Gun Dog Forum

I've spent some time getting my britt steady this summer. He is 3 yr old and was coming along good as a pup but after his first year and a half I didn't have time to work with him to get him steady.
Right now he will point and hold until I flush the bird when working with pigeons. This is done on the CC. I worked him of the CC a few times with the launchers. He pointed and held on some of the birds but not all the time.
Since hunting season has started I have hinted him the last three weekend and he is only flash pointing while hunting.
The last two weekends after we got back home I took him.out later on the CC with pigeons and he pointed and held for me to flush.

How do I work on fixing this and what methods of correction should I use?

Also I dont shoot if the bird isn't handled correctly.

I had about the same problem last year... My dog went to the trainer he been trained with pigeons, and when back home I trained him on pigeons too... He was steady to wing and shot on pigeon..But in the woods on Ruffed grouse and woodcock it was a different story.. He was flushing everybird in his tracks.. When Back home when I got the pigeons in the field he was steady like a rock.. So I called my trainer to have some clue about it.. He just told me that it is normal and it could take maybe like 20-25 ruffed grouse to make him understand... When he flush a wild bird I call him ''Come'' to me and make him Whoa for about 2 minutes like you surely do on a Check cord .... It finally took about 35 grouse to make him understand that he must point those bird too and everytime I went back to pigeons he was like a Champ.. let me tell you that the most part of the season have been hard.. The season started like september 15th and he started to point on october 20th 2011....The 2012 season is a real Dream he have not miss often, when he missed it was mostly cause of the wind in the wrong direction I think it happened 3 times to date..

You're on the way I'm sure he will figure it out soon..

David

What happens if you command him to whoa.

He would stop.

Get him out on wild birds the more exposure the better. Right now he's just out looking for pigeons. Get a wild bird from a friend or shoot one. Let him smell it before the hunt and he will be looking for that. . It will help in the beginning but after some more exposure heck have it down.

So at this point you are still teaching the dog what you want . The check -cord is a cue for the dog in the big picture and he has to learn that he has to stop with out it as well. Its time to lose the check - cord . You can not expect the dog to do something in the field he has not been trained to do. The more you hunt him the more repetitions of this he will have, and it will be harder to break later on.

Have you de-chased ?



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Probably would have been a good idea to turn the dog over to game bird's in the yard with pen raised. Probably would still do it but I doubt as long. The switch from training birds to wild can be tuff. You have a remote launcher or just the launcher? You use the remote right and the switch over is easier. You have to make the bird in the trap act like a wild bird. The dog never get's a chance to make a mistake in training. You will find some wild birds seem to be stupid. Fine, let the wild birds do that, you play like a smart bird that doesn't want to get caught.

Yes, but he is not 100%. For example... he only chased 1 bumped bird out of 4 last weekend.
I had him de-chased when he was younger. When I started working with him again with birds he was pretty timid, and had not style or intensity. So I got him chasing birds again to get him fired up. Since then I havent done anything to take it out. He will not chase on check cord, and if off check cord I stop him with a recall.

There are many steps to the breaking process, putting 'em on wild birds as pups to learn to handle at that age. Often the birds will teach the dog and he will stop or at least slow his chasing as he can't catch a wild bird. Then, it's whoa breaking, then yard breaking on pigeons, then to the field with pigeons, then to quail or chukar, then to controlled hunting situations. I would say your trainer is exactly right. I've never seen a yard broke dog that could be taken to the field and put on wild birds and be broke. Just another step in the process. If you know how to properly use a collar and have a friend who can shoot, you can carry on with the process. It's impossible to hunt and handle a green dog in the field and have any real control. You handle the dog, use the collar if he wants to bump or chase, stop him, set him back, don't allow shooting. You work the dog! If the dog is more or less perfect, then let your buddy shoot the bird. Dog only retrieves if he stays flat footed. Most dogs figure out that you're not gonna correct them much if they break on wild birds so they come unglued to an extent. Handle the dog this year and then next year you can hunt over him.

I have had the same problem this year. My gsp is 10 months old and has been trained all summer on pigeons she will stf on them and hold steady until she is told to retrieve, she backs and whoa's . When the season started she was wild she ran through several flushes and paid no attention to the quail at all. then she started smelling where they had been. a couple of hunts later she would find the covey and as soon as it flew she was chasing so I think she figured out that we were looking for quail. she flushed a covey I walked into the area where the birds had been she pointed at a bush I didn't do anything just stood still and let her point. She relocated and a single came out of a different bush I shot it. she broke on the shot and found the bird. that was a week ago now three hunts later and quail are still flushing out in front of her she will run up and point at the bush or tree they came out of but to late they are gone. I would guess now she needs to learn to hunt instead of just running around wild and flushing birds in front of her I try to keep the wind in her advantage but I don't know if she is using it she is young, my first hunting dog, so I am green I am going to let her run around and figure out we don't get those birds she flushes that's all I know to do at this point.

Doc E wrote:Have you de-chased ?



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Explain the process for de-chased? I wouldn't shoot a bird the dog flushed.