Search found 305 matches

by whoadog
Thu Feb 18, 2016 2:52 am
Forum: Training
Topic: Training time line
Replies: 14
Views: 7648

Re: Training time line

I always cringe when I see a post asking for timelines. Every dog is different and my own personal opinion is that we are constantly training our dogs, whether we know it or not, from the time we bring them home and some one else is training them before that. The dvds are good suggestions. Being abl...
by whoadog
Thu Feb 18, 2016 2:43 am
Forum: Training
Topic: A very sad day and need help
Replies: 21
Views: 10558

Re: A very sad day and need help

I am thinking of just letting him hit the scent cone and chase the first one and then let it be for the day. I will do it early when we go out and let him look around for quite awhile longer. If things fall right I will follow this up the next day and see how he reacts to gun fire once he is chasin...
by whoadog
Thu Feb 11, 2016 2:50 am
Forum: Training
Topic: TRAINING FOR DOVE RETRIEVING AND QUAIL POINTING
Replies: 5
Views: 3026

Re: TRAINING FOR DOVE RETRIEVING AND QUAIL POINTING

I'd hold off on the doves until the dog is retrieving other birds with enthusiasm. Doves have such loose, fine feathers. It can turn a Young dog off to retrieving.
by whoadog
Wed Feb 10, 2016 4:39 am
Forum: Training
Topic: New Brittany on its way
Replies: 23
Views: 10425

Re: New Brittany on its way

What's your experience level?
by whoadog
Wed Feb 10, 2016 4:38 am
Forum: Training
Topic: A very sad day and need help
Replies: 21
Views: 10558

Re: A very sad day and need help

You guys have hit on something I have tried to tell people for years about noise. I don't think dogs are scared of noise per se but are scared of what happens after hearing it. Fireworks produce vibrations they don't understand much like thunder. If a loud noise means birds or even that they are in...
by whoadog
Wed Jan 20, 2016 3:24 am
Forum: Training
Topic: PLEASE WATCH! Cont. w/video - Shy Dog and Pigeons
Replies: 20
Views: 7942

Re: PLEASE WATCH! Cont. w/video - Shy Dog and Pigeons

what I see when I watch your video is a pup that is sight-pointing a live bird. Someone else said he is "confused" and I agree. He is not certain how to handle a bird that may fly off (as the last one did).
by whoadog
Sun Jan 10, 2016 3:09 am
Forum: Training
Topic: big running Brittany Novice trainer/ owner needs suggestions
Replies: 36
Views: 20323

Re: big running Brittany Novice trainer/ owner needs suggestions

I would guess that many people wouldn't call 100 to 200 yds range a big runner. Everyone has a different interpetation of range. One of mine will run 800 yds if allowed. Was out of my comfort zone when out of sight. I got an alpha. Much more at ease knowing the direction and distance. It signals yo...
by whoadog
Sat Jan 09, 2016 3:32 am
Forum: Training
Topic: big running Brittany Novice trainer/ owner needs suggestions
Replies: 36
Views: 20323

Re: big running Brittany Novice trainer/ owner needs suggestions

100 to 200 yards out is considered close hunting by some. Put a bell on him so you can track his movements or, better yet, get a tracking collar. There are also ecollars with tone that can be used to locate dogs that are out of sight.
by whoadog
Sat Dec 19, 2015 12:56 am
Forum: Training
Topic: Amateur trainer help
Replies: 5
Views: 3336

Re: Amateur trainer help

They mature very slowly, and don't forget, or forgive, who done what? Lol x2. But they do love their people. I have a four year old that I enjoy more than any bird dog I have ever owned even though I have had other dogs that were more effective in the field. I would also add that they can be very s...
by whoadog
Thu Dec 17, 2015 5:22 am
Forum: Training
Topic: Labrador training
Replies: 20
Views: 7864

Re: Labrador training

Running forth at waters edge is a water avoidance problem and is cured with water force in all good retriever programs. Probably so, but the op doesn't say there is anything in the water for him to retrieve. My visla absolutely loves playing in the water. She will run in the edge splashing water up...
by whoadog
Mon Dec 14, 2015 11:39 pm
Forum: Training
Topic: Labrador training
Replies: 20
Views: 7864

Re: Labrador training

Is your e-collar functioning properly? If he knows the command at home, you should be able to transition fairly easily in the field with a "reminder" from the collar. Have you checked your dogs ears? I had a lab with eye problems and that did not show up in the yard but was noticeable on long marks ...
by whoadog
Sat Dec 12, 2015 3:20 am
Forum: Training
Topic: 10 week setter , what should I be doing
Replies: 12
Views: 5732

Re: 10 week setter , what should I be doing

Any words you use for commands are your choice. Just make certain you use the same commands consistently.
by whoadog
Fri Dec 11, 2015 1:06 am
Forum: Training
Topic: 10 week setter , what should I be doing
Replies: 12
Views: 5732

Re: 10 week setter , what should I be doing

Tread lightly. Rule of thumb for me is one minute of training time for every month of age up to 10 months. IMO, a 30 minute walk forcing a 12 week old pup to heel properly is just too much. Better to let him out in an enclosed area to do his business/run off energy, again, my opinion. I like using g...
by whoadog
Mon Jun 09, 2014 1:47 am
Forum: Training
Topic: General dog training questions
Replies: 22
Views: 7951

Re: General dog training questions

Evan has done a good job but there are others that do to. And there have been many good dogs trained without any program. This is a good recommendation but not the only way to go. Make up your own mind how you want to do progress. Thank you so much for saying that and the other about dogs turning o...
by whoadog
Tue Apr 29, 2014 1:06 am
Forum: Training
Topic: Pigeons
Replies: 4
Views: 2000

Re: Pigeons

I have an fishing dip net attached to the end of an 12' extendable paint roller pole. There is a local car wash I use where the pigeons roost in the bays. I go in at night, pull down the doors and catch them with the dip net.
by whoadog
Thu Apr 24, 2014 3:04 am
Forum: Training
Topic: Dog is messing with me - water retrieves
Replies: 22
Views: 9332

Re: Dog is messing with me - water retrieves

Yielded second in a google search from: http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/germanwirehairedpointer.htm "Some lines are prone to hip dysplasia, ear infections, genetic eye diseases and skin cancers." The first result is from a pet health insurance site that references eye problems including entropion, ectro...
by whoadog
Thu Apr 24, 2014 2:48 am
Forum: Training
Topic: Dog is messing with me - water retrieves
Replies: 22
Views: 9332

Re: Dog is messing with me - water retrieves

Ok, I know I am late to the party but no one has pointed out what to me is a rather obvious question? Have you had the dog's eyes checked by your vet? Throws into water are typically made against the blue sky with little for bumper to contrast against. It is more difficult to see than against a back...
by whoadog
Sat Apr 12, 2014 6:02 am
Forum: Training
Topic: Not facing the bird on point
Replies: 23
Views: 7924

Re: Not facing the bird on point

What is the experience level of the dog, most learn to point their nose where they think the bird is, and will move their head but not their feet if the birds move, and some never do. I have seen them raise their head if the bird moves away. Ah, memories. I have not thought of this particualar dog ...
by whoadog
Wed Apr 09, 2014 1:38 am
Forum: Training
Topic: disobeying and reinforcement
Replies: 15
Views: 6021

Re: disobeying and reinforcement

You can't just take the check cord off and put the collar on and expect the same response. I surprised that more people don't see the cc and collar as the same thing and put them on at the same time. From the first session, my pups are wearing both an e-collar(turned off) and a cc. It just makes mo...
by whoadog
Tue Apr 08, 2014 12:35 am
Forum: Training
Topic: disobeying and reinforcement
Replies: 15
Views: 6021

Re: disobeying and reinforcement

Is the collar actually functioning properly?
by whoadog
Tue Mar 25, 2014 7:32 pm
Forum: Training
Topic: pup attention span
Replies: 10
Views: 4849

Re: pup attention span

Formal training sessions are best kept short. My rule of thumb is one minute for each month of age up to 10 months. 10 minutes is the longest formal training session I run. Walking your dog in the field is not a formal training session and trying to mix the two, imo, will yield mixed results. Comman...
by whoadog
Thu Mar 13, 2014 8:42 pm
Forum: Training
Topic: Pigeon traps
Replies: 11
Views: 6622

Re: Pigeon traps

Whoadog My trapping has been at parks and market parking lots where the birds are pretty much resident and you get the same birds. Roof trapping may be different and maybe you get more transient birds. I can usually go to a place I hadn't trapped at before and get a few birds in 10 minutes if they ...
by whoadog
Wed Mar 12, 2014 11:10 pm
Forum: Training
Topic: What is trash breaking?
Replies: 13
Views: 6168

Re: What is trash breaking?

This thread reminds me of my first experience with an ecollar. I put my brand new collar on a Brit that had never once run trash. Within five minutes he found and was sprayed by a skunk. I did not need "high stimulis" to convince him to leave skunks alone from then on but I never did get all the sti...
by whoadog
Wed Mar 12, 2014 11:06 pm
Forum: Training
Topic: Pigeon traps
Replies: 11
Views: 6622

Re: Pigeon traps

A particular trap isn't going to be your issue. Pigeons get wise after being trapped. Hmm, that's not been my experience. I had one roof that I trapped on for quite some time and average 7 pigeons a week for over a year. I finally caught so many of them (and killed them) that they were just gone fr...
by whoadog
Wed Feb 26, 2014 10:27 pm
Forum: Training
Topic: training older dogs
Replies: 25
Views: 11054

Re: training older dogs

Walker, I am still curious: Why this dog? What is it about him that makes you want to take on such a serious fault and difficult re-training? In my opinion, "cowering" at the sound of a gunshot is as difficult a problem to face and cure as there is in dog training. Is there something else extraordin...
by whoadog
Mon Feb 24, 2014 11:56 pm
Forum: Training
Topic: training older dogs
Replies: 25
Views: 11054

Re: training older dogs

Reintroduction of gunfire is a specialty of mine. I know there will be a number of responses on the gunshy question that will be all about shooting when the dog is on birds. I can tell you from experience that no method is 100% effective but the least effective, IMHO, is just shooting in the presenc...
by whoadog
Mon Feb 24, 2014 11:49 pm
Forum: Training
Topic: natural retrieve
Replies: 31
Views: 13764

Re: natural retrieve

Good enough answer to suit me. Thanks Evan.
by whoadog
Mon Feb 24, 2014 4:39 pm
Forum: Training
Topic: natural retrieve
Replies: 31
Views: 13764

Re: natural retrieve

To the OP, I use an "alley" for pups such as yours. I intenionally built my kennels with a 4' walk-way between them and the fence of my fenced training area. One end of the alley is blocked. I sit in the open end and toss whatever the dog happens to like to chase down the alley. He goes and gets it ...
by whoadog
Thu Feb 20, 2014 1:43 am
Forum: Training
Topic: Wild birds vs pen raised
Replies: 37
Views: 11428

Re: Wild birds vs pen raised

The short answer, in my opinion, is "no". But, you may have started a whole new discussion about ground trailing birds versus hunting only air-borne scent. Why do you want your dog to ground trail?
by whoadog
Thu Feb 06, 2014 8:57 pm
Forum: Training
Topic: Rescue a dog, will it hunt?
Replies: 12
Views: 5906

Re: Rescue a dog, will it hunt?

I've done some rescue work with bird dogs too. Once in a while you find a real diamond in the rough. Most often, however, the dog is in need of rescue because it did not work out as a hunting dog with the previous owner. The most common problem I have seen with rescues is gunshy. Are you able to con...
by whoadog
Wed Feb 05, 2014 8:34 pm
Forum: Training
Topic: Launchers
Replies: 10
Views: 2793

Re: Launchers

In forty plus years of hunting I have never run into a pigeon in a plum thicket. I have, however, had whole flocks of starlings on the ground in front of me. I don't know if it would be a problem, I'm just saying...
by whoadog
Wed Jan 29, 2014 1:47 am
Forum: Training
Topic: something new.....
Replies: 24
Views: 6875

Re: something new.....

You do know by "pick him up" I just mean stop the game and go back right? Just put out one launcher then. Only one bird, if leashing him and finishing is too much pressure. Yes, I know what picking him up means and I am only using one launcher at this point. So the dog is ripping birds and taking t...
by whoadog
Tue Jan 28, 2014 11:02 pm
Forum: Training
Topic: something new.....
Replies: 24
Views: 6875

Re: something new.....

So if you didn't pop the bird the dog just continues on in and grabs the launcher? He is ripping the bird? He rips the wild ones as well? I think he would continue to the launcher if I did not pop the bird. He has never grabbed the launcher because the bird has always been long gone before he got t...
by whoadog
Tue Jan 28, 2014 8:11 pm
Forum: Training
Topic: something new.....
Replies: 24
Views: 6875

Re: something new.....

ctually have an issue? What does he do on wild birds? Does he take out the first bird and get solid for the rest of the hunt or does he point them solid? There is no real issue in my book. Like a said in the beginning, it's more of a back fence discussion. If I plant the first bird of the day in a ...
by whoadog
Tue Jan 28, 2014 4:55 pm
Forum: Training
Topic: something new.....
Replies: 24
Views: 6875

Re: something new.....

Why does he get an opportunity to crowd? He doesn't. As soon as he makes solid scent and does not stop, the bird gets popped. But, the only time he does not stop is on that first bird that is placed in a new spot. Sometimes this happens from wing on a string or other sight pointing training as a pu...
by whoadog
Tue Jan 28, 2014 12:36 am
Forum: Training
Topic: Four questions for training your first dog
Replies: 10
Views: 5613

Re: Four questions for training your first dog

I just looked at this again and thought, "whoa, probably out to move it back up the list". Hobbling a pigeon that way is a great way to teach your young pointing dog that they can catch a live bird. It's just my opinion but I would never put a live bird out that my pointing dogs could catch so easil...
by whoadog
Tue Jan 28, 2014 12:29 am
Forum: Training
Topic: something new.....
Replies: 24
Views: 6875

something new.....

This is not a request for advice, but more of a back fence discussion starter. So, I'm working with an 18 month old English Setter for a client and I've run across a behavior I have never noticed in another dog. I am using a couple of pigeon launchers to staunch him up a bit. If I place the first la...
by whoadog
Tue Jan 28, 2014 12:15 am
Forum: Training
Topic: Practice Pointing without Live Birds?
Replies: 16
Views: 11070

Re: Practice Pointing without Live Birds?

Oh no no no no, I'm not bitin' on this one! :D
by whoadog
Fri Jan 24, 2014 11:10 pm
Forum: Training
Topic: New Pup and Cold Weather
Replies: 5
Views: 2446

Re: New Pup and Cold Weather

The pros go to Florida or Texas :D 13 weeks, that's 3 months. In November he'll still be about a year old which is still very young. There is no big rush here. Work basic obedience a few minutes a day in your backyard. Nothing heavy or heavy handed. If you have him recalling reliably in April you wi...
by whoadog
Thu Jan 23, 2014 11:57 pm
Forum: Training
Topic: Teaching sit and lay in 10 minutes?
Replies: 3
Views: 1768

Re: Teaching sit and lay in 10 minutes?

Howdy everyone just a quick question, is it normal to be able to teach a pup not one but both of my litter mates to sit and lay in less then ten minutes I mean I say sit and they sit with out me having to touch them and I say lay and put my fist on the ground and they lay is that normal? Congratula...
by whoadog
Mon Jan 20, 2014 9:16 pm
Forum: Training
Topic: Need a little advice
Replies: 3
Views: 2469

Re: Need a little advice

t advice I would give you is to decide EXACTLY what you want the dog for (hunt tests, field trials, hunting, etc.) and find a breeder that produces that kind of puppy. Great advice! I wish I had started with labs 30 years ago instead of pointing dogs. The waterfowl hunting in my neck of the woods i...
by whoadog
Wed Jan 15, 2014 11:46 pm
Forum: Training
Topic: Pointing
Replies: 8
Views: 3519

Re: Pointing

People that use a cc to stop and or hold the dog are not doing anything that a wild bird would do I agree with that. But, I also think that occasionally "helping" a dog to stay put speeds the process a little, sometimes a lot. The only time I actually hold a dog is when the bird in the launcher is ...
by whoadog
Wed Jan 15, 2014 3:07 am
Forum: Training
Topic: Pointing
Replies: 8
Views: 3519

Re: Pointing

Ok, maybe I should try to contribute constructively. Have you introduced whoa yet? Run the crap out of the pup on either very strong flying birds or wild ones. Let him chase until he can't run anymore. Then run the drill that Murph has outlined. I would add one minor alteration to it. I'd have the l...
by whoadog
Wed Jan 15, 2014 2:47 am
Forum: Training
Topic: Pointing
Replies: 8
Views: 3519

Re: Pointing

madmurph wrote: Did you do a lot of the wing on a string when he was a pup?
RichK wrote:I didn't do any wing on a string when he was a pup.
This makes me laugh! Maybe you should have tried the wing on a string!! :D :D
by whoadog
Mon Jan 13, 2014 12:17 pm
Forum: Training
Topic: pointer
Replies: 8
Views: 2635

Re: pointer

campgsp wrote:Might want to use a checkchord to have control of the dog.
x2
by whoadog
Mon Jan 13, 2014 12:14 pm
Forum: Training
Topic: Four questions for training your first dog
Replies: 10
Views: 5613

Re: Four questions for training your first dog

Books have been written on these four questions, but, in a paragraph or two: What are the biggest mistakes novices make or you have made? I grew up around hounds. I tried to train my first bird dog, a Brittany, the same way we started my dad's dogs. It was an epic failure. So, I started studying dif...
by whoadog
Sat Jan 11, 2014 7:56 pm
Forum: Training
Topic: Basic Obedience Help
Replies: 18
Views: 7288

Re: Basic Obedience Help

Are you using tone or vibration for the page? I am also trying to understand what you are actually doing, are you calling her without the page, as you said, or are you paging her without calling. As for the first time with a live collar, you are asking your dog to adjust to a lot in a very short tim...
by whoadog
Sun Jan 05, 2014 6:41 pm
Forum: Training
Topic: Read the dog in front of you.
Replies: 2
Views: 1521

Re: Read the dog in front of you.

The way you mention "programs" dates you a bit my friend. I laugh a little myself when I read modern sequential training programs being put forward as a "new idea". I used to call it "yard work" or "building a foundation" back in the day. Certainly we have improved the process in a number of ways, e...
by whoadog
Mon Dec 30, 2013 11:03 pm
Forum: Training
Topic: 8 Month Old - Potty Issue
Replies: 15
Views: 5198

Re: 8 Month Old - Potty Issue

Couple of things on messing in the crate and not in bed. It could be as Sharon says, he is more nervous in the crate than close to you and he can't hold it as long. He was in the crate almost 8 hours. Do you have a mat or a crate pad? The increased padding in your bed may have made it easier for him...
by whoadog
Mon Dec 30, 2013 6:08 pm
Forum: Training
Topic: Puppy Wont Point
Replies: 67
Views: 18199

Re: Puppy Wont Point

So you really believe that Wolters was an "EXPERT" on anything that had anything to do with pointing dogs. Yes, he was an expert in profiting from books on pointing dogs. When it comes to what he actually knew, I am more like you when it comes to your knowledge of me, never met the guy. Whoadog, I ...