Dual Training Birds and Sheds

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HuntEastAdventures
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Dual Training Birds and Sheds

Post by HuntEastAdventures » Wed Mar 08, 2017 11:49 pm

Hi All,
I frequent the forum daily but don't post much. I have done some looking and cant find the answer to my question so would like to see what you all have to say.
I am currently training a 6month old Vizsla pup who is doing very well. She is recalling well, been collar conditioned(just started light ecollar work), starting to whoa, has seen good flying quail and had her prey drive awakened. She is starting to point well before creeping in and hunts a field well. She is also doing short retrieves with a tennis ball. I keep her training sessions daily but short as she is still very much a pup. I am basically following Lindleys method and he has been very helpful with any questions as well.

Now to my question. I also want to train her to both hunt birds as well as become a shed dog. Up here in Maine it is so thick a shed dog is worth its weight in gold on finding both moose and deer sheds. The couple of folks I have questioned on this have given me mixed reviews on what to do. My question is do I start her on shed stuff now as well as working her on birds or do I wait until she is finished off on birds before teaching her to hunt and find sheds as well.

I appreciate everyone taking the time to read my post and look forward to seeing what everyone else opinions are.

Mike

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Sharon
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Re: Dual Training Birds and Sheds

Post by Sharon » Thu Mar 09, 2017 11:39 pm

You have no answers so I'll stick my neck out. :) I wouldn't want my setter thinking about sheds when we are going bird hunting nor being distracted by an urge to find a shed. I can't image you could say to a setter , "It's sheds today and not birds."

Now if I had a retriever that I only used in a blind for retrieving , shed hunting would be fine.
" We are more than our gender, skin color, class, sexuality or age; we are unlimited potential, and can not be defined by one label." quote A. Bartlett

HuntEastAdventures
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Re: Dual Training Birds and Sheds

Post by HuntEastAdventures » Fri Mar 10, 2017 4:43 am

Sharon,
Thanks for the response. You are right, no comments yet. I have noticed that there are some post on here about dogs doing both birds and sheds, but the posts aren't clear about when they started the dogs on shed, whether it was during the same time as birds or after they were finished on birds. I have owned a couple of bird dogs but been in the hound/beagle game my whole life. Not having any experience with a combo shed/bird dog I only have an opinion based on that.
My opinion is definitely of a beginner having only owned a couple of bird dogs and only training one. I was hoping some of the shed/bird dog combo guys would give some insight on what they did, what they think, etc as well. I like to hear everyones opinion whether they have first hand experience on the matter or are just well versed in Bird dogs as I am always learning.

My opinion of it was that a warm bird would probably always trump a cold antler and the dog would probably always focus more on birds then sheds. We look for moose sheds up here usually in late winter/early spring in old clearcuts where the bird contacts would be far reduced over the normal bird covers we would be in during hunting season. It certainly wouldnt bother me if the dog pointed birds while we were shed hunting, or vice versa. Would also get myself and the dog in the woods together more and give me one more thing to do together to stay in shape, work on obedience, etc.

Now with that said, on the other hand my opinion in the back of my head is that I should put all the focus on birds until the dog is finished and make it about nothing else but birds,birds birds.

I did question Jeremy Moore (Dog Bone Hunter) about when he trains his gundogs on sheds, and he said he likes to do it when they are a pup as well. However, he is using primarily labs.

Like I said I appreciate your response Sharon and value the opinion. Hopefully a few others will chime in as well!

HuntEastAdventures
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Re: Dual Training Birds and Sheds

Post by HuntEastAdventures » Sun Mar 12, 2017 7:25 pm

Where's all the shed hunting guys that are on here?haha

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ezzy333
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Re: Dual Training Birds and Sheds

Post by ezzy333 » Sun Mar 12, 2017 7:35 pm

HuntEastAdventures wrote:Where's all the shed hunting guys that are on here? haha
OUT HUNTING SHEDS BEFORE THE BIG SNOW TONIGHT.
http://www.perfectpedigrees.com/4genview.php?id=144
http://www.perfectpedigrees.com/4genview.php?id=207

It's not how many breaths you have taken but how many times it has been taken away!

Has anyone noticed common sense isn't very common anymore.

cjhills
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Re: Dual Training Birds and Sheds

Post by cjhills » Sun Mar 12, 2017 8:30 pm

I have been to a few seminars on shed hunting with retrievers and my son has done some work on shed hunting with goldens. The general consensus seems to be that you can't do both very well. I would for sure don the shed training first. maybe you could pick up a shed or two while hunting. There are a lot of pheasants where he shed
hunts ..............................Cj

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greg jacobs
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Re: Dual Training Birds and Sheds

Post by greg jacobs » Mon Mar 13, 2017 9:27 pm

My son shed hunts. His shorthair spends his time looking for birds. They are both happy.

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CDN_Cocker
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Re: Dual Training Birds and Sheds

Post by CDN_Cocker » Wed Mar 15, 2017 3:56 am

My dog does both. However I don't know that he distinguishes when we're in the field. His priority is always birds but is familiar with the scent of sheds so if he runs over one he'll scoop it up and bring it to me. But birds are king to him and that's alright with me. We went shed hunting on Saturday. We didn't find any but he did flush 7 grouse and 2 woodcock. Pretty good day shed hunting in my books.
Cass
"If you train a young dog for momentum, precision will arrive. If you train for precision, demanding perfection, momentum will depart." - Rex Carr

HuntEastAdventures
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Re: Dual Training Birds and Sheds

Post by HuntEastAdventures » Fri Mar 17, 2017 11:01 pm

CDN_Cocker,
Thanks for the response. I am just looking for an excuse to get more woods time with my Vizsla. We primarily hunt Moose Sheds up here and they are found in the old timber harvesting areas full of slash. So kind of a different habitat then the bird covers we will be in in the fall. I certainly wont be complaining if he is locking up on point on birds while we are shed hunting, or if he scoops up a shed while we are in a bird cover. :D

Appreciate all the responses guys!

Mike

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