Dog Pointing Field Mice

[fatboyoutdoors]

Ok...I know...crazy...But...I am new to this game. Have a 14 month old GSP that was a rescue dog. He is a great dog in the field..points well and works fine. But points ever field mouse in the dang world. I mean flat out points. I can't tell it is a mouse until he pounces as I walk up to flush... Ideas

[BellaDad]

My girl does the same thing, 18 month old gsp. She used to be really bad, but has slowly figured it out that I don't shoot them and just keep walking once I figure out there's not a bird there. I make her hold her points a little longer, 1-2 min (which she won't do on field mice, only about 30 sec-1 min). She's slowly started to decrease the number of times she finds and points field mice, basically stick with it and they'll grow out of it.

[3Britts]

Start carrying a bb gun.

Make sure you reward the times when he points birds and ignor those times when he points mice.
She will learn what is expected soon enough.
It sounds like you still have a puppy on your hands, he will grow out of it.

[RayGubernat]

Dogs will mess with field mice when they are young and they will point and mess with field mice when they are teenagers, if there ain't notyhin' else around.

Your dog is a big puppy. Ignore the field mice points as best you can.... Give the dog something with feathers on it to point and it will begin to ignore the field mice also.

Really - don't sweat it. it is very normal and actually a good sign.

I had a pointer that was as businesslike as you could imagine. She looked like a million bucks on point and she knew it. She loved to point. She was a machine. If there were twenty birds planted in a field..she found somewhere between 18 and 22.

Yet..."till the day she died, if I took her on a run in cover that was devoid of birds... she would eventually mess with meadowlarks, mice, rabbits, whatever. She would find something.

Picture a big, grizzled, graymuzzled old girl pouncing on a clump of lovegrass with mice scurrying out from underneath. You gotta laugh.

RayG

[jimbo&rooster]

my lab is an absolute goofball and at almost three years old she will still burrow through grass chasing mice if there arent any birds around. i just give her the "hunt em up" command and she gets back to business.... these dogs are hunters and will "hunt" its just what they do. as long as the dog is still business like when you get into birds i personally dont have a problem with it.
jim

[fishvik]

Both of my dogs are mousers. I agree that most of it is hunting "something" when birds aren't around. This time of year here in Idaho is tough. The mice have constructed runways through the grass that was under the snow and now the snow is gone. Some fields look like the rodent version of I-15 going through Salt Lake City. The real problem I see with this behavior is the pup catching one and getting tapeworms from them.

[ezzy333]

Yet..."till the day she died, if I took her on a run in cover that was devoid of birds... she would eventually mess with meadowlarks, mice, rabbits, whatever. She would find something.

Have one in the kennel now that is just what you are describing.

Ezzy

[3Britts]

I did forget to mention the upside to having a dog that goes after mice.
About two years ago, the power company in my area began building a large substation in a field about a block from my house. During the construction process, the scared many mice and rats out of the field. Many of my neighbors began complaining that the mice and rats had gotten into their garages and homes. I just smiled. My dogs had already killed 3 rats and I don't know how many mice that had made the mistake of coming into my yard.

[wems2371]

My 11 month old is just discovering mice and tweety birds and my coming 3 year old still points mice, if we're not coming across birds. Over time, we've been able to determine her mouse points though. Usually she is stareing down into a clump of grass right in front of her versus head high pointing a bird...and she doesn't hold those mouse points for minutes on end like on birds. She either moves on to field search or pounces on the grass.

It was very confusing as a pup, being our first pointer, to know how to handle it (kind of like the songbird points). We would walk her general direction, thinking it might be a bird, and as you said...she would pounce into the grass. We then just ignored her and moved on...no validation or "good girl" and no scolding.

[Munster]

Abby is 5 years young and she still will point mice. I think if there arent any birds, she either get frustrated or bored. I agree wems, I just ignore the behavior and walk on. It works itself out.

[twofeathers]

Pull does the same thing. He is over a year old and has pointed mice since he was a puppy. After seeing him do that so much I caught on to his tail waggin like crazy while on point. With birds no tail. And with skunks growls while pointing (learned that one the hard way). Even though I know it's a mouse I still smile love seeing that dog of mine point! Like the others have said I keep moving and don't aknowledge him positive or negative. If he stays too long and I'm well past him he gets a tone on his collar.

[Shadow]

give a little swatt or two every time it points fur- unless you like a fur pointer

nothing quite as funny as 30 or more mouse points when you're hunting with others

[tommyboy72]

I'll one up you. My 2 1/2 year old pointer, best bird dog I have ever owned and has a killer nose and point, loves to point land turtles or tortoises which are common where I live in Oklahoma. Kinda pi**ed me off at first till a buddy of mine told me the old timers say it they point tortoises or turtles you have a heck of a bird dog because supposedly the tutles smell like quail. I got over it after that.

I'm sure they will grow out of it.

[SamnTuck]

Now that the snow is gone in Western NY, I've been getting my 7 m.o. GSP out in the grouse woods as much as possible. Seems he has discovered chipmonks. You can imagine my surprise and disappointment the first time I came up on him in a staunch, entire body trembling point--just to find out that it was chipmonks that caught his attention. To see my pup on point gets my adrenaline pumping, but discovering nothing more than forest rodents is a huge let down. BUT, he's just a youngster who will hopefully figure things out as he gets more bird exposure. It's definitely reassuring to see him go wild when we actually get into really heavy grouse areas! Grouse flash points at this stage are enough to make me happy!