What if the birds aren't there?! Change training tactics?

[bigbob]

I've got a dilemma. I'm a die hard chukar hunter that likes to cut my pups teeth on wild birds and let the birds do most of the teaching their 1st year. I usually like to start running pups on wild birds in September when they are 4-6 months old (I like spring/summer whelped pups). It has always worked great for me, and depending on how they do their 1st year dictates how I proceed when the season ends. I have had great success getting good hunting dogs doing this. Now the problem...bird numbers are terrible around me this year. In areas where I typically would have 3-5 contacts/hr, I'm now getting 1 contact about every 6-8 hours. I average 2 hour trips, so the current pups are getting 1 contact every 3-4 outings! I'm a chukar hunter, not a trialer, but am happy to hear from both camps (I realize both camps overlap in many situations and think that's great). I'm trying to decide whether to keep going on these low contact outings and hope that next year is better bird-wise, or to put the pups on pigeons and launchers and essentially train them on pen-raised birds through next summer and hope that next fall is better and go back to wild birds after training (they will be 17 months, 18 months, and 3 years when the season starts next fall). I can see the pups...6 & 7 months old now, less focused on hunting than they were with pigeons this summer during early training. They just haven't got the contacts needed to be making any progress. They may even be regressing a bit. I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts on the best way to move forward. I have a 7 month GSP male that I really like, a 6 month GSP male that I like pretty well (a little hard-headed, but I'm keeping him around), and a female that just turned 2 that I was really hoping to get into a lot of birds this year...she was really starting to come into her own at the end of last year...this would be her 2nd full season as I got her a little later than I typically like. For you wild bird hunters and experienced trainers out there, how would you proceed to get the most out of these 3 dogs? I'm torn right now...pull them off the barren hills and get them into simulated training situations or just keep running them (or a hybrid)? FYI...I base most of my formal training on the book "Training With Mo". Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

[Maurice]

Adapt to the conditions you are dealing with. If you can't give them enough wild bird contacts I would not hesitate about using planted birds or pigeons. I would do both wild bird and also pigeon work. By summer they will be ready to break, next fall you could finish and polish them on wild birds.

Mo

[CDN_Cocker]

I'm dealing with this right now too - been out twice for 2-3 hours and no contacts. Heading out tomorrow to a new spot that looks like better habitat so hopefully he gets his first wild bird contact. If not I will be taking pigeons with me next time so he knows why he's out there.

[bigbob]

I guess I was thinking of pulling off running on wild birds and spending more time training in a more controlled environment this year. I'd still take a long hike every couple of weeks and hope to get lucky with some contacts. Would "seeding" the hill when I do get out after wild birds be advisable? Any long-term drawbacks or benefit for the dogs to my thought process? What does everyone think?