disicipline..... how much is to much for a bird dog?

[dottie]

My Brittany and I attended a dog training class last night. At one point a dog relieved himself on the grass and .....FOLLOWED BY SCRATCHING THE GRASS/ "MARKING HIS TERRITORY." The trainer quickly admonished the handler..." never let the dog do that it shows disabedience and aggressive behavior". The training process is heavy on the" nicking" with an e collar. I used an ecollar with my current dog and really believe it was a process that resulted in less stress on both me and the dog ....BUT FELT THAT ....the NO scratching turf was 2 much.
Please comment and provide your opinion.

[gonehuntin']

First, when you talk of too much obedience on a bird dog, a lot depends on what you will be doing with the dog. The general thought is, the less the better if you want an independent, wide ranging, bird dog. As a hunter, I don't support that position at all. My dog's no matter how many, live IN the house with me and I have to be able to control them. Any command I teach them, I expect immediate and strict adherance to. That's the advantage of a house dog. They get constant discipline and trianing.

I don't agree with your trainer AT ALL unless you had told the dog to "heel" or some other command and he left the command to do that. That would be a command breach. If he were just wandering around on his own it's perfectly permissable. At least in my world.

[Neil]

Very good advice.

[shags]

Showed disobedience to what command, and aggressiveness toward whom?
Peeing and marking by scratching are dog things and IMO nothing wrong with it IF it's an appropriate time and place for the dog to relieve itself. Some people allow their dogs to be rude little boneheads, and let them mark whenever/wherever they wish, and to me, that's not good. So it depends on circumstances whether the dog should have been told 'No' at the time. But ecollar? Nope.

[Trekmoor]

Well personally, I think your trainer is completely off his tattie ! :roll: My Brittany bitch does a bit of earth and grass scratching after she relieves herself and she definitely is not trying to be dominant. I've owned other dogs that did this too and they weren't trying to be dominant either.

I don't know nearly enough about e- collars to comment on using them in everyday training situations but earth scratching is another matter.
Another theory used to be that dogs did this to cover or to attempt to hide their scent .....just about the opposite of the domination theory and probably just as incorrect. I think a dog doing this may be leaving a signpost but only the dog knows what the signpost says for sure.

If you are happy with the other things he teaches you then stay with him but I'd refuse to correct a dog for earth scratching following relieving itself.

Bill T.

[Sharon]

My Brittany and I attended a dog training class last night. At one point a dog relieved himself on the grass and .....FOLLOWED BY SCRATCHING THE GRASS/ "MARKING HIS TERRITORY." The trainer quickly admonished the handler..." never let the dog do that it shows disabedience and aggressive behavior". The training process is heavy on the" nicking" with an e collar. I used an ecollar with my current dog and really believe it was a process that resulted in less stress on both me and the dog ....BUT FELT THAT ....the NO scratching turf was 2 much.
Please comment and provide your opinion.

Mercy. A dog will always be a dog. It will do dog things without our permission. Concentrate on a couple commands that are important to you and leave it at that.

The training process is heavy on the" nicking" with an e collar." quote dottie

Wouldn't be my choice of trainer.

[gundogguy]

My Brittany and I attended a dog training class last night. At one point a dog relieved himself on the grass and .....FOLLOWED BY SCRATCHING THE GRASS/ "MARKING HIS TERRITORY." The trainer quickly admonished the handler..." never let the dog do that it shows disabedience and aggressive behavior". The training process is heavy on the" nicking" with an e collar. I used an ecollar with my current dog and really believe it was a process that resulted in less stress on both me and the dog ....BUT FELT THAT ....the NO scratching turf was 2 much.
Please comment and provide your opinion.

Your hanging with the wrong crowd! Find a group that actually hunts or are involved in performance field events. You and your Brit ned to be pointy type dogs and folks.