This is a drill to teach a retriever to go straight out and back as opposed to finding the route he likes best.

It does require a soft correction at a distance from the handler. The only way I know how to do this is with an e-collar. With a long line, if the correction is strong enough to be felt by the dog, I suspect that it would be strong enough to “de-motivate” a poodle, and would certainly confuse him. Note – the dog must be collar conditioned and working well with the e-collar before starting this exercise. The correction is very light, but the dog must understand it and understand that he can control it. The collar setting should as light as that dog can feel, and a nick of 1/1000th of a second is the appropriate duration.

The idea is to allow the dog to make a mistake (cheating or going wide) but to make it slightly unpleasant. Then point out how easy it is to do it the right way. Then extend the concept to the original mark. The exercise, as shown here, is a water exercise, but once mastered, it can be used to correct bank running or taking the easy path on land. It seems easier for the dog and handler to understand it in the water first. The distance you use depends on the dog, the terrain, and the range that you and/or the thrower have. Remember that you have to be able to throw line bumpers to the mid-point or farther on the line. Hopefully the diagrams at the end will help this all make sense.

Decide ahead of time, how far off the line you are going to allow the dog to be before making a correction. 3 inches is probably not reasonable. 30 feet is probably too much. I usually use 4 to 6 feet but it may vary depending on conditions. Decide what your margin is and then be consistent – at least for that training session.

The first time I did this drill, I was working with a pro and his helper (with a good arm). The helper was the far side of a narrow arm of a small lake. The water was shallow – mostly splash rather than swimming water. By changing the angle as soon as the dog mastered a step, we were able to make more repetitions than we normally would. In the initial session, working with several labs and a poodle, we had good success getting the dogs to the point of running parallel to the bank out and back, a few feet out from the bank. They understood that a straight line out and back was what we were after, not just the easiest way to the bumper and back.

Start by setting the dog at the water’s edge to try to prevent bank running for now. Bank running can be dealt with later when you and the dog are more proficient at this drill. The first throw should be straight across. Many or most dogs will get that one OK so you can go on to an angle throw next. If not, the training begins here. If/when the dog veers off the line, give him a light nick at the apex or wide point. This is a very light correction. The idea is to keep the dog motivated, but still point out that a mistake has been made. It is the same thing on the way back – if he leaves the line, he gets a light nick at the wide point, but no other correction. Then the next throw should be on the original line, but at the point where you nicked him before. This should be a simple retrieve to show how easy it is to do it right. Then the next throw is back where the first one went. On the short throw, if he cheats or swings wide, nick him at the wide point and shorten the following throw to that distance. When he goes straight out to the original mark and straight back, move the throw to change the angle. As the dog masters each angle, change it to make it more difficult (easier to cheat). You should be able to get to the point where the dog will run a straight-line along the shoreline – in and out of the water.

When the dog is reliable (or reasonably so) with the water work, it’s easy to start working on water entry. You can start backing up from the bank to teach him to go straight in instead of looking for an easy way. Do it the same way – start him straight out, going a short distance from the handler to the water entry. If he starts to bank-run, nick him at the wide point, but let him make the mistake. Then the next throw should be in the water, just out from where he should have made entry. Show him it’s easy if you do it right. Then go back to the original throw. Once you have some distance to the entry, you can move back near the bank and start working on angled entries.

Remember – teach one thing at a time. Vary one thing at a time. Otherwise you will lose the lesson. The amount of the angle you can change or the amount of distance you can add at one time varies with the dog and his stage of training. You don’t want to try to jump ahead too fast or you won’t succeed, but you don’t want to bore a poodle.

Also remember – nothing is permanent in dog training. Occasional repeats are necessary.