Gun Dog Forum

Hi everyone,

It may sound like a blessing as training advances, but I have a pup that's coming up on 5 months old and he's just not into chasing birds after the flush. He hunts hard for the planted pigeons or quail, loves to have birds in his mouth, and seems to really enjoy the training, but it made the gun intro a little more difficult than anticipated.

What I have done is thrown clipped wing birds for him to chase while a friend is 100 yards off and shooting in the distance. We worked our way in and he never acknowledged the gunfire. The next training session I did the same thing, then shot a couple birds for him when he gave a little chase, which was maybe only 5-10 yards.

Anything I should be doing or watching out for? I had someone tell me that I should be letting him catch some birds to get the drive back. Seemed a little counterproductive to me, since he had already caught a few when I first introduced him to birds. He's a quick learner and has a lot of natural ability, but that is actually making this a little more difficult. Good problem to have I guess.

One week and we will be up north working on wild birds. Thanks

if he is pointing birds and standing until you flush you are blessed. Don't mess with something that is already working. If he is hunting hard and finding birds, he has all the prey drive, he needs.

mask wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 08, 2024 6:10 pm

if he is pointing birds and standing until you flush you are blessed. Don't mess with something that is already working. If he is hunting hard and finding birds, he has all the prey drive, he needs.

Blessed is an understatement. He has a lot of potential and the brains to be a good grouse dog.

I think I’ll continue to do repetitions with the gun while he’s chasing a clipped wing bird. With past dogs, it was always a pretty easy process since they were so set on chasing the birds that the gun was just background noise. I don’t want to end up shooting and startling him, probably should’ve been more cautious about that before.

It’s amazing the different things you learn from each dog. Guess that’s part of what makes it so fun

mask wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 08, 2024 6:10 pm

if he is pointing birds and standing until you flush you are blessed. Don't mess with something that is already working. If he is hunting hard and finding birds, he has all the prey drive, he needs.

+1 Good luck with the upcoming hunt & have fun with your pup.