7mo GSP on birds

[BellaDad]

I started my 7mo GSP on birds about a month back and she's had exposure almost every weekend since. I haven't been pushing her at all, I don't even say a word. I'm following the PS/PF series as my guide. She is natrually pretty staunch to flush. She locks up when she gets wind of a bird on her own. I flush the bird and shoot the blank gun and she breaks. I'm not worried about steadying her up for a while since we can't hunt until September.

My question, last weekend we were walking through a field w/o birds, I thought, to work on her ranging out and get some exercise. She kept locking up on point so I'd walk up like I would flush a bird and sure enough 2-3 of these little zippy birds came out of the brush and flew off. I shot the blank gun and she broke. Throughout the day she started to wind them, point, take another step or two, point, and then another step or two, and hold.

I'm taking it slow with her but should I let her start developing a bad habit like this and let her figure it out or give her a quick whoa and stop her. No collar, but when I tell her to whoa she doesn't move. I ask b/c it seems that she has a pretty good grasp on things and why let her develop a bad habit that I'll have to fix later if I can nip it in the bud now.

I plan to do more launcher work but what do I do when we're walking and launchers aren't an option?

[ezzy333]

She is not doing anything wrong. However, I wouldn't walk in and shoot. You are telling her that you are hunting those birds when you do that. You can walk in, let the birds flush and then go on like it didn't happen and move her on. She will get the idea with some experience.

Ezzy

[vzkennels]

If you have been firing the gun on these "bleep" birds you have been rewarding her for doing so & adding to the problem.She needs to learn to ignore non gambirds so everytime you respond like you have been you are telling her she is right.When ever she points non gambirds you need ignore her & the birds & just keep walking like nothing is going on,only shoot over her or kill game birds for her.You have been part of the problem.

[Benny]

She is not doing anything wrong. However, I wouldn't walk in and shoot. You are telling her that you are hunting those birds when you do that. You can walk in, let the birds flush and then go on like it didn't happen and move her on. She will get the idea with some experience.

Ezzy

I second that

[BellaDad]

Interesting, I didn't see it that way. I appreciate the advice.

I understand your points, but why is it not a good idea to reward her scent pointing a bird? I get that it's not the bird I'm looking for but at a young age of 7 mo and only a month into birds why dont' I want her to do that rather than just sight pointing? I figure she'll grow out of it when I don't shoot/drop them, is it really that bad of a thing?

Another question, she's pretty good on the pigons I plant and hasn't started the creep on them yet. I'll work on that with a launcher. She is good with the blank gun right next to her so obviously the next step is the shotgun in another month or so. Do any of you have a separate gunner so that you can work the dog? Can I have my brother stand a ways off and knock down the birds? The neighbors are getting a little POd about me importing a bunch of pigeons to the area. I figure I need to start knocking some of them down at some point whether for the dog or just to keep the neighbors out of my hair.

[vzkennels]

Bella it is not a bad thing a young pup pointing "bleep" birds,it shows he has the natural abilities you want a bird dog pup to have.But in time once you start hunting him you will want him to ignore those non game birds or he will be pointing all those birds instead of hunting for the birds you are after.If you keep firing guns & reward him by whoaing him etc on these birds he will not learn the difference.

[Sprig]

[quote="BellaDad"]Interesting, I didn't see it that way. I appreciate the advice.

I understand your points, but why is it not a good idea to reward her scent pointing a bird? I get that it's not the bird I'm looking for but at a young age of 7 mo and only a month into birds why dont' I want her to do that rather than just sight pointing? I figure she'll grow out of it when I don't shoot/drop them, is it really that bad of a thing?

[quote]

do you want her to point every tweety bird she comes accross when you are out hunting? i agree with what has been said already, just igonore the tweety birds and she will eventually learn they arent what you are hunting for. part of what you are training the dog is to ignore non-game birds and to focus on game birds. the most frustrating thing is having a pointing dog point every tweety bird or chase after mice because they havent been focused on what birds they are after.

game recognition is a big part of training a pointing dog. trust me, it will save you a ton of frustration from "false points" while out hunting.

[WildRose]

Interesting, I didn't see it that way. I appreciate the advice.

I understand your points, but why is it not a good idea to reward her scent pointing a bird? I get that it's not the bird I'm looking for but at a young age of 7 mo and only a month into birds why dont' I want her to do that rather than just sight pointing? I figure she'll grow out of it when I don't shoot/drop them, is it really that bad of a thing?

Another question, she's pretty good on the pigons I plant and hasn't started the creep on them yet. I'll work on that with a launcher. She is good with the blank gun right next to her so obviously the next step is the shotgun in another month or so. Do any of you have a separate gunner so that you can work the dog? Can I have my brother stand a ways off and knock down the birds? The neighbors are getting a little POd about me importing a bunch of pigeons to the area. I figure I need to start knocking some of them down at some point whether for the dog or just to keep the neighbors out of my hair.

You have a very natural pup that's way ahead of the curve right now for the "average dog" of her age.

By flushing and firing on the tweety birds though you are teaching her that they are game. Encouraging her to point anything that's not game is only going to cause you frustration later on.

Two things to suggest, either completely ignore the tweety bird points, or once you flush them say nothing and just walk on without firing. You have a smart dog, she'll figure it out pretty quick.

I would not be waiting a few more months to shoot birds. This dog is telling you she's ready for more right now. Yes being a novice trainer it would be a good idea for you to get someone else to do the gunning, but go ahead and get it done now. If you just keep doing what you are doing there's a very good chance she's start to bore with it because there's not a reward for the "hard work". Let her learn that doing things right ends up with her getting a fresh killed bird in her mouth.

For gun introductions I do like to go ahead and kill five or ten birds over a dog in short succession initially, but after that I will kill fewer and fewer birds while asking for more and more staunchness and steadiness. CR