Gun Dog Forum

I am in favor of a broke dog as it allows me to control the situation (most of the time). I miss enough birds that a broke dog saves a lot of energy by not chasing birds (funny, laugh). Also, if you ever want to guide or teach a youngster, I think it is essential for the safety of the dog (or at lea...

Is that an ace x hemi pup? I thought John may have switched over to Wild Flush nomenclature. I have a deposit on a Henry x Lil Peaches Di breeding. Good luck with the pup.

Dave,

Thanks for the response. I am not going to run unless his master hunter is finished, at which point I am hoping I have solved any lingering demons.

I almost cringe at asking for people's opinion regarding field trials on this forum, however I'll give it a shot (luckily I am not concerned about dog food or breeding paper pedigrees). I am going to enter my shorthair in a walking field trial later this spring (no horseback handling in any stake) a...

Wow, I'm so sorry to hear everything your poor girl has gone through.... I might go for another opinion to a specialist. Do you have access to a local veterinary school with a teaching hospital? I know some of the larger east coast schools (Cornell, Penn, NC State, etc) have doctors, facilities and...

Agreed on the forced retrieve. He will probably eat another one when the opportunity presents itself unless you teach him otherwise. It could be a badly shot bird or a long distance retrieve where he loses sight of you. My shorthair developed the same bird eating problem in the course of two trainin...

The dog has been stood up from laying down and is correctly honoring the pointing dog. Kill the bird. Presuming the honoring dog didn't lay down again, after both dogs are steady through the fall, your release the backing dog for the retrieve to reward him for backing correctly.

Tux has had no lay down training or have I seen him do this before in the field (maybe in the house when he has snatched something from the kitchen counter). We were nowhere near him when he laid down today, probably 15 yards in front of him. I did not correct him for lying down today because I was ...

Ran some training braces today and encountered a new situation. Set out 5 birds during the 1st brace, a good mixture of points and backs, no issues. 5 birds in 2nd brace and on his 2nd or 3rd back, he hunkered down like I was going to beat him (which has never happened). I stood him up and he was fi...

I forgot to mention that I put the ecollar on my shorthair for all outdoor activities. You never know when they will decide to tangle with a black bear or think about chasing deer. I was never happier to own an e-collar than when he decided to try and make game of a black bear 4 times his size in no...

My dog can definitely tell the difference between walk in the woods time and hunting time. I am not sure if they cue of the vest, gun, or something else. He will run ahead and check back in from time to time, however he does not pattern or range anywhere close to his typical hunting behavior. I am j...

It was updated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSJds2SmGH8

Dogs Unlimited, I really like their custom collars & leads. However, they are probably not the cheapest show in town.

3Britts wrote:We use a ball thrower, looks alot like a hand-held clay pigeon thrower, and tennis balls.

I think you are referring to Chuckit, which is my favorite way to exercise my almost 2 year old GSP in suburbia. I can heave a ball 75 yards time after time, which wears him out and saves my arm.

Brad, That is a very impressive 'Magic Brushpile', however after watching the video a few times I have a couple of questions. You noted that if he gets pushy, birds are going to leave. Is it safe to assume they are in launchers that you control? How many launchers (or loose birds) do you have in the...

I appreciate everyone's advice. We trained a little today. I heeled him off point on a walking bird and he handled nicely after a few points on poor flying quail, which I thought would tempt him for sure. I was going to rework the last bird of the day and kill it for him, however he got ahead of me,...

Brenda, I was actually braced with Rick the other week at the Tarheel Weim Club HT when I had to leash him. Do you just try to re-create the situation as many times as possible and issue a continuous correction every time (even when he is running through it)? Also, I like the 3-4 month old little ba...

In addition to the slow eating bowl, another way to slow them down is to add water. It helps keep them hydrated during hunting season and slows down their eating. I feed mine 2c of food w/ 4c of water.

North Carolina is a mixed bag between private and public lands Training Dogs -Except as allowed in authorized field trials and training using domestically-raised waterfowl or game birds, it is unlawful to possess firearms, axes, saws or tree-climbing equipment while training or running dogs during c...

I am having an issue breaking my shorthair from the occasional delayed chase and I wanted to see if anyone has any training tips on breaking the habit? Taking away retrieves is one thing I have tried. Below is a quick synopsis of where we are. He does not do it on a consistent basis, so it can be ch...