4 year old Setter

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Tmechelberry
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4 year old Setter

Post by Tmechelberry » Tue Jan 17, 2017 11:28 pm

A little background information, I have always been in charge of doing the bird dog training for me and my dads dogs, which I've had success at. However, sadly my dog died too young around the same time I was about to leave for college and my dads dog hunted one more year then he retired her. He also got a new Setter pup (Buddy) at that time but with me at college and him busy with my siblings and life we never really got Buddy trained. The last three years we have hunted him but not as much as we would have liked due to me being in college and dad busy. Now that I am graduating this year and recently got a red Setter of my own, I will be back in charge of the bird dogs. I have a pretty good idea of how I am going to go about training my pup but I'm not quite sure about dads 4 year old red Setter.

So my question here is what do you guys think would be the best way to go about training a 4 year old dog. He has obedience training down such as sit, come, whoa(for the most part) and he is very very birdy. He'll run circles all day around the back yard staring at the sky looking for birds and each year he gets into some quail/pheasant, it just hasn't all clicked for him yet. Would just putting him on a ton of pigeons/quail this spring & summer be a good solution? Open to any suggestions. Thanks

shags
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Re: 4 year old Setter

Post by shags » Wed Jan 18, 2017 6:27 am

Sounds like fun :D
Start him pretty much as you would a puppy. Don't rush things just because the dog is older. It takes as long as it takes.

setterpoint
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Re: 4 year old Setter

Post by setterpoint » Wed Jan 18, 2017 9:19 pm

i think you you got the right idel if you think you got ob. down pat put the dog on birds it will take birds to make a bird dog if you have wild birds even better good luck

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tailcrackin
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Re: 4 year old Setter

Post by tailcrackin » Sat Jan 21, 2017 9:05 am

There's a little bit more to working a 4 year old puppy. Birds can help, and will. But you have to watch him and his actions with the bird. More birds, might, might get his head racing, a lot......and that will overlay to the next find, and next find. Where are you from? Thanks Jonesy
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RayGubernat
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Re: 4 year old Setter

Post by RayGubernat » Sat Jan 21, 2017 12:15 pm

I'd like to make one suggestion, since you said the OB is pretty good but the "whoa " needs work.

I would do heel/whoa drills in the yard, after the manner of Paul Long. I suggest you do the work silently, so that the dog can focus on your movements and go with you and stop with you, based on your movements. Basically you put a looped check cord on the dog's neck, up high behind the ears, step off and walk about 10 steps and stop. If the dog pulls or lags, the loop closes and provides encouragement to stay at your knee.

I actually use a pigging string, which is a poor man's version of the Smith wonder lead. I start with the loop just slightly open and the rest is up to the dog. The string is waxed cotton and has a lot of "spring " to it. If the dog pulls, it closes , but the instant the dog stops pulling, the loop opens and the pressure is removed. Timing is everything in dog training and the waxed cotton make my timing just about perfect.

I would do the heel/whoa drills twice a day, every day. They only take three to five minutes to do per dog. You can eventually start adding turns and such. At some point I will drop the lead in front of the dog, silently give them the upraised hand "stop" signal and walk out front. The first few times the dog may try to follow, so you go back, reposition the dog, stroke it up and repeat the "stop" signal. The dog will soon allow you to walk out front while standing there. You can then start simulating a flush.

Once the dog is pretty reliable in the yard with the check cord, you can overlay an e-collar if you choose.

When you first take the dog into the field to work on birds, you can start with a few minutes of heel/whoa drills. This gets the dog thinking in the right way. I do suggest that, at first, you ask the dog to remain standing through flush and shot. It makes the training easier and faster and , therefore, less stressful for the dog. If you choose to let the steady part slip in the field during actual hunting... the dog will be just fine with that.

Oh and BTW, working the older dog and the pup sequentially can really speed up the process for both and make it easier on them...and you. I like to have the other dog tied out and watching what is going on with the first one. The second dog usually picks up the lesson quicker.

Just so you know...I start doing heel/whoa drills on a puppy when they are about 4 months old. Very short lessons, lots of play, but a lesson nonetheless. Just keep it fun for both the pup and the older dog and you should be fine.

RayG

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Sharon
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Re: 4 year old Setter

Post by Sharon » Sat Jan 21, 2017 2:24 pm

You don't get a better post than that. :)
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Meller
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Re: 4 year old Setter

Post by Meller » Sat Jan 21, 2017 5:33 pm

Sharon wrote:You don't get a better post than that. :)
+1

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DonF
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Re: 4 year old Setter

Post by DonF » Mon Jan 23, 2017 7:25 pm

It's a four year old dog bred to hunt. Don't over think it.
I pity the man that has never been loved by a dog!

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