Gun Dog Forum

I have a dog that just turned 2. I was going to wait until after the hunting season this fall to even think about breaking him, but he has started to come along nicely with hardly any pressure from myself, so I thought I might as well try and break him this summer.

We have been working on just pigeons. Right now, I would say he is steady to shot. I haven't been firing a blank when a bird flushes and he had been staying really well. I'm now starting to launch multiple birds in front of him which has helped as he has learned to not move at all. I figure about a week or two more of doing this and then I'm going to start adding the gunfire in (he's not gun shy, I just didn't have a blank pistol for the longest time so I couldn't train with it). After adding the gunfire and getting him to stay steady because as of now he will break at the shot, I was going to work him on quail. He has caught way too many quail in his lifetime and I was going to go through the training process again but with quail. Also, the "quiet season" will have ended and I'll be trying to get him out on some wild birds. Is this a good plan? I know everyone might do something with a little variance but am I going about it the right way?

Here is a video taken 1-2 weeks ago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6EnfLGM3rw

Nice looking brittany. I wouldn't wait any longer, that dogs is halfway their!

Getting the dog steady to the shot with pigeons is a good idea I think.

Before you move to quail, you might want to do some stop to flush work with pigeons, to sort of "proof " the dog. STF is asking him to stack up at the "unscheduled" flush of a pigeon, tempting him to break and further tempting him when you fire your blank gun.

If the dog messes up and needs correcting, it is still on pigeons. Just one more step, to be safe, and make the transition to quail more seamless and successful.

All in all it sounds like you have a good plan.

RayG

Keep up with what you're doing, it's all about repetition. One thing you can do is introduce the blank pistol into your yardwork as a cue for whoa. I like to teach all my dogs that gunfire means whoa, just like a bird in the air means whoa. I do this because I train on a private reserve where some of my guests are wearing loafers and shooting from the hip, and I would hate to go to jail because someone shot one of my dogs.

It's the dog's call on when he's ready to be broke, you just have to recognize it. Sounds like he's there, or almost there now. I would make sure that your yard working is flawless, and that he is super happy around birds. The breaking process takes a little spirit out of any dog, no matter how bold, so it's important to build them up as much as possible before going to break. Also, having all the commands as second nature makes your job, and his a lot easier and less harsh.