Hunting dog training???? Help...

[Top Dawg]

Hello all I know this falls under more bird hunting than Bow hunting but I have a 1 year old ( I know she is young) Britney and her nose is awsome always working the birds so that is awsome actually chaced up a pheasant the ohter night out on our walk but I can not get her too stay close too me she totaly ignores me :pissed: and will run full out like a couple hundred yards wich is usless for hunting this fall so I need too get this under controll.... I have tried evrything short of an electric coller wich is being charged up as I type this..

I will take any tips on how too train her too stay close if you have them... Thanks..

[NewBrunswicker]

Go to Chapters Book Store and look up "Gun Dog" (I think) by Richard Wolters...it's an awesome reference book for training both water and field dogs. I got the book as a gift when I got my lab and it helped my training dramatically. Even if you don't buy the book, you could still sit down and read the chapter...and have a coffee while your doing it !

NewBrunswicker

[petew]

when we trained labs and a pointer we sometimes ran into this.What usualy worked well was to hide from the dog, either lay down in the grass or duck behind a tree and keep quiet,.As soon as the dog finds that you are missing they will get into a panic and start looking for you.
After a few of these sessions they start staying close.

[Top Dawg]

Thanks for the help guys I will look into it.. Have a great weekend.. :cheers:

[BlueNorther]

Dawg,she is a Brit so I'll assume you use her as a pointer not a flushing dog.
First thing is she has to be obedient,comes when called or told to stay.Second but I think it's one of the most important things is she has to be whoa broke.When she hits bird scent she should lock up on point and stay there waiting for you to come up for the shot.

I hunt with a fella from B.C. and his dogs all run big,further than I like,but when they make good scent they lock up like statues.We have walked up over 200 yards to shoot pheasant that his dogs have pointed!

Myself,I worked with my dogs in the feild and would whistle them up when they exceeded the distance I was comfortable with.It takes time but you can bring her in and she'll learn that's where she should be.

[grandmapatty]

Well, I raised some springer spaniels as a matter of fact alot of them. I had them when they were puppies and started them really early and the first thing they learned was no, and then to come, stop, and go ahead ( and hunt ). These dogs were flushers so I trained them to stay a around twenty yards, and this was accomplished with a rope and a whistle. I have to know did you get this dog as a pup or as a one year old and he has alot of things to unlearn. Is he a he or a she I could not remember.
I used a whistle for training them on commands and also hand signals. They were a great bunch of flushing and hunting dogs. They were also great pets and basically one family dogs, and loved to hunt.
Later on I went to Purina Dog Chow in Washington, Missouri, and picked up a four month old English Setter and I named him Mississippi Zeb, and he was easy to train to hunt birds, but I first had to get him some confidence because at Purina they just shoved the food in and then use him like a guinea pig for amount digested ect. But for fifty dollars I got a pure english setter, orange and white and super looking. He was a he and the springers taught him how to swim and he loved water so he made a great pheasant dog in the swamps and muck, not only field hunting. The only problem was like you said he like to roam and when he locked up he was steady and frozen until we found him. So we got a bell for him, and later on a collar that let us know where he was. When we blew the whistle four times he knew to come back, only if he did not have a covy or pheasant pinned. We knew when it was a pheasant unless it was winter and a heavy snow and wind, and then the birds found a hole and stayed there.
Just teach your dog the basic's and do not discourage him to hunt. He is your buddy. If you need to use the collar to shock him try not to let him know it is you doing it. There are alot of books on it so I not professional, and you may want to get him finished after you start him.
Try hunting him with some seasoned bird dogs, and make sure they are you friends dogs, so when your dog kind of messes up they will not get mad. You can put him on a long leash and when the other dogs point, then you can lead him up to them and then have him honor their point and then set him in a good point and talk to him. You can also do this without hunting, just get a few dead bird frozen, some scent, and place them out in a field where you know they are, and put you dog on a long leash and then he gets birdy, start talking to him, and if he point, great and then set him like you want him. Praise him !!!!!!!!
Then you can get some live birds and plant them in containers that will open up and let them fly. You can also shoot them, and have your dog fetch them. Training a dog to fetch is super fun, with a rope and a ball, or some kind of training device with bird smell on it. When they are puppies it is best to start training them, but you can train them with a rope or just have a snack for them. But you want them to love to please you and not always have a snack, just you praising them and they love it. Well, hope than helped out. You can also weight the birds that flush down with some weight so they do not fly to far and go and point them again. I have also used pigeons to do that also. Hunt safe ........grandma Patty

[Top Dawg]

Whiskey is a she... I have always praised her big time when ever she has pushed up a bird even if it was a sparow.. LOL I appriciate all the great advice folks.. wish me luck.. I might start her on a whistle see if that helps since she is farther than my yelling... I need too get a book or something too teach me how too get her too freeze on scent as rite now she is charging in there like a mad man.... She did push up a phesant the other night but yes I want her too settle a bit and point.... Thanks again ..

[lonewolf]

:-) hey there top dawg I have three brits one is just a year and she is stubborn where as the male and female parents are 3yrs and the mother has takin alot of time but the whistle seems to work the best in my opinion. it's all in the bloodlines if they were a show dog it could take awhile to get her huntin whereas if they hunting lines it should'nt take too long. All of mine have come from hunting lines and they still need more time. A little everyday in the field practicing to get them to do what you want not what they want in time she will come around and will get you the birds that you want until then patience and practise... lots of luck