If you are getting ready to train your new puppy or even an older dog for field trials or to be a great hunting dog and you want distance training you will need a dog training collar. The reason is that you need your dog to work at a distance and cannot have a leash on him or her. If they are not doing a task you requested then you need to have a way of correcting them.

The first session when training for hunting is to teach full obedience commands. Everyone wants to jump right in and have the dog retrieve but if he does not understand sit, down, come and skills that teach basic manners you will end up with a dog that leaves the blind way to early because all you have taught him to do is retrieve birds.

You may also want to teach a force retrieve so that no matter what he learns that he must bring the bird or object back to you no matter what it is.

Once you have accomplished teaching the sit, down and come you will want to teach a send out and this is where you place an object out 50 ft or so and then send the dog out blind with your direction to have to find the object and return to you.

You may also want to teach a down after the send out so that he will respond to you no matter where he is.

On flat land have someone else hind the object for you as dogs will watch you and remember the area you have hidden the bird. You want him to use his nose to scent it out.

In brush you can hide the object but go to several spots and act like you are hiding the object and do not let the object be at the last place you stopped. Your dog will rpobably to out to that area first only to discover there is nothing and then will decide to use his nose to determine where the object lays.

My favorite thing to do in hunting training preparation is scent work and doing the send out is fun. I will leave the dog in a car or house and go out and just before laying down a track will spray some bird scient on the bottom of my shoe. You can get this at a hunting store. Then walk your path and leave the object to retrieve hidden by a grass clump or maybe under a bush. Now I always bring an extra pair of shoes and when I am done before leaving the track I change shoes and carry the scented ones in.

I then bring the dog out and start at my scented spot and let him work through the scent to find the item. I usually put him on a leash so that if he gets off scent I can gently direct him back on.

For this training I used the Dogtra 280ncp electronic dog collar.