Bumpers

When I first started some informal field work with Lumi, I got her some 2" white bumpers, and added my own throw ropes cut from nylon cord purchased at the hardware store. We still have some of them, which I use with Lumi and Laddie when we go out hiking or to a pond for fun retrieves. I call them our "puppy bumpers".

Later, when we started to focus on field training, I got a bunch of 3" white and 3" orange bumpers. I bought an inexpensive brand that was harder than the 2" puppy bumpers. I vaguely noticed that Lumi and Laddie always preferred the puppy bumpers, but I never thought much about it.

This makes me wonder exactly how stupid I must be. Why in the world would I have my dogs retrieving hard bumpers, day in and day out, trying my best to build high reinforcement value for retrieving, trying my best to maximize their daily and long-term motivation for retrieving, when somewhere inside I knew that they preferred soft bumpers?

After three years of training them with hard bumpers, it finally dawned on me one day that I should replace them with soft bumpers. I've discarded the hard bumpers, along with a variety of colors of canvas bumpers I had also picked up along the way. We now train exclusively with soft bumpers, the kind with valves at the top.

I don't really understand what the valves are for, so I pay no attention to them. The valves have a removable part that has fallen out of some of our bumpers. I don't see it as making any difference, though a more experienced trainer might.

I purchased throwing ropes for all our bumpers, even though the brand I purchased came with ropes. Despite being knotted, those thin ropes easily came out thru the eyelets in the bumpers, while the ones I purchased don't have that problem.

I also attached streamers to the bumpers I use for marks, but not to the bumpers I use for blinds. I believe that streamers improve a dog's marking on marks that are thrown with them, and also on the dog's long-term marking ability. I have no science to back me up, but anecdotally, both of my dogs are excellent markers. By the way, you have to crimp the hook that you use for attaching the streamer to the bumper with pliers, or the streamers fall off.

Even though I don't put streamers on the bumpers I use for blinds, I do put throw ropes on them. It makes them easier to carry, and it makes them easier to throw as happy bumpers.

As for size and color, I purchased a dozen 3" white bumpers for marks, and a dozen 2" orange bumpers for blinds. I also purchased half a dozen 3" black bumpers for marks, because I was told that in some regions, field trainers prefer black bumpers for marks over white ones. However, except for occasional experiments, I never use the black ones, and I've noticed that at the training groups in our region, nearly everyone uses white bumpers for marks when we're not using birds. I suspect it has to do with what kind of backdrops are most probable in a particular region.

If I ever get another puppy, I'll also get some more 2" white bumpers, like our old puppy bumpers, only I'll add streamers and use them for early puppy marks.

Soft bumpers are available in other color options besides white, orange, and black, but I don't consider them a good choice. For example, bumpers that are half black and half white are only half as visible in flight no matter what the backdrop. And colors other than orange are difficult to see in a dog's mouth when she's out on a long blind. I remember a friend whistling a dog in on a blind, since the dog had reached the right area and it looked from the distance as though the dog had found the dark-colored bumper and picked it up, but when the dog got close, my friend could see that the dog wasn't carrying a bumper after all.

My dogs and I are very happy with our new bumpers. I'm just sorry that it took me so long to switch to the softer ones.

[Note: The terms "bumper" and "dummy" are synonymous. Historically, it seems the old name was "bumper" and the newer name is "dummy". Although some of the product companies use the term "dummy", I've noticed that virtually all trainers use the term "bumper".]