Gun Dog Forum

birddogger2

Best way, bar none... is to have the dog in a 6 ft high, 9 ga. chain link wire kennel with a concrete floor. If the dog is a climber, put a top on the kennel.

Never seen a dog able to chew through 9 ga. wire or dig through 4 inches of concrete.

RayG

birddogger2

My dogs usually learn to go under it. I would never want them jumping it. A lot of the places I hunt that has it, they have changed out the bottom barbed wire with a wire with no barbs, I think for the antelope to go under. If my dogs are at the fence the same time I am I put the bottom wire to the...

birddogger2

I would do a lot more training on stop to flush with pigeons, both thrown and launcher. Get a very good "whoa" and don't be afraid to use if he moves at the flush. Be very careful with setting the dog back and don't get angry at the dog. Don't pick the dog up by the collar and tail. Let him keep hi...

birddogger2

Jon - I think the question on most folk's minds here on the subject of dove hunting is: How is YOUR dove season going? I read where your season started Sept 1. With all the bandwidth you dedicated to dove hunting over the last month or two, I, and I am sure others are wondering... Did you get out? T...

birddogger2

northwoods hunter - To answer your question about your dog trying to catch quail by chasing, I believe the answer is, simply...because he thinks he might be able to. You have been given excellent advice already. You need to understand that your dog KNOWS what it is supposed to do. It is up to you to...

birddogger2

This discussion of "flushing" brings back a great memory...and a reminder (to myself) never to hold back on asking "how". A friend of my Dad's had a really nice shorthair that he had taught to execute a maneuver, on command. The dog would be on point, locked up. The owner would get into the best pos...

birddogger2

I have never seen a dog injured with a properly used choke chain. I have with a prong collar. On John Hann's " perfect start" DVD he starts all dogs on a choke chain. Big,small.tough or timid The choke chain will work and you will have a confidant happy dog. The ecollar will likely make this dog wo...

birddogger2

Just a quick point, based on another poster's advice. I personally would not recommend using a traditional metal choker collar. Especially not someone who is trying to learn their way forward. A pinch or prong collar is MUCH safer to work with. You can get the correction across to the dog with consi...

birddogger2

Shags nailed it an so did Gonehuntin. Brittanys do tend to be soft and do not usually need heavy duty corrections. However, Brittanys also tend to be kinda smart and they will work you over in a heartbeat. There is nothing heavy duty about a prong collar or a wonder lead, or an e-collar when used co...

birddogger2

In your situation, I would jump all over this. You have a dog that you can hunt...today...right now. That means you can take your sweet time with your puppy. Soooo, there is no pressure on YOU to get the training right the first time and there is no pressure on the dog to grow up too quickly. With a...

birddogger2

I have a 2 year male GSP. He does everything correct, except he has a hard mouth. Most times when retrieving he is crushing the bird. I have used low level stimulation when I see him crushing the bird but I’m nervous if I turn it up enough to stop the problem, it will cause more damage than good. A...

birddogger2

As posted above, different conditions call for different clothing. If you are walking through briars and such, nothing beats a pair of uninsulated cordura bibs. I have a set of Wick bibs that will withstand just about anything nature can throw in my path. You can even spray them to repel moisture an...

birddogger2

I don't mean to answer for Shags, but I think an "easy flush" is a low energy flush...just kinda shaking the foliage and lifting with the toe of your boot...as opposed to stomping around, kicking with gusto, making lots of commotion, noise and having debris flying about. If you are by yourself, try ...

birddogger2

First things first... If your dog is charging in after the planted bird...it may not ready for prime time, IMO. Before my dogs see a planted bird they are pretty rock solid in the yard. If it were me, I would set the dog up in the field, whoa it and style it up and then go out front, simulate a flus...

birddogger2

Tuckerterra - Your dog is NOT completely normal. If she is doing the things you say she is...at 2 years of age...she is special. Believe it. You got a keeper there. Keep doing what you are doing and the birds should teach your girl most of what else she needs to know. If you have ANY questions... AS...

birddogger2

I don't teach my dogs to "turn off stim", per se. I also do not bump the stim level up just one level if the dog does not instantly respond to the first, low level stim. I turn the dial up 2 or 3 levels. I want the dog to clearly understand that its failure to comply had serious consequences. It is ...

birddogger2

A 2 year old bird dog that LISTENS and RESPONDS??? Boy - you don't know how lucky you are! You have a gem there fella. You must have done some things right when bringing this dog along, because it likes you and wants to be with you. That is awesome. Bird dogs are designed to cover ground. My pointer...

birddogger2

Parkite - I just scanned your responses to the various members of the board and a thought came to mind regarding your intended use for the dog. I do not hunt that kind of terrain and in fact never did...BUT, I can say that if you are going to hunt rocky, shaley terrain, you will need a good pair of ...

birddogger2

speaks - First thing is to say NOTHING. Do all of this silently. If the dog shows a tendency to crowd birds, you can either use remote release traps... or you can have a 20 ft. or so, checkcord on the pup. As the pup approaches the cage, you can stop it with a pop of the cord. If the dog persists in...

birddogger2

Speaks - If you have the ability to put something on the grounds you are training on, you could build a plastic barrel based callback unit or even two. These units are capable of holding about a dozen quail(max). There are plans online that I saw and a number of years ago Gundog magazine had an arti...

birddogger2

There was a deal made to breed in English setter. It was all done with everyone knowing. They had to wait for 4 generations before they could register them in fdsb. There was a reciprocal agreement with akc for a short period if time. The breed club put a stop to it when the new red setters started...

birddogger2

FYI. I don't think the OP is looking for an Irish Setter pup any longer. I agree, BUT, if anyone checking this thread is truly interested in an Irish setter that can do it all, the Paul Ober would be one person you should talk to. DonF did the right thing by passing on this information to anyone wh...

birddogger2

Parkite - There is a certain minimum, below which it simply does not make asense to breed a bird dog...or any dog for that matter. I would say that in this day and age, $400 -500 is the absolute rock bottom of the range for planned breedings of quality bird dogs...regardless of the breed. As far as ...

birddogger2

For pointing dog training the two I recommend that new folks read are: Training Pointing Dogs by Paul Long and Training with Mo, by Martha Greenlee Paul Long's book is dated but it gives a logical training progression and emphasizes yardwork basics as the foundation for everything that comes after. ...

birddogger2

yep - Sounds like a round of metronidazole and amoxicillin is in your dog's future. Probably giardia, which isn't a huge deal, but you need to knock it out and the sooner you do it, the better. It could also be something more nasty than giardia, so don't screw around. Get thee to the vet. RayG

birddogger2

Mine ride in the bed of the truck, in plastic crates, under a camper cap, unless I am going to a field trial. Then they ride in crates in the dressing room of the horse trailer. Both the camper cap and trailer have windows for ventilation. I bought battery operated fans some years ago but never actu...

birddogger2

RayG….. do you attach any weight to the harness or just let yourself be the resistance for the dog to pull? I just saw this question. sorry about that. When I was younger, I attached the dog's harness via a rope to a weightlifters belt that I was wearing and let the dog pull against me. Now that I ...

birddogger2

There are much more knowledgeable folks on here as far as retriever training is concern, but the first thing I would do, if it were my dog, is to completely back off the live bird or even frozen bird training. You are giving the dog the dog the opportunity to mess up with live birds. Not a good plan...

birddogger2

I'm thinking of giving my new pup the Lyme vaccine but a lot of articles say there are some bad side effects,who gives it and who says they will not give it.Lots of ticks where I live and my older female came down with Lyme.I use Frontline Plus also the dogs where on Sersesto when she came down wit...

birddogger2

I am looking for suggestions on a roading harness for a 35 lb Brittany. Will be running off a quad and doing 1/2 to 1 hr runs Out of curiosity.... why do you (and other's) keep your dog's harnessed to a quad? I run my Brittany a couple fast miles off my quad every day and he stays right with me, or...

birddogger2

Another thing I've been thinking about, just from a devil's advocate perspective. What if my dog just enjoys chasing birds? Is there a scenario in here where launching the bird doesn't make him start pointing/staunching him up because he just likes chasing? Maybe I'm just overthinking this. Yes the...

birddogger2

Well I got the pup and after spending only 3 days with her i'm very impressed and surprised at the amount of intelligence she has shown in the short time that we have spent together. I'm pretty confident that i can get this dog to hunt. thanks for the input. Do me a favor, if you would please. When...

birddogger2

RG proves my point. If you do testing and kill off the dogs that have genetic issues so they can't run before their second birthday you won't see much dysplasia. But the dogs that can run and their parents, who produced the dogs with genetic issues are reproducing, does that help the problem? Still...

birddogger2

"He once posted "you can get rid of bad bites in three generations"." I do not recall ever making such a statement. Maybe that is "fake news". I call BS. Dysplasia is NOT at all common in FDSB pointers. I have had pointers for nearly 60 years and been involved with competitive pointers for nearly fo...

birddogger2

Steve - You might be right about some of this. However, I do maintain that when you focus on breed improvement in specific areas, such as coat color, you do so at the "expense" of other genetic contributors, whether you like it or not. We cannot isolate the perfect genotype to reproduce it. If a dog...

birddogger2

Hunted or not, it is a rare Lab that does not have a strong desire to retrieve and an affinity for water. It is a rare GSP that does not have a pointing instinct and desire to run/search when turned loose. Now there are alot of Labs which suffer from poor conformation and health problems. Opportuni...

birddogger2

If you develop and train the dog it is highly likely it will hunt. Whether it points or flushes remains to be seen, but if you are open to either outcome, I say give it your best shot and predict you both will be very happy you did. I have a soft spot for giving every puppy/dog a shot at making goo...

birddogger2

Pet insurance is like auto repair insurance or appliance repair insurance. Some policies are better than others, some have higher or lower deductibles, some have stipulated amounts for procedures, etc. One thing is for absolute certain...the pet insurance company is offering a product with the expec...

birddogger2

I agree everyone should enjoy the dog of their choice and I will not hunt birds without one. It can be done , But it is not very productive if you are on the move . Oh yea, I started hunting birds when I was young (with young legs), before I was exposed to hunting birds with bird dogs. I would walk...

birddogger2

I agree everyone should enjoy the dog of their choice and I will not hunt birds without one. It can be done , But it is not very productive if you are on the move . In a hide or pre-set stand where birds are driven or encouraged is Not "Hunting" ..That is Shooting . I digress , to the OP "Flushing ...

birddogger2

I say first of all...hunt with what you have. If you have a retriever and want to hunt in the uplands with it... you will probably do better than if you went out without the dog...no matter which way the dog handles its game. If you have a beagle and want to hunt upland birds with it... again, you w...

birddogger2

I have been using Sportsman's Pride 26/18 for several years now. It comes in 50# bags. Dogs do very well on it. FWIW, Purina Pro Plan Performance 30/20 is the gold standard in dogfood for competitive performance dogs. comparing most dogfoods, including the one I use, to PPP is like comparing regular...

birddogger2

I think Mr. Bailey owes the retriever lady an apology.

There are a couple of truisms that come to mind regarding the OP.

You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make them drink.

AND

You can't fix stupid.

RayG

PS -

Thank you Polmaise. Great quote. I believe I'll borrow it.

RayG

birddogger2

Bill - That was VERY interesting. That dog is a machine... full of energy, but still responsive. VERY nice. I have to say that those gunners were pretty special too. That was some tough going and not the easiest shooting. They seemed to be always right where they needed to be, and in that cover, tha...

birddogger2

Just remembered...

Contact info for:

GSP OF CENTRAL VIRGINIA
Mary Durham
412 Good Hope Church Rd.
Aroda, VA 22709-0949
540-718-4810
quailpoint1@gmail.com

Mary Durham is one of the finest folks I know. She will help you if she can.

Ray Gubernat

birddogger2

It might be a good idea to keep some records of your hunting when you start. Being a biologist by training, I've been keeping a hunting diary for about 40 years now. Where I hunted, birds flushed, birds shot, dog used, general habitat conditions, etc. It has been helpful for end of year reports to ...

birddogger2

Hi and welcome - Like Sharon, I am not familiar with the SW VA area. However, there are two NAVHDA chapters in VA. These organizations are focused on helping hunting dog owners train their own dogs. Might just be a good fit for both you and your wife. I noted one chapter(Chesapeake) had a contact na...

birddogger2

Personally I have a hard time paying $100 for a piece of molded plastic. The raw materials for any of those kennels cost about a buck, perhaps two... when purchased in quantity. Building the molds, setting up the production facility, distribution facilities and advertising costs money, especially fo...

birddogger2

Is your first priority a different hunting dog or do you want to compete in coverdog trials? By that I mean, there is no reason the other breeds you mentioned couldn't compete, just that they don't have the volume or track record in those venues. As a hunting dog, I doubt you'll find that one is fa...

birddogger2

Birddogger2- I was thinking of getting another coverdog need aetter like you think, I just want to look st all options and look into things like Brittany’s and gsps even being able to run in them or not and what other people think and what they use and how the other breeds typically hunt and act an...

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