Bird Dogs Afield host Paul Fuller is the gun dog columnist for Northwoods Sporting Journal. The Journal has granted permission to re-print Paul’s articles. Thank you Northwoods Sporting Journal.

Teaching Whoa (Part 1)

A pointing dog must be trained to stand still. Whether it be steadiness on point, steadiness while backing another dog’s point, being commanded to stop due to safety concerns, there are many reasons for our dog to stand still. The command for standing still is often “whoa”. However, you can use any word you like such as “stop”, “hey”…you select the word you like best.

With good genetics, your puppy will stop and flash point a bird. The predator natural instinct takes over and after a few seconds, the pup jumps in and tries to catch the bird. For a pointing dog, that initial hesitation needs to be elongated into a full point. Your dog must remain standing still for two minutes, ten minutes or 30 minutes; or as long as it takes to find your dog or the bird.

Training your dog to stand still gives you that elongated point. Standing still has been trained for so long that there are bloodlines that require very little training. Most of the standing still genetics are found in field trial bloodlines. But don’t despair if your puppy gives you the traditional hesitation and then jumps in. Training standing still is a common exercise which is carried on daily across the country.

As with all training, there is no firm calendar as to when to begin standing still training. For our dogs, we have started at ten weeks. We don’t want to wait too long because we teach standing still before we teach recall. Also, we avoid the eight week fear period.

There are common tools used for training your dog to stand still. One is the common training table. It’s a table 8’ to 12’ long and 2’ wide. It stands about 2 1/2 feet high. There are ramps at each end for the dog to walk up one end and down the other end. For training table work, the pup should have some experience with a traditional collar and lead.

The first step is to acquaint the pup with the training table. With the pup on a lead, encourage the pup up one end of the table. Don’t pull or drag the pup…the process needs to be fun…and with much praise. Once on the table, encourage the pup to walk across the table and down the opposite ramp. Repeat this exercise three times. At this point, give the pup a short rest. Five minutes is good.

Now lead the pup up a ramp and begin across the table. About three feet up the table, pick the pup up about six inches, hold for three or four seconds and then gently say “whoa” as you place the pup back onto the table. Hold the pup in-place for three or four seconds and repeat “whoa”. The pup may want to immediately begin walking again and that’s fine. Lead the pup another three feet and repeat the lift and “whoa” command. With each lift and “whoa”, you want the puppy to stand still a little longer. Now lead the pup down the opposite ramp and bring back to the other end and repeat the exercise. Do the lift and “whoa” exercise three times. More than three times will tire the puppy which we don’t want…we always end a training session with the pup wanting more. If time allows, complete this exercise in the morning and then repeat in the afternoon.

Next month we’ll complete the “Whoa” process with Part 2

Copyright 2023 Paul Fuller

Paul and Susan Fuller are co-hosts of Bird Dogs Afield TV show. All past episodes are available on their website: www.birddogsafield.com. Contact: paul@birddogsafield.com.