When Do I Move To The Next Step w/ Hold Conditioning?

Question: I'm going through hold conditioning with my lab. The light bulb finally clicked and she's doing quite well. At what point do i switch from a bumper to a fresh killed chukar? She is 5 and I'm trying to clean up her delivery. With a bumper she will hand deliver everytime, with a bird she tends to drop it on recall. She will hand deliver birds but its not very consistent right now. Thanks!

Answer: Great to hear your finding success. I don't measure or predicate any "next steps" based on time. Instead, when I get to the point of where I think the dog has it and is ready to move forward, I try it and see how things go. From there I respond accordingly. The dogs tell me when I'm going to fast and if that happens, I take steps back and simplify before moving forward again. Patience is the most underrated skill of a dog training I think. I hope that helps, keep me posted.
Jeremy

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