@bowhunter1023 feel free to keep those materials as long as you need to. Iām in no rush to get them back.
You will find that having a dog that handles is so much more valuable than just having āa dog.ā It will save you a never ending amount of wading and chasing when you can send a dog on a blind retrieve. And it will add a whole other level of satisfaction for you.
Eventually the T-drill and Swim-By will be your best friend when it comes to training to handle. But early on, donāt get too caught up in blowing that whistle. Your main goal in the early stages should be building momentum, teaching the dog to drive ābackā with confidence. If you throw in too many whistles, youāll instead develop a dog that lacks confidence and likes to āpop,ā meaning it stops and turns around, essentially asking you for guidance, when you didnāt ask him too. You want that dog running hard on 150-200 yard straight ābacksā before you even think about stopping him with whistles and hammering āoverā casts. And for every one āoverā cast you give, you should run at least 3-6 ābacksā so you donāt risk losing that drive and momentum.
And like every other aspect of training, take your time and donāt rush through. Handling takes a lot of time and repetition to develop it correctly.