Introduced 4 mo old puppy to birds this weekend

m2244 · Post by **m2244** » Mon Jun 18, 2012 8:40 am

We have a 4 month old Ryman (Some people are offended when I say Ryman but whatever works) and this weekend I planted 2 quail in the field for him to find. I don't have a lot of experience with this but it went fairly well. I had to walk him almost directly onto the bird because he was checking out other things in the field, puppyhood and all. Anyway, that bird went up within maybe 2 thousandths of an inch in front of his nose. He wasn't spooked but he pulled back and watched it fly about 20 feet and land in some pricker bushes. He went right in after it which was encouraging.

All in all it was a great time. My 8-year-old son helped me with the process and loved it.

Any advice here would be great. I am not looking for a field trial dog, just a decent grouse dog for the Vermont/New Hampshire woods.

One thing I am slightly concerned with is hunting distance. My wife takes him on walks every day with a leash, so I wonder if this will cause him to hunt too close. Ideally I would like him anywhere from 20 to 50 yards from me in the woods, but again I am no expert.

Thanks for the help.

bumper52 · Post by **bumper52** » Mon Jun 18, 2012 1:44 pm

Keep walking on the leash, but take your pup to new areas and let him explore to develop independence. There needs to be a balance of control and freedom. I would have him on a long check cord, but just let him go and see what he does. He will gain confidence. Trust me....they learn to hunt soon enough. Walks on a leash are excellent. As far as birds are concerned, I have labs, so it may vary with pointers a bit. But the process for birds is pretty much the same. For my labs, I introduce my pups to a wing very early. Then I let them chase a wing around and catch it. Then I take a shackled pigeon and let dog retrieve in the yard. Then I plant the bird in light cover. I increase the degree of cover. Then I go back and repeat these steps with a wing clipped pigeon. This is usually when I introduce a blank pistol. (When the dog is crazy about chasing and retrieving birds). Then I dizzy birds and shoot the blank gun as the dog flushes the bird. I don't care so much if the pup catches a few, as this develops intensity (for a flusher). This is where you want to teach steady and flush the bird yourself. Then I will actually shoot a few birds to reward the dog with the retrieve. I will also miss intentionally so the dog understands not every flush means a retrieve (but I personally want a young dog to chase) When my dogs are finished with their fist hunting season, I teach steady to wing and shot. Hope this helps some. Good luck and good job getting your grandson involved!!!

m2244 · Post by **m2244** » Mon Jun 18, 2012 3:04 pm

bumper52 wrote:Trust me....they learn to hunt soon enough.

This was very reassuring. Thanks for the help.

bumper52 wrote:Good luck and good job getting your grandson involved!!!

Hold on a minute! I am NOT a grandfather, way too young (actually it's probably not far off, that's what bothers me).

Anyway, thanks again, that was some good advice.

Post by **jcbuttry8** » Mon Jun 18, 2012 3:16 pm

I would make sure that when using birds that you flush well in front of the pup. You don't want to do any damage from a young pup getting hit in the face by a flushing bird. It will be a lot of work getting him back.

Joe

m2244 · Post by **m2244** » Mon Jun 18, 2012 7:18 pm

jcbuttry8 wrote:I would make sure that when using birds that you flush well in front of the pup. You don't want to do any damage from a young pup getting hit in the face by a flushing bird. It will be a lot of work getting him back.
Joe

I did not know that. Thanks

JIM K · Post by **JIM K** » Mon Jun 18, 2012 9:06 pm

no expert on pointing dogs but i made a flusher ,my lab toby into a very good grouse dog.
setters have pointing in them. you have to get them around birds.
they will learn .

first year is very important.
but if you have setter just get him/her around birds.

more birds they are around better.

i am lucky to have grouse near me but i do take trip to maine each year for 2 weeks to hunt grouse.

if i wanted a good grouse dog i would go to maine for 2 weeks with dog and go HUNTING.
then you will have grouse dog.....

Redfishkilla · Post by **Redfishkilla** » Tue Jun 19, 2012 5:53 am

my two cents, get a toy cap gun and when pup is in full chase after a bird and a good distance away fire it. shoot closer slowly when pup doesn't care about the sound. 4 months, imo, is a good time to start sound conditioning which can be taught at the same time as the first few birds.....

cmc274 · Post by **cmc274** » Tue Jun 19, 2012 6:36 am

I'd put the brakes on the thought of gun intro. The op commented that his dog watched the bird fly, I wouldn't introduce the gun until that dog is really getting after that bird hard. There are no advantages of introducing te gun before you are 100% sure the dog is ready.

To the original poster, it sounds like you are doing well. I'd continue to fly out or lightly plant a few birds each time in thin cover. The dog should gain more and more independence and start to find birds without your help. After he really starts hunting, start to put the pup down with no birds. This will teach him to work harder to find birds. As far as range, you got what ya got. Let your dog find its natural range and learn to love it.

AzDoggin · Post by **AzDoggin** » Tue Jun 19, 2012 7:59 am

The cover the dog runs in affects range, too. If you want more run, try to run him off-leash regularly in very light cover - even a grass park (if it's away from busy streets). Put duct tape over your mouth and just let the dog run and explore on his own. He needs to find out for himself that being away from owner is OK. Delmar Smith refers to this as "happy timing" with pup - you almost can't do too much of it in that first year. Eventually, you'll be planting birds out at the range you want him to go...and he'll learn that they are out there - he just needs to go get 'em.

Gun Dog Forum