Every Tuesday morning I have hunting training with Bommel, our four-year-old brown labrador. Not that I hunt, but it is fun to do and great to experience that the innate hunting instinct of such a dog is present and how that can be further developed. Sometimes it is in Groeneveld, then again at Anna's Hoeve and also often in the polders near Almere. This brings variety to both the dog and its owner. I have been doing it for several years now and there is steady progress in it. Bommel loves it, especially when he is allowed to swim. Working with dunmmies is absolutely the pinnacle and especially when we are in Almere and sometimes work with cold game. That is forbidden in Groeneveld, which I can imagine, because it can be unpleasant for the public with children when you suddenly see a dog running past with a dead crow, duck or rabbit in its mouth.
It's nice to see how his instinct drives Bommel. Getting a dead duck out of the water goes without any problems. He grabs him well without mutilating the beast in the slightest.. From the water he comes to bring him directly to me, sits down and I can take him out of his mouth calmly and unharmed. I am as proud as a peacock.
What I mainly learn is that the bond between me and Bommel is extremely sensitive and listens very closely. It seems that he feels my consciousness down to the subtleties. It is not only that he has to be at the lesson, it is above all that I have to be myself. If I am just as careless or sloppy, he is immediately out of his concentration. It is mainly the boss who learns. I will show that by what has happened to me recently.
Last Tuesday We are training in Almere in an area near the Spotvogelpad. After some retrieval exercises, Rudi, our trainer, takes a dead duck out of his bag. I notice on Bommel that his adrenaline starts to increase. They smell that right away. He gets a little tighter on his legs and makes small excited squeaks. I pat him on the back of his head to calm him down. Calm down, I say softly and it helps immediately. Wait your turn. If a few other dogs go first, the excitement increases again. Then it's my turn. I calmly step to the Reed collar that separates the water from the land and put Bommel next to me. He sits neatly next to me and looks at me for a moment. Then immediately his eyes are on the water again. He knows, that's where it's going to happen. Slowly I take the line off his neck and I stroke him again over his sphere and speak to him softly: you are good, calm down.. Every muscle is tense. Rudi stands 10 meters away from us and with a wide bow he throws the duck into the water. Bommel must not jump in. Only when I give the command "fetch" can he leave. I feel that we are in deep contact at that moment. All his senses are sharpened on the smallest gesture or sound that I will make. I too am tense, I feel at that moment that we are a unity , that is not going to vauit my head, but it is a connection from belly to belly. Just that intense silence between us as I wait two more counts.
Then I say "apport" and Bommel is gone. He runs to the water's edge and sees if he sees the duck, because through the Reed collar he heard it fall into the water, but did not see it fall. Then he goes into the water and swims forward with vigorous pedaling movements, trusting that the blowing of the duck's scent will take him in the right direction.
But then I make a crucial mistake, I turn around and start talking to Rudi, while Bommel is still unsure whether he is swimming in the right direction. At that moment Bommel turns around and comes to the side again, because he heard my voice, which was not supportive. I get to my thunder from Rudi that I always have to keep the attention with my dog, especially in the still uncertain situation. The dog feels that the support is falling away and, as it were, comes to take him back. When Bommel is on the side again, I put him at ease and put him back in and continue to follow what he does with all my attention. Bommel happily brings the duck neatly into my hands.
Another nice lesson learned in leadership, I remember when I drive back home later. It's about giving confidence and space, but at the same time being really present so that you are there when needed. Not to be absent, to be in other thoughts or to dwell in another world, but to be present with True attention. And true attention is the most beautiful gift you can give someone, be it an animal or a human.
Boy Van Droffelaar, PhD
