At what age does point appear?

[Jere]

At what age do you expect your pups to begin genuine natural points on live birds? Say uninjured wild or other uninjured birds planted or flown into cover, and how long do you expect such points to be held before the pup may break?

Not interested in sight pointing wing on string (wos) or other such stuff - no "whoa" points - Just real scent or sight triggered points on live, uninjured birds, though if wos or other games have been played in preparation, you might mention and describe such efforts.

Please mention breed as well.

Jere

[Sharon]

No age can be guaranteed. Some dogs point young and some take many months.

[Jere]

No age can be guaranteed. Some dogs point young and some take many months.

Of course, but would you care to give a range, from your experience, for earliest and latest for the setter and JRT pups you've worked with or have intimate knowledge of?

Thanks,

Jere

[Big bloc]

10 years ago I had a female Vizsla took her 2 1/2 years to point. I tried everything,planted and wild and showed nothing. Then one day out hunting she lock up. We were in the middle of covey of quail. from that day on she pointed all the time. I now have a EP just under 2 and has been pointing birds the last 6 mouths

[Trekmoor]

The age pups begin to point naturally on wild game varies a great deal from pup to pup. My first Brittany was finding and pointing partridges at 3 months old. My present Brittany pup of 11 months is really just beginning to point ,so far she has pointed pheasant, snipe and rabbit but she is still an "iffy" pointer, sometimes she does ,sometimes she does not. Most of her problem is that her nose has not caught up with her legs yet. When it does she will be a pretty good dog.
I don't use whoa posts or anything like that.

Bill T.

[BellaSpinone]

3-4 months on avg. it takes as long as it takes. We start stacking our puppies on a grooming table at 8 weeks. Then on the floor at 12 weeks. By the time they are in the field pointing birds, they are pretty much stady to flush. All work is on pigeons with check cord. Once they are pointing, I go to whoa tossing pigeons. Then back to the field shooting pigeons with pup restrained by check cord. Once pup is stady until sent, then start all over with quail. When stady until sent on quail, I take then off check cord. Very abbreviated explanation. Puppy stacking & tossing pigeons (20-30 per session) I believe are keys for my training success.

[Sharon]

No age can be guaranteed. Some dogs point young and some take many months.

Of course, but would you care to give a range, from your experience, for earliest and latest for the setter and JRT pups you've worked with or have intimate knowledge of?

Thanks,

Jere

I didn't think you'd want to know that all my setters and GSP pointed intently before 16 weeks. My JRTs never point; they just dive in.

[Ken Lynch]

As soon as the puppies have had their first vaccine I take them out to look for signs of interest in bird smells. Sometimes I only have a wing available other times I have live quail available. Puppies have been using their noses from the time of birth. The pointing instinct comes about shortly after recognition of bird smell. I do not know about other breeds but I would say GSPs start to point between 8 to 12 weeks of age. Also depends on the number of times they are exposed to bird smell during that time period. Here are some movies showing the progression I am talking about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGB_ULg3g3E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZMq7icDLiI

[Ken Lynch]

This is one more showing progression I mentioned in previous post.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9w93iPst-0

[Hattrick]

Well breed dogs will point right out of the gate i dont mean stand it forever but a noticeable point. From the lines im use to being around puppies are pointing birds in a trap as early as 6wks.

[Max2]

Here's a nice little point .

[SetterNut]

Indy was pointing at 10 weeks, as have several of the setters I have had over the years.




He even stood there and let me go out in front to flush.

[Wildweeds]

Quality breeding stock produces quality pups,I've owned champion sired pups that NEVER liked to point,I've owned potlickers by trialers standards that pointed the first birds their nose ever came across.Champions that got lucky a couple times,Derby qualification and a CH win against a small field that go on to demand high puppy price are not any better than a tried n true hunting machine bred to a tried and true huntin mochine as long as a no nonsense redneck owns em.I've had scent points on 8 week olds and I've had 18 month olds that just flat out like to knock and rock.I've had super whiz bang CH sired dogs and Redneck dogs....................... The redneck dogs have always been better.Ooops almost forgot FDSB Setters

[walkos5]

I noticed it in my Britt at about 10 weeks. Not having much experience with pointing breeds I thought something was wrong with him when he was moving in slow motion and locking up. In our back yard we have bushes called bayberry which are thick green bushes with thorns and red berries on them and the sparrows like to hide in them for protection. It was happening when he would go near those bushes and I figured out it was his reaction to the birds in those bushes. He also had the same reaction when the robins came close.

[GrayDawg]

Completely & utterly depends on the dog..............
But when it's parent's started pointing would be my best leading indicator.

Rob