workshop, kind of what you'll cover, um, who should consider signing up? Is it specifically for retrievers? Yeah. So the workshop, um, and all of my work really is based on retriever specific sport. And the reason that that's different from pointing dog sport is with retrievers, we really want them to sit and be steady for a lot of the, um, testing. So with pointers, you don't really want that. So that's the major difference. So when pointer people come in, they're getting excited about my program. I just want them to know that, you know, that's a major difference you need to be aware of. But, um, yeah, the workshop coming up, it's called the magic chain.

And it's really about starting smart, like starting your training for retriever sports in a smart, efficient way that, um, you can keep adding to it. So it's, um, an amazing foundation. What we're going to teach in that workshop is the, the core behavior chain that you need for testing for retriever testing. And, um, what each of the links of that behavior chain are and how to create them with super fun games. And once you get that behavior chain mastered on the simplest level, you start to see, um, all the ways to start making it more complex, adding distance to it, adding distractions to it, all the great stuff. So, yeah, I am super excited to present it because it really is brilliant. Um, not that I invented it, but I kind of stole from a bunch of other people to create this and it really does work. Very cool. Any final kind of thoughts or key points you want to maybe leave listeners with? I think just the people think this is hard and complicated and it's really not. Um, I just want people to, you know, be willing to explore it and relax and believe that it's possible to do with just fun and like 15 minutes twice a day. So, yeah, that I think that, and just that, yeah, positive training really can work for this sport, uh, at the master level. So, awesome. Well, thank you so much for coming on the podcast, Jennifer. Yeah. Thank you, Melissa. I appreciate it. Absolutely. And thanks to our listeners for tuning in. We'll be back next week. Don't miss it. If you haven't already subscribed to our podcast in iTunes or the podcast app of your choice to have our next episode automatically downloaded to your phone as soon as it becomes available. Today's show is brought to you by the Fenzie Dog Sports Academy. Special thanks to Denise Fenzie for supporting this podcast. Music provided royalty-free by bensound.com. The track featured here is called Buddy. Audio editing provided by Chris Lang. Thanks again for tuning in and happy training. Be right. Thank you.