Gun Dog Forum

Mountaineer wrote:Brittany.....even tho I prefer some of the setters and, your yardages strictures are silly.

Silly how? That's what I ideally want. How can that be silly?

So far I've only had Springers, which I love, but there are places in the northern MN woods that are hard to work a flusher... So all you pointer folks out there... Help me find the right dog please.... I need a dog that is biddable, has a ton of desire, natural retrieving ability (although it only ...

I have used the Perfect Start DVD to show me how to successfully use the e-collar. It worked well for me. It's all about reinforcing the command that the dog already knows. You overlay the collar with the checkcord and known commands and then eventually you work away from the CC and use the collar ...

It sounds like your EP is doing fine without the E collar, but just use it like the check cord. The E collar is meant to apply pressure to correct behaviors. But you'll have to introduce your dog to the pressure the collar provides and teach the pup how to relieve the pressure. Make sense?

How about "Kovic"?.... That's the last name of Tom Cruise's character in Born on the Fourth of July.

Found this old pic... Thought I'd test attaching on...

I use SIT, the whistle, wing and shot (ideally), and hand signal. The hand signal is just to reinforce the whistle sometimes. In all actuality, the hand signal is useless. If your dog looks back for hand signals it's not hunting very hard.

When you train a "flusher / retriever" you want them to sit at the flush (hup). A pointing dog must stop (stand still) to flush. No you do not, but there's already about 20 threads on that topic. Why wouldn't you want your flushing dog to be steady? I mean, I know most aren't, but I would WANT them...

My To-Do list:
Get my 3 mo. Springer some bird exposure
Patient, patient training
Find a patch of ground to hunt
Get married
"Hunt" over my little girl

Just to start a convo... and I know it varies... BUT...

When do you introduce your pups to birds (or what determines they're ready) and what's your bird of choice for this process?

I know I don't have the experience of others here, but my first Springer was anything but a soft dog. With him it was correction, correction, correction, and well placed praise (he got distracted by praise or thought the job was done). When we were all said and done he was a confident dog that was i...

Thanks guys. She's been getting a bit better. This weekend I'll have her watch the in-laws Lab fetch it up and see how she reacts. So far I think she just has a "look at me" attitude that will change as she ages. By the way, 38 lbs is a big, and fun sized, cocker Cass! If you find another like that,...

Looking for a little advice... My 12 week old female Springer is ready to fetch and does most of it right.... But still wants to run off with the bumper... So far I've used a check chord to encourage her to "Bring it." Any other hints on how to get her to deliver consistently... Or is this just a wa...

Springers! They do it all exceptionally well and it's more fun than anything else.

Also, the game and terrain I hunt dictate having a versatile dog with a good nose and an exceptionally strong retrieve.

Female ESS- "Mack"

Hi, I'm Andrew. I'm a 25 year old male living in Central Minnesota. I work as a Rec. Therapist for a non-profit company so I spend most of my time outdoors. I've been hunting since I was little, and started wingshooting when I was 13 or so. That's about the time I got my first Springer. I got him as...