There are certain challenges to owning a rare breed, one if which is lack of general knowledge about its personality and characteristics. If you’ve been reading my blog, you’ll see that my training program with our Spinone really hasn’t had much direction. Luckily, I found a Spinone forum and am now getting advice from people who’ve owned and trained them for a number of years.
Using my Spinone as an example, I’ll list some of the inaccurate “conventional wisdom” I’ve received and which has led me somewhat astray. Spinone are not for everyone, and only certain types of people will be successful with them. Likewise, if you happen to own a rare or unconventional breed, you may be much more successful by consulting experts of that breed, than what is generally accepted advice.
1- Since Spinone are a rare breed, it’s obviously because other breeds out-perform them in the field and they’re not a good pointing breed.
This statement was made by a trainer who previously had seen only one Spinone prior to my pups. Spinone are considered the oldest hunting breed in existence, possibly dating back to 500 B.C. and I’ve found the perception of them not being a good hunter is entirely wrong. Unlike other breeds that can be forced into compliance or submission, Spinone must be treated with mutual respect and positive reinforcement works best.
Several Spinone owners and trainers have told me that heavy-handed or negative reinforcement will cause them to completely shut down, but that they will do anything for you if they see a reason in it. Basically, if you treat your Spinone with respect and they respect you, no problem, but heavy-handed training techniques will ruin a Spinone from which they may not recover. Owners who are ignorant of the breed will subject them to standard training techniques which won’t work, then of course blame the dog for not performing.
2- They are rare because they don’t hunt well part 2.
In addition to the ignorance factor, Spinone were nearly wiped out to the point of extinction during WWII. While they have been making a big comeback in Europe, they’ve really only been in the U.S. for the last 30 years or so.
3- They don’t cover a lot of ground while hunting.
Spinone hunt at a moderate distance, generally 50-100 yards out. They have very good endurance and like a standard Lab, work at a moderate pace. They don’t have the high energy of pointers, and are generally considered ideal dogs for older hunters who may have trouble keeping up with dogs that cover a great deal of territory. I also found that Elvis and Mia took to the water just as well as any Lab pup I’ve had.
4- Spinone are not “birdy”.
As I said before, Spinone need to see a reason to do something -if they see a reason to go after birds, they’ll do it wholeheartedly. As an owner, you need to give them a reason to want birds. For some time now I’ve been more concerned about how well a dog hunts rather than how well they train, and there are times I compromise in their training if it makes training more “fun” for them. Spinone don’t care for repetitions and will quit training when they become bored with it. Elvis and Mia are completely different dogs while hunting than while training.
5- Spinone are people-oriented dogs.
It’s more important to develop a mutual relationship with them than focus on training. Spinone don’t do as well if they are sent off to a trainer, than if the owner personally trains them. Good training comes from a good relationship.
6- Spinone are highly intelligent.
To some degree, their intelligence is their downfall because they really can’t be bluffed and will call you on it. In many ways they’ll challenge you to prove that you know what you’re doing – this in itself has really made me re-evaluate what and how I do things when it comes to training. That’s not to say that other dogs are not intelligent, and I sometimes get offended when some ignorant owner talks about how Labs are dumb as a board and only understand heavy-handed techniques. In some ways this tells me that the owner knows less than his dog and is perpetuating ignorance rather than bringing out the best in what the dog has to offer.