# Using a dog blind



## benelliguyusa85 (Sep 3, 2008)

We just purchased a mutt hutt for our 1YO lab/chesapeake cross. She is trained to sit until released to retrieve, but we can't get her to go into the dog blind. Any suggestions?


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## Duckslayer100 (Apr 7, 2004)

Has she been crate trained? If not, you may have to go at it as if you were crate training her.

Start off by putting treats in the kennel (cooked chunks of chicken or hotdogs will work well). Point to the blind and say "kennel." Likely she will go in, eat the treats, and come back out right away. Keep doing this until you can get her to go in without using treats.

If she knows "down" or "stay" utilize it next. Give the "kennel" command and when she's in there say "stay" or "down" to get her to lay down. If she complies, give her a treat. As soon as she complies for a few seconds, tell her come. Repeat the process, gradually making her stay in the kennel for longer periods of time.

Eventually, you should be able to say "kennel" and walk away without her moving from that spot. If you haven't already done something similar in basic obedience training, however, you may want to do so. Make her sit in one spot as you go out of view, just around the corner of a building or something. It helps if you have someone watching her from a window or something, so if she moves once you're out of sight, you can quickly come back and correct her. This is important! If she moves and you don't correct her almost immediately, she won't get the concept.

When all is said and done, you should have a dog that will stay in one spot for long periods of time without moving or until you give her the signal to do so. During this process, never release the dog until you come back to her. This instills trust in the dog that you won't just leave her. If you go, she knows you will always return. Eventually, you can call her off a sit, but that's much further down the road.


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## gundogguru (Oct 7, 2003)

Duckslayer100 said:


> Has she been crate trained? If not, you may have to go at it as if you were crate training her.
> 
> Start off by putting treats in the kennel (cooked chunks of chicken or hotdogs will work well). Point to the blind and say "kennel." Likely she will go in, eat the treats, and come back out right away. Keep doing this until you can get her to go in without using treats.
> 
> ...


Very good advice good luck.


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## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

I staked my blind in a shady spot in the yard and left it set up. After a few days when I came home for lunch she would be laying in it. Now she goes in and I have her "stay" until i toss the retrieving dummy and release her. I havn't transitioned to the field yet but am optomistic as right now she is pretty good about just lying next to my blind.


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