This drill has trained Gamble to not run the bank at all. I have not had her attempt to run the bank at all since I initally ran this drill when she was young. I do tuneup drills on a monthly basis. Gamble is a very willing to please poodle and vocal positive motivation is of great impact for this dog. I use this each and every time she willingly enters the water in a difficult or tempting situation.
Touley is completely the opposite. Touley finds this drill boring and of no use to her. She can "play the game" but when push comes to shove she will do as she pleases. Touley requires ecollar pressure to convince her that my way is the best way. I do not feel the efforts are worth the rewards in Touley's case. Touley did not do this drill as a youngester and "old habits" are proving hard to break!
Havoc just recently had his first session of this drill at 1 year old. He is also a willing to please poodle but a bit alpha and bull headed. He lacked swimming confidence to use the same pond as the girls. I used a nearby channel of 10 feet wide. I moved down from the end of the channel 10 yards to give a more clear picture to the dog. He attempted the first time to run the bank but after repositioning he did swim straight across the channel.
For dogs that are not dedicated bank runners it should work well, but takes a LONG time and the drill must be repeated in many different ponds before they begin to generalize. It would not work for a really hard driving but dedicated bank runner, such as Powder. He loves to run, telling him "no" is not a "downer" for him and somehow he would make this into a game. Some dogs need discipline. I tried this type of drill once with Powder and he ran first one direction around, then the other direction around, when moved up to the shore he did the same, then I put him sitting in the water and I stepped into the water on the other side, called him and he ran around and wouldn't let me catch him...as if to say, OK now I get it...this is a keep away game. I finally had to put him on a long line and pull him across a couple of times and then the light bulb went on and he quickly went to a straight recall from 20 feet back from the shore. But the next time at a different pond we were starting from square one again. Using the Lardy method of cheating singles and handling seemed to work much better with Powder and Gable. Can't tell yet with Riot. I think that a dog should do the swim-by well before starting bank running drills as then they can begin to really understand what it is that you want. You can whistle sit them the instant that they veer off course and handle back to the correct line and they seem to quickly understand the goal.
Grace
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