Gun Dog Forum

Does anyone train their pointing dogs to flush the bird on command after it has pointed it?

Across the pond a lot of them do, especially the further east you go across Europe.

I don't trial and it definitely is not something you would want to teach a dog that is going to trial, but it sure is a handy thing if you are hunting thick brush for quail and pheasants and both my dogs are trained to do it.

Yes, I train my pointing dogs of any breed to flush on command. This is standard practice here and I'm very pleased it is. I really would not like to have to walk into brambles, gorse or branch piles to flush the birds or rabbits myself. The dog knows where the game is in there so, to me, it makes sense to have the dog flush it out.

This pic was not of a point among heavy cover by any stretch of the imagination , my 9 months old Brittany bitch could both scent and see the rabbits she is pointing .....but you should have seen the flush when she broke point and chased 10 seconds later !




Bill T.

Trekmoor wrote:I really would not like to have to walk into brambles, gorse or branch piles to flush the birds or rabbits myself.

This is exactly why I chose a flushing breed despite the popularity of the pointers (I mean pointing breeds in general). I hunt very thick cover, and while a pointer would be extremely helpful in locating - I certainly don't want to go in after it. My main reason for getting a bird dog was the make it easier for me (in the long run) to bag birds. Grouse aren't going to sit tight for me here anyways, so I personally see no reason why a pointer would have the advantage for me in the field. They run before flight anyways so it would end up flushing even further from me as I'm sure it would run once the dog pulled out a point. But I'm off topic. I think those that can train their pointers to flush on command is awesome and really takes it to the next level

After they learn stop to flush, and are proven staunch, there is not much additional training. They need to learn a robust relocation with a release command. I use alright. You do have to be very careful in making the transition to trials, there are some dogs in some situations that I will not risk a relocation, just take a UP.

When hunting released birds on a preserve, all my dogs know to put them flight.

They seem to learn the difference between a blank gun in a trial and a shotgun when hunting.

Since I retired, I no longer have to hunt preserve birds. But have had my dogs catch wild birds that were slow to flush, including cock pheasants, not a good thing if it happened in a trial.

Again, the key is staunch and STF with a strong relocation (very strong).

Neil

CDN Cocker, I know you lads on your side of the pond let your spaniels hunt wider than we do, I have 3 cockers and I would be willing to bet that if the cover was not "wall to wall" thick and nasty stuff a good HPR would find and produce for you from cover more birds than a spaniel can in places where birds are never released. In less than nightmare standards of wooded ground HPR's can hunt fine and they hunt wider than a spaniel should be doing but they point. You can then position yourself near the cover at the best place to get a good shot prior to sending the dog in to flush.

I have never hunted your woodland grouse but doing this works fine for pheasant and woodcock.
I'm not trying to "knock" spaniels , just trying to put another point of view.

Bill T.

About spaniels hunting outside shotgun range, I have always said that 50% will flush back to you. Prompting my son to quip, "I figure the next hunderd or so are coming right to us, because the last hundred sure haven't".

Where the cover and the birds are thick, flushers are the ticket. When cover and birds are scarce pointers rule.

big_fish wrote:Does anyone train their pointing dogs to flush the bird on command after it has pointed it?

And,stop after it has flushed.

polmaise wrote:

big_fish wrote:Does anyone train their pointing dogs to flush the bird on command after it has pointed it?

And,stop after it has flushed.

That's the key, and arguably the most difficult behavior for a dog to learn. At least one that has been trained to flush aggressively.

Nate

I have found that it is easier to stop a chase or to train it not to happen in the first place if the dog has pointed the game first. I therefor find it easier to train steadiness to flush to pointers than it sometimes is to spaniels. When a dog is commanded to flush from it's point the handler knows in advance a flush is about to take place and can control the steadiness to that flush more easily. Some spaniel flushes just happen "out of the blue" giving the handler less time to think about the steadiness control.

Bill T.

I did at one time let my pointers flush, other side of fence, heavy briars, but now if you ever hunt a game farm they will catch birds, so something to concider
Fester

I know this is an old post, but I'd like to revive it to find out how those of you that release your dogs to the flush do it. I have a 2 year old pudel pointer. She has an extremely staunch point and I can't get her to break it to flush. I've tried her food release command, fetch command and her whistle command, but I've never got her to release. I hunt by myself with alot of heavy covered draws, so a dog that will flush for me will help me out quite a bit.