First off- thank you all for the wealth of knowledge that has been offered on this forum!
My 6 month setter (got her a few weeks ago) has been responding reasonably well to recall and kennel commands. It would help at home if I could get her to stop eating everything left on floor and jumping on everything. Hopefully that will come in time.
From a hunting perspective... I have had her out twice on live birds, just trying to make sure she is excited. The first time , I put out two quail. She pointed almost directly on top of the birds and I kept her on a checkcord the whole time.
The second time I used pigeons and used the check cord to lead her to the area where the birds were then let her chase the birds and drag the checkcord. She pointed but seemed to hold it only a few seconds. Unfortunately she did briefly catch a bird. When she chased she followed for about a 100 yards and came back. Maybe she heard me yelling come when she got that far.
Did I really mess up letting her catch a bird? love to hear any other wisdom if you care to share. Thanks in advance!
Update on training
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birddogger2
- Rank: 3X Champion
- Posts: 544
- Joined: Wed Apr 19, 2017 6:15 am
- Location: Lower slower Delaware
Re: Update on training
Did you mess up by letting her catch a bird?
Of course you did.
Is it the end of the earth??
NOPE. Folks with dogs with lower prey drive let their dogs catch birds all the time to fire them up. But then they have to do more work to get them steady. Sounds like low prey drive is NOT something you have to worry about with your dog.
Just don't let it happen too awful many more times. You don't want to create a problem that you will then have to fix. Honestly, i would focus more on the yardwork and obedience. Heel/whoa drills and recall.
It ain't fun to do OB work. It is boring and repetitive. It is WAAAAY more fun to watch your youngster find birds, bust 'em, chase 'em and generally have a blast in the field.
However, the more the dog busts and chases, the more work you are making for yourself and the harder you are making it on the dog. The fun has a price.
It sucks, but doing the boring obedience work first is actually the quickest and easiest way to get to a dog that you can enjoy for the next ten or so years.
RayG
Of course you did.
Is it the end of the earth??
NOPE. Folks with dogs with lower prey drive let their dogs catch birds all the time to fire them up. But then they have to do more work to get them steady. Sounds like low prey drive is NOT something you have to worry about with your dog.
Just don't let it happen too awful many more times. You don't want to create a problem that you will then have to fix. Honestly, i would focus more on the yardwork and obedience. Heel/whoa drills and recall.
It ain't fun to do OB work. It is boring and repetitive. It is WAAAAY more fun to watch your youngster find birds, bust 'em, chase 'em and generally have a blast in the field.
However, the more the dog busts and chases, the more work you are making for yourself and the harder you are making it on the dog. The fun has a price.
It sucks, but doing the boring obedience work first is actually the quickest and easiest way to get to a dog that you can enjoy for the next ten or so years.
RayG
Re: Update on training
I didn't go back and read your previous threads, but IIRC your dog was previously doing better than what you just described, no?
You know the dog can find and point game. What are you hoping to accomplish by putting her on more birds and letting her bust and chase? In training you must have a reason/goal for every session, and it sounds like you're just doing random stuff for the sake of I-don't-know-what.
When your pup isn't solid on recall, you don't want to be yelling "come" while she's in hot pursuit of training birds. That's a lesson in futility - either she can't hear you yelling, or she's ignoring you. So how is that advancing your training efforts?
Better to keep quiet until she peels off the chase or stops because she's caught the bird, then call her. Once she peels off, the chances of her obeying you are greatly increased; and so is the possibility of you getting to her to enforce your command/correction if she doesn't mind you.
Letting the your dog run amok even with a checkcord attached isn't the kind of training that you should do. Think through every session before you hit the field and figure out what you want to see as a success and what you need to get it. Figure out what you will do if the session goes south. Think about how you will correct her mistakes. Better yet, think about what you can do to help her avoid mistakes in the first place.
Going out on birds with vague or no intentions, and just hoping for the best will eventually set you back and cause you trouble in the future. Catching a bird or two won't ruin a dog, but it is something that you'll have to remedy. No big deal IF YOU HAVE A PLAN. Without a plan, you're going backwards.
Don't be in a rush. Do all the boring stuff first - heel, recall, whoa, stake outs. Use those sessions to bond with your dog. The fun stuff will be more fun for you both when you have a solid foundation and a well thought out idea of what you need to do next, and how to do it.
You know the dog can find and point game. What are you hoping to accomplish by putting her on more birds and letting her bust and chase? In training you must have a reason/goal for every session, and it sounds like you're just doing random stuff for the sake of I-don't-know-what.
When your pup isn't solid on recall, you don't want to be yelling "come" while she's in hot pursuit of training birds. That's a lesson in futility - either she can't hear you yelling, or she's ignoring you. So how is that advancing your training efforts?
Better to keep quiet until she peels off the chase or stops because she's caught the bird, then call her. Once she peels off, the chances of her obeying you are greatly increased; and so is the possibility of you getting to her to enforce your command/correction if she doesn't mind you.
Letting the your dog run amok even with a checkcord attached isn't the kind of training that you should do. Think through every session before you hit the field and figure out what you want to see as a success and what you need to get it. Figure out what you will do if the session goes south. Think about how you will correct her mistakes. Better yet, think about what you can do to help her avoid mistakes in the first place.
Going out on birds with vague or no intentions, and just hoping for the best will eventually set you back and cause you trouble in the future. Catching a bird or two won't ruin a dog, but it is something that you'll have to remedy. No big deal IF YOU HAVE A PLAN. Without a plan, you're going backwards.
Don't be in a rush. Do all the boring stuff first - heel, recall, whoa, stake outs. Use those sessions to bond with your dog. The fun stuff will be more fun for you both when you have a solid foundation and a well thought out idea of what you need to do next, and how to do it.
Re: Update on training
Appreciate the wisdom thank you