Pointing

[RichK]

I'm having a tough time getting my dog to point birds. He is a 10 month old GSP and when in the field he runs around covering a lot of ground but doesn't seem to stop to point anything. I've had him flush two pheasant roosters for me this year but no point on them. In the yard he will sight point pigeons when they are around the loft.

I just had him out in a field and he flushed a hawk at about 10 yards but didn't know it was there until it flushed.

Recommendations to bring out his pointing instincts?

[madmurph]

Rich, you mention that he will sight point but isn't pointing scent. Did you do a lot of the wing on a string when he was a pup? In addition, I would not shoot the birds that he flushes and does not point. Has he had any bad experiences around birds where he would now be intentionally blinking them, such as harsh corrections or improper gun introduction? If this is the case, he will need to be properly reintroduced to birds and made to be crazy about birds before progressing.

Try this to get him to start scent pointing. Put a pigeon in a launcher and place it in cover. Bring the dog in crosswind on a checkcord. As soon as the dog gets first scent, release the bird. Let the dog chase the bird so he learns that he can't catch it. It shouldn't take long and the dog should learn to stop on first scent.

Once the dog starts stopping on scent and pointing, continue the drill, but now launch the bird when the dog steps forward toward the bird. This will teach him that his movement will cause the bird to flush. Continue with this until you are able to walk past the dog to flush the bird.

[RichK]

Rich, you mention that he will sight point but isn't pointing scent. Did you do a lot of the wing on a string when he was a pup? In addition, I would not shoot the birds that he flushes and does not point. Has he had any bad experiences around birds where he would now be intentionally blinking them, such as harsh corrections or improper gun introduction? If this is the case, he will need to be properly reintroduced to birds and made to be crazy about birds before progressing.

Try this to get him to start scent pointing. Put a pigeon in a launcher and place it in cover. Bring the dog in crosswind on a checkcord. As soon as the dog gets first scent, release the bird. Let the dog chase the bird so he learns that he can't catch it. It shouldn't take long and the dog should learn to stop on first scent.

Once the dog starts stopping on scent and pointing, continue the drill, but now launch the bird when the dog steps forward toward the bird. This will teach him that his movement will cause the bird to flush. Continue with this until you are able to walk past the dog to flush the bird.

I didn't do any wing on a string when he was a pup. I haven't shot a single bird over him yet because the ones we've came across he has flushed.

He LOVES birds and is fine with the gun.

I am going to order a bird launcher this week and I will try your advice.

[whoadog]

Did you do a lot of the wing on a string when he was a pup?

I didn't do any wing on a string when he was a pup.

This makes me laugh! Maybe you should have tried the wing on a string!!

[whoadog]

Ok, maybe I should try to contribute constructively. Have you introduced whoa yet? Run the crap out of the pup on either very strong flying birds or wild ones. Let him chase until he can't run anymore. Then run the drill that Murph has outlined. I would add one minor alteration to it. I'd have the little booger on a checkcord and as soon as he made scent, I would hold him with the cord. I'd make sure I "killed" the bird by using a clipped wing. Then run it again without stopping him and let the bird (strong flyer) go if he bumps it, do your best to kill it if he doesn't. Then I'd alternate a few times holding him and let him bust if he wants. If you can knock down a few that he points on his own, you should have it made.

[cmc274]

You said he has only seen two gamebirds, it is unrealistic to think he should be pointing at this stage. You need to put him into a lot more game to develop his natural instincts. I wouldnt worry about whoa, or launchers or anything yet, just give him the chance to point some very loosely planted quail or chukar. As long as he isnt catching them on the ground or running them down, he should eventually start pointing after he realizes he cant catch them.

This article should help settle your nerves some too.

http://strideaway.com/pointing-wild-bir ... -location/

[birddogger]

You said he has only seen two gamebirds, it is unrealistic to think he should be pointing at this stage. You need to put him into a lot more game to develop his natural instincts. I wouldnt worry about whoa, or launchers or anything yet, just give him the chance to point some very loosely planted quail or chukar. As long as he isnt catching them on the ground or running them down, he should eventually start pointing after he realizes he cant catch them.

Bingo! He just needs opportunity.

Charlie

[DonF]

You said he has only seen two gamebirds, it is unrealistic to think he should be pointing at this stage. You need to put him into a lot more game to develop his natural instincts. I wouldnt worry about whoa, or launchers or anything yet, just give him the chance to point some very loosely planted quail or chukar. As long as he isnt catching them on the ground or running them down, he should eventually start pointing after he realizes he cant catch them.

This article should help settle your nerves some too.

http://strideaway.com/pointing-wild-bir ... -location/

This is great. Key sentence for me is, "start pointing after he realize's he can't catch them". I think it's not so much as he can't catch them a first but rather getting him to realize that it's his movement flushing the bird. Once he reach's the point where he understands that, he'll start pointing. But he won't hold point to long for you and next step is to teach him he can't catch them. The first few time's he stops because he is moving them, he will think about it just a bit and then try to catch it. You can stop that every time in a training situation where you know exactly where the bird is. I am absolutely sold on remote launchers. They allow you to know exactly where the bird is and where the wind is coming from. With wild birds you have no idea where the bird is or even if your going to find one that trip out, launchers fix that small problem and allow you to get through it a whole lot faster. Critical thing about launchers is to use them to make a pigeon act like a wild bird. People that use a cc to stop and or hold the dog are not doing anything that a wild bird would do. For training purpose's wild bird are uncooperative as h*ll! You'll find that people that have dogs go soft on pigeons or simply won't point them have turned the pigeon into a training bird. The dog absolutely know's what gonna happen with a pigeon and it knows the scent of a pigeon. You make the bird act more natural and it simply becomes another bird to the dog rather than a training setup.

[whoadog]

People that use a cc to stop and or hold the dog are not doing anything that a wild bird would do

I agree with that. But, I also think that occasionally "helping" a dog to stay put speeds the process a little, sometimes a lot. The only time I actually hold a dog is when the bird in the launcher is a clipped wing. I usually load one when the dog has started flash pointing. My experience is that one productive point quite often makes it click for most of the dogs I have worked with.