Pointing Dog Pointers: What About the Whoa?

By Bob and Jody Iler

Back in our September 2021 column, we wrote “The Silent Whoa – Steadying Your Dog” – showing how the whoa command is crucial to the advanced training involved in steadying your dog to wing and shot. The following month we wrote “Come Here!” –  about the importance of the come command in providing essential control for your pointing dog.

You may wonder, “Why train my dog to whoa if I don’t plan on steadying him later on?” You might also ask, “Is the come command enough to keep my pointing dog under control?”

The whoa command is a key control command to teach your pointing dog – whether or not you steady him later. The whoa command teaches your dog to stand and stay wherever and whenever you command him to. It adds to his staunchness when he goes on point. It teaches him to look to you for guidance and enhances his self-control as he gains maturity and experience. The whoa can be taught with nothing more than a lead, checkcord and training collar, or regular flat collar for pups younger than six months.

 

Teaching Whoa to a Puppy

Let your puppy ramble, play and gain experience and confidence both inside and outside. Teach him his name and practice the come command using a light line to gently guide him to you. At this stage, all is fun and positive, with plenty of praise. For control with a puppy, many folks teach the sit command, easily done and rewarded with a treat. We’ve never done this with our pointing dogs. Sometimes, when a pup is taught to sit and you later steady him to wing and shot, or even simply use the whoa command after he’s established point, the young dog will begin to sit. So, we make sure it’s not in his training vocabulary – although many folks teach the sit with no problems later.

For the puppy whoa, we start by putting one hand under our pup’s belly, just in front of his back flanks. We put the other hand in front of his chest just above his front legs. This keeps him in the stand/stay position (preventing him from sitting or moving forward) while we gently say “whoa.” We’ll do this often and hold for just a few seconds, gradually increasing the time and keeping in mind that puppies, like kids, won’t stay still for long! All we want to do is get him familiar and comfortable with the whoa command. It also gives pup a little “time out” moment, similar to a sit – which will help in control work later in many different scenarios.

Gently praise pup after each short whoa session. Never forget the praise but don’t overdo, as pups go ballistic with effusive praise and we want pup to remain still until we give him a release command. In our case, we use pup’s name as the release command. Others may use the word(s): all right, okay, or release. We stick with using pup’s name because if we do hunt with a friend and another dog later on, or run our dog in competition events, it’s unlikely that another person’s release command will cause our dog to break.

 

Adding Whoa to Pup’s Yard Work

Yard work begins in earnest by the time our pup is 6 months old – maybe a little earlier if pup is boisterous and a handful. We find that teaching the whoa as part of the heeling exercise is an easy transition for our pup. In formal obedience training, the sit at heel is incorporated into the heeling exercise when the handler stops. For our pointing dogs, since we don’t want them to sit, we teach them to whoa when we stop walking.

For this column we’ll assume your pup has learned to heel fairly well at your left side, using a six-foot lead and training collar. It’s easier to walk in straight lines early on as you heel, varying your pace and doing about turns to keep pup at your side. Now, you’ll want to slow your pace and gradually come to a halt. As you do, reach down with your left hand and put it in front of pup’s right flank. With your right hand, hold the lead firmly about 6-12 inches above pup’s neck, while giving the command whoa in a soft voice. Don’t tug or pull up on the lead. Don’t stop for long, then give him the release by saying his name and then the heel command: “Gunner, heel!” Repeat this pattern several times in regular, short daily sessions, always ending on a positive note. Slowly increase the length of time that you have the pup whoa at your side.

A half-hitch can also be used to keep your pup in a standing position when you come to a halt. Many pups are uncomfortable with this until they get used to it. At this stage it can be more of a distraction than a training aid. Plus, you’ll need to use the 15-20 foot checkcord instead of the lead, as pup will also have to heel with the half-hitch in place.

Once pup learns to whoa well when you stop heeling, gradually you’ll distance yourself from him. While he’s in the whoa position at your left side, step just in front of him, softly commanding whoa as you hold your hand up in a stop sign signal. Then step back to his right side and heel a bit. Stop, whoa him, and step back in front of him. As he does well, you can take a step backward while you are in front of him and little by little increase the distance. Don’t back so far away that you can’t effectively stop him if he moves toward you. You can vary this by starting to walk around your pup, in step by step increments. Always give the whoa command softly as you show him the hand signal, and always return back to his right side.

As time progresses and your distance from pup increases, switch to the checkcord for the heeling and whoa exercise, letting the excess cord drag behind you. Eventually you can drop the checkcord as you work with pup in the yard or training area to proof him, but it’s close at hand if you need to make a correction.

Practice these lessons until you can let pup run about the yard and you can whoa him by just a hand signal. You always have the voice command as a backup but your goal is to handle pup as quietly as possible.

 

Using Whoa in the Field

You won’t be steadying pup to wing and shot at this stage, but you can use the whoa in the field to staunch up your pup on point. For initial field work let pup work on a checkcord so you have a way to restrain him if needed. If you have a bird or two released or planted in the field, let him hunt, scent the bird, and point. Never use the whoa to “make” your pup point.

Let him find and scent the bird and once he establishes point on his own, add a soft whoa command as you hold the checkcord steady. Don’t tug or pull on it, and don’t keep repeating the whoa command louder and louder. Walk the checkcord, hand over hand, up to pup. Quietly, gently stroke him as he points. When the bird flushes on its own, or is flushed by a helper, pup will chase the bird. At this stage we don’t want pup to catch birds, but we aren’t going to expect him to hold point as the bird flies off, so we don’t give the release command. Working on spooky birds will teach him to be more cautious and hold point.

In the field, the whoa command can also be used if you want your pup to suddenly stop and stay put. Maybe he’s not responding to your command to come in or to come around. Maybe he’s showing interest in some sort of wild critter off in the distance, that you can’t see. Maybe you’re hunting with a buddy and his dog – your buddy’s dog has gone on point and your pup is barreling toward the other dog. Here’s where the whoa command comes in handy, to stop pup in his tracks and keep him there, honoring the other dog’s point. For these instances you’ll need to use your voice command as well as the hand signal.

 

Other Uses for the Whoa Command

Using the whoa command helps your pup develop his manners. Think of the many instances that you’d have a pup sit and stay and in place of that, use the whoa command. Use it before he is released from his kennel or outside run. Use it before he is allowed to go outside into the yard. Use it before you set down his food dish. Having your pup whoa is a great help when you’re brushing him or cleaning burrs from his coat. Anytime you want pup to stop, stand and stay whether indoors or outside, use the whoa command!

Teaching your young pointing dog to whoa and do so reliably will be a lifetime practice, but one well worth the effort and discipline it takes. Good luck!

 

Pointing Dog Pointers features monthly training tips by Bob and Jody Iler, who operated Green Valley Kennels in Dubuque, Iowa, training pointing dogs for 50 years. Bob and Jody have written many articles for The Pointing Dog Journal.