Contradiction will get you a mixed-up dog. That’s why consistency is so important. Don’t punish a dog for something one day then let him get away with it the next. There’s no deviation. It’s either right or wrong.

Dogs in training are like children. They’ll push you as far as they can get away with it. So upon giving a command, see that it is obeyed. If you’re not in a position to enforce that command, or prepared to mete out discipline for refusal, keep your mouth shut and your whistle out of it.

Patience is for saints, although the word is often invoked as a desirable virtue in a dog trainer. Some adults (wives) have asked me, “How can you be so patient with kids and dogs, but impatient with adults?” The answer is that I don’t expect much from a child or a puppy, but once a human or a canine has been exposed to learning and matured, unreasonableness or faulty performance is difficult to suffer.

So, while patience may have its virtues in some phases of dog training, tolerance is on very shaky ground. Consistency and persistency are the keys. Sometimes, when properly directed, impatience and venting irritation or anger can pay off…but not frequently, constantly or excessively. Nothing sets back a training program like flying off the handle when enforcing or demanding something of a dog that is unaware of what’s expected of him.

Praise (in contrast to warranted and “knows what it’s for” punishment) works wonders in impressing a dog with what you want him to do. This includes encouragement when he does something desirable on his own hook, without any command from you. Too many would-be trainers stint on “reward” in the form of verbal praise and physical petting, egging him on in an excited tone when his reaction to something new and strange is good, like snuffling about and becoming animated when he encounters bird scent, or “sweet-talking” him when he is casting or quartering properly and voluntarily checks in with you or maintains contact. All of the foregoing should elicit a positive response from the trainer.

Should he react badly to some “first encounter,” ignoring or at least not fussing about it is the proper tactic. Don’t punish, lest he associate that unpleasantness with what he’s confused or apprehensive about and misbehave in an effort to avoid both.

Your dog must trust you. In turn, once your dog proves himself, you must trust him. He doesn’t possess the mentality to deliberately deceive. You do. Don’t do it. Don’t lie to him. Don’t make a fool of him. Never send him out to retrieve when there’s nothing down to be fetched or tell him, “Birds, hunt ‘em out!” in a place devoid of game.

It’s nothing short of remarkable how quickly a dog will associate a command or urging with something pleasant or desirable that elicits your praise, redoubling his efforts to seek, produce or just please you.

Always be persistent. Alternate punishment and praise as the situation warrants. In exchange for help during training sessions, I once agreed to help a mother and daughter who were doing their own training with some delivery problems they were experiencing with their Labradors. They went from my place to enter their retrievers in a sanctioned field trial.

After the trial, they phoned to report that their dogs had both placed and thanked me for the help. “But,” said the mother, “Do you know what impressed me most? In the three days we spent with you, other than an attention-getting swat, I never saw you strike or shock a dog, in contrast with what seems to be the general rule.”