Gun Dog Forum

I went hunting today for the opener and did pretty good. Shot 10 birds but lost 2. I didn't take my dog because I'm not sure if she is ready. If I do take her what is the worst thing that can happen as far as her being turned off of birds? She has been around live pigeons and has had them flap her s...

Good luck tomorrow! I'm going with a buddy but have to leave the dog at home. She's just not ready yet and I don't want her to pick up bad habits. I'd be happy to share my training property with you. I have 12.5 acres of field with homing pigeons in Leona Valley. Let me know when you would be able t...

you might also try the buddy stick. i learned about it in my george hickox video and i'm currently using it to train my dog. you get a 6' piece of pvc pipe 3/4 or 1" and put a cap on it. i then drilled a small hole in the middle and screwed an eye bolt in and put a clip on the end. you latch it onto...

ok i haven't been able to work with her again but i anticipate i will work with her tomorrow. my question is with teaching whoa. what are the best ways to do it? with birds or just in the yard first?

My 1 1/2 year old GSP has had a runny nose for as long as I can remember. I took her to the vet at the beginning of summer and he gave me some allergy medicine for her. It stops when I give it to her but if I miss a day then it will run again. No infection in her nose and it comes out of both nostri...

Ok. thanks for the help. I'm sure i'll have more questions after our next training session

As far as tethering the pigeon so you can get it back is fine. However, I would keep a CC on the dog and let him chase but only to the end of the CC. Otherwise, he will end up catching the pigeon, which is what you want to avoid. Charlie That was my plan. how do i tie the bird? around both feet or ...

I'm planning on doing that this weekend. The pigeons I got are homing pigeons but they'll fly back to the guys house who owned them before if I let them go now. Hickox uses a piece of pvc pipe with a kite string attached to the bird so they'll flush but i can get them back. would that work for now? ...

ok so i got some pigeons today and brought them home. I locked the wings as instructed in George Hickox's video and let my dog come into contact with the bird. It was a shock to see Rubi, who usually brings me dry leaves when I walk outside without puncturing them, try to pluck the bird and remove i...

GSPRubi you have gotten some good tips here but I will add one more, go at the pace your dog sets. If you feel it is taking her some time to pick up a new command, slow down, and mix training sessions with fun time. This will keep her interested in trainging and keep her looking forward to them asw...

Thank you for all the help. I look forward to putting these tips to work starting this weekend and I will definitely be back here with updates. Happy Hunting!

Thanks for all the help. Another quick question though, how do I get her to pay more attention to me in the field? It seems that as soon as she is out of the kennel it's hard to get her to focus on me. Does training in the field help this? Or are there other approaches at home?

When do you use heel? I think it's a good command to have and there are situations where it could be good in everyday life but what about hunting? Also, can I be working with her on birds and different things in the field and then work with her on heel in the yard? Or should I stick to one command a...

I have a pinch collar but have been just a short rope with a slip around her neck. I'll start on the pinch collar and hopefully that gets her attention a little more. This seems to be taking the longest out of all the other training she's had.

She points birds and will hold point until I walk in front of her then she runs in which is something that can be corrected. Those are just birds in our yard however, she has not gotten into any birds in the field. I have done yard obedience training and she comes when called. She is e-collar condit...

Hey, I have a year old German Shorthair that I'm just starting to train. I would have liked to start earlier but I am just now getting the necessary resources together to train her right. I bought an E-collar and the George Hickox pointer training videos. I have homing pigeons and property to work o...