TRAINING GOAL: The dog will heel correctly, then leave the handler straight away on command with speed and drive, and without hesitation or anticipation, and then will down immediately on the handler's command. He will wait there calmly for his handler.
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Prerequisites: The dog must have enough drive and motivation to chase after their reward. There is no minimum age as long as he has good drive and will come back without a leash.

Equipment: Send out Stake, Fursaver, Long Line, Ball on a rope (or other favorite toy that can be hung), rested dog

Training Sessions: Start out with a rested dog, not after doing other training. You want the dog full of drive and energy to condition the dog to go out fast with power and speed, rather than trotting down field slowly. This exercise can be a reward for the dog on trial day if trained properly. Only do 2-5 sends with the dog in any one session. Depending on your other training, I recommend doing send outs 2-3 days a week while you are teaching the exercise.

Problem Solving: Most problems generally occur from progressing too quickly in training. Building a foundation is a long and gradual process, so don't rush. This can take anywhere from 3 months to 2 years depending on the age of the dog when you are starting, and what you want your final picture to look like. Make sure the ball is always at the same spot at the end of the field. You and your dog will gradually move back away from the send out stake. You will not move the send out stake itself. This prevents the dog running 15 feet (to where the toy was the last time), then stopping to look around the ground to spot their toy. There should be no other objects nearby the send out stake for the dog to cue on (such as the a-frame/wall or a blind) since that could cause your dog to run towards those objects on trial day. As with teaching any exercise, if the dog is confused, take a few steps back. Build more drive for the ball, and make sure he is clear about how to get it. You want the dog to give 110%!  

GOAL 1. The goal is for the dog to get excited when you say "Where's your toy?", and for him to stare down field when you extend your hand and run straight and fast to the ball hanging from the send out stake.


1. Get him in drive by teasing him with the ball.












2.Place the ball on the send out stake, and pull your dog back a few feet by the collar asking, "Where's your toy?"










3. Hold your right hand next to the dog's head, pointing towards the toy. Wait for him to pull and stare in that direction before saying "Voraus!" and releasing him.










4. Once released the dog should run to and bite the toy.











GOAL 2: Video of short send
The goal is to increase distance, and also to face your dog away from his toy before the exercise.

Prerequisites: The dog will go straight and fast to the send out stake for the toy at a short distance of 6-10 feet, and has done so reliably for at least 10 sends.

Continue to allow the dog to see you place the toy on the send out stake, and build up his excitement and anticipation as you move down the field. This time, when you arrive at the spot that you will be sending him from, ask "Where's your toy?" and pat him in an excited manner while facing the opposite direction of the send out stake. Then turn around, point, and send the dog just as you have in past sessions. Your hand should remain outstretched and pointing the whole time until your dog reaches his reward.

Begin each session with the first send out distance being a few yards shorter than the furthest distance of your last session. If the dog does it without a problem, add a few more feet to the distance with each send. You should end your session at a further distance than where you ended on the last session.

Repeat this until you can complete a reliable straight and fast send out from the full length or longer than trial field. This goal should take some time. If your dog has any trouble and seems confused, slow, or does not run directly out to the toy, you probably progressed too quickly and should go back to a distance where he performs successfully. You will need to build trust with your dog, assuring him that even though he can't see the send out stake from the further distances, when you tell him that the toy is there, it is. He just needs to run out to find it.

GOAL 3: Adding in Obedience - Eye contact before the "Voraus!" command.

Prerequisites: The dog runs at full sprint the entire length of the field to get his toy at the send out stake. Also, the dog has solid heeling, can sit in normal obedience, and can do a full heeling pattern. If you are working with a puppy who does not heel reliably yet, this step will have to wait until he gets older. Keep working on drive building and sending from the length of the field, and you may want to do fewer sessions to keep it interesting and exciting.

We will repeat that whole procedure but get closer again so that your dog is at a distance where he can see the ball. When you are standing at that point, ask for him to "Sit" instead of allowing him to pull. Ask for eye contact in whatever way you normally do, or even pat your chest if necessary to get his attention. The MOMENT you have a steady sit with eye contact, immediately extend your right arm and tell him "Voraus!" If your foundation is good, he should run straight down the field and get his ball. In teaching this step you may get some slight confusion on the dog's part, but it’s normal because we are changing the picture slightly. Having laid a good foundation with the “Where’s your toy?” cue, when you ask him, he should get loaded with drive and excitement and want to break free to run down the field.  Now, we are just asking for him to bottle that up and wait, requesting that you send him by offering good behavior (sit and eye contact).


GOAL 4: Adding in Obedience - Heeling before the "Voraus!" command.

Prerequisites: Your dog will willingly and consistently offer the sit and eye contact before the send out.

Again, we will repeat the procedure of placing the ball on the stake, walking down field, and facing the dog the opposite direction down the field and asking "Where's your toy?". Turn around to face the direction of the stake, sit your dog with eye contact, and then ask for a heel and start walking. As soon as he is in the correct heel position and giving you eye contact, immediately send him! He only has to glance up at you for a fraction of a second at this point, and when he does, he will be rewarded. If he is out of position, simply don't send the dog. He will learn to ask to be sent by giving you good heeling and attention if you only send him when he offers this good behavior. Gradually require longer periods of heeling and eye contact before sending him. Try to keep it as fun as possible so that he doesn't lose his drive for the toy and so that he continues to enjoy doing this exercise with you.

Once you are sending him from the heel position, you will want to work up until you can heel more than the required 10-15 paces that you will have to do on trial day. You can also try to mix things up by randomly turning and repeating the 10-15 paces, doing halts at 10-15 paces and then doing another 10-15 before sending them. This way your dog won't anticipate being sent before 10 paces and start to forge on trial day or want to be sent before the actual command is given. The dog should practice correct heeling until you send him. Once your dog acheives obedient heeling, start adding distance to the length of the send out again until you can do a full length send out.

GOAL 5: The dog will go out without seeing you place the toy at the send out stake.

Now you will begin to place the toy without the dog seeing you, or have an assistant put the toy on the stake so that the dog can't see it being placed. The first few times you do this you can work at a shorter distance. Continue to face your dog in the opposite direction down the field and ask "Where's your toy?" while petting him excitedly or pulling up on the collar to build anticipation and get him excited before turning around, heeling, and sending him. If needed, you can go way back and load him up right before sending him a few times instead of heeling. The goal is for him to get worked up on cue and to become conditioned that the ball is at the send out stake. Gradually increase the "Blind" send out distance as you did in achieving the other goals. Eventually you should be able to go out onto the field, do a little obedience, then do the setup routine of “Where’s your toy?”, heel with eye contact, and then send him for a full length field send.

GOAL 6: Adding the down.

Prerequisites: Your dog can down on command under heavy distraction, can complete a reliable and fast down in motion, and a perfect long down. You should basically be able to tease your dog with a ball and have him down without a problem just as he was about to bite it.

You will start closer again and will show your dog as you or an assistant place the ball and tease him.  This time, your dog needs to have a long line on to prevent the dog from disobeying and rewarding himself if he decides not to listen to your down command.  You should be about half way down the field. For now, forgot about the heeling and buildup control, since you will add in the down. Get him loaded up with drive asking "Where's your toy?", then point and send him. Immediately after your dog goes just a few (1-3) paces, give your down command. You are beginning this process with your dog very close to you, as you want the area of influence on the dog to be strong. As soon as he downs, reward him by sending him to the ball with another "Voraus!" command or with a reward marker signal such as "yes!" if you use one in your regular obedience training.

Do this a few times so that the dog downs quickly and willingly, and then do a couple without any downs. The next training session, start off with no downs again, and you may not even do any downs at all in that session. It is important that your dog sprints and gives his all rather than being worried about having to stop, or anticipating too much.

You will have to balance your dog's drive to go all out without anticipating with making sure that he downs when you ask for it. Do a few send outs with downs to condition the dog that the quicker they down, the quicker they get sent again. We aren't using compulsion to make the dog lay down with the long line, but rather using the ball as a reward for good behavior. The long line is just used to prevent the dog from blowing you off completely, and rewarding himself for not listening. Also, if you use non-reward marker signal such as a calm "nope", you can utilize that if he doesn't down, or downs too slowly. Then set up for another try. This is fine tweaking work and requires that you truely know your dog and have a good feel for what he needs most and how he learns best. He will learn by trial and error that it is in his best interest to listen and respond quickly to your commands, rather than trying to fight with you to get what he wants on his own.

Once he consistently downs close to you on command, gradually increase the distance that he travels before asking him to down. Don't do a down in every send out.  In one session, do a send out with no down, then a second send out with a down, then end on a send out with no down. Eventually you should be able to ask him to down at any time during the send out and he will do it without hesitation, and yet you should not lose any of the speed and enthusiasm that he originally had for the send out exercise. If your dog's speed decreased, you need to take a step back in your training and do send outs without the down more often.

GOAL 7: The dog will remain lying calmly in the down position while you approach him.

Eventually you will need to be able to walk down the field to the basic position and ask them to sit. You will need to carefully balance this as well, doing it rarely, while still rewarding him immediately after he downs most of the time.  If you have a good down/stay, this shouldn't be a problem and you won't have to do it many times. Each dog and handler team will have to figure out the right balance between drive to go out, responding to your command, and remaining calm and focused without breaking.

Once you have successfully incorporated the down command into your send out and your dog reliably downs for you in this exercise, don't over practice it. Keep focused on making this fun, and encouraging drive and speed. At the most, you should only need to ask for a down once in about 10 send outs. Now try putting it all together with your heeling, etc. - you have essentially reached your training goal!

GOAL 8: Proofing and Generalization

Now, generalize the send out to different fields. If you are going to trial some place other than your home field, or the field on which you are training the send out, you will need to ensure that the dog will listen on any field and trust you that the ball is out there. When you go to a new field, it is imperative that you start back at the beginning. Show your dog while you place the toy at the stake. Do a motivational send out, with the “Where’s your toy?” game and pulling back on his collar letting him get crazy and amped up.  Once he is reliable on a new field, progress to doing a "blind" send on the new field, then add heeling.  Once your team is reliable on that field, find a new one to practice at!  It should go faster at each field where you do this, until eventually you can go to any field, ask him “Where’s your toy?”, and do a full send out like in a trial. 

Any questions or comments please email me and I’d be glad to help.