What do you need to successfully train your dog? Other than Tritronics collars and Sport Dog training collars, one of the hunting dog supplies you’ll need is the dog training bumper. The ideal one for training your retriever is one that is made to last for repetitive use, and flexible, soft plastic.

Hallmark Dog Training Bumpers

You can find dog training bumpers in many different styles and sizes so that you can train any type of retriever. A brand called Hallmark offers a wide range of high-quality training bumpers, particularly those constructed with plastic or foam. You will have your choice of plastic, feather-holding, and canvas-covered. Regardless of which one you go for, you’ll see that they are very durable, and have a realistic feel which will help your dog with his retrieval skills. These training bumpers are also safe and non-toxic to your dog. A great feature is that these training bumpers can hold duck scents, which makes the training of your dog easier and more effective.

Regardless of the type of dog training bumpers you buy make sure you look for the following features in each of them:

A) Superb construction
B) Durable materials
C) Safe, non-toxic materials

If you’re training a puppy, you’ll likely be best served with plastic training bumpers. These are less expensive, are usually more durable (until puppy has learned to “soft mouth”), and come in many bright colors for easy spotting.

Dog training dummies

Training dummies that float are also very useful and popular training tools. Using foam-bodied dummies with your training can better simulate retrieving in the field and better prepare your dog for the job. Remember that “bumpers” and “dummies” are interchangeable names that apply to both types of training tool, whether it’s land or water-based. They’ll both help you train your dog to hunt and retrieve fowl for you.

How to use dog training bumpers and dog training dummies

You’ll find it advantageous to use training dummies or bumpers that can be used in conjunction with scents. A common scent is that of a duck, and are available in virtually any hunting dog supply store. Injecting duck scent into dog training dummies and bumpers offers another training tool so that you can have a well-trained hunting dog.