pheasant and young dog.

[deke]

I have a question that might sound a little stupid to some of you. I have a nine month old pointing lab, and we get him out with pidgeons about once a week and he is doing really well. Now our pheasents are about old enough to start training with. My question is how do i go about releasing these things? I mean pidgeons you shake so they dont just fly off. Is there a way to release a pheasant so that it doesnt just fly away or run to the next county? Also, what is the proper way to introduce a pup to a bigger faster bird? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Redfishkilla]

Wait for the season and take him as much as you possibly can with wild birds. JMO.

Or...

A kick cage? Hobble the legs? A bird launcher would be the best, assuming the dog is used to it. What exactly are you trying to accomplish in your training?

[deke]

we are just trying to get him on some birds that we will be hunting so that opening day he doesnt just run around chasing butterflies. I know when he went to the trainer they used chuker and pidgeons, and he had quail on his property. But should we be using some pheasant to get him used to that kind of bird?

[gonehuntin']

Hobble the legs so the bird can't run, clip one wing or pull the feathers so it can't fly. Beware!! A pheasant can really tear a young dog up between it's spurs and beating it with it's wings. They're a whole different ball game. Be careful on the introduction.

In lieu of hobbling the legs, you can tie a sinker weighing about an ounce on 6" of string to ONE leg. As the bird runs, it'll tangle in the grass.

They squawk too.

Make sure the dog has had a ton of pigeons before you switch to pheasant.

[Redfishkilla]

The only thing I can think of would be to make sure his first pheasant flush is not right up in his face. If he's plenty bold this won't be a problem but if he's a little shyer you don't want to make him "blink" pheasants because the first one scared him. A pheasant flush can be a pretty noisy affair.

The other thing you might think about is hobbling one to make it to where it can't fly but can run. Put it out and give it a little head start then bring in your pup. This will teach him to track runners which can be very beneficial in actual wild bird hunting. If you're training him to point I wouldn't do that though.

Yeah and what Gone huntin' said about spurs and such. Maybe the first one should be dead? Good luck.

[4dabirds]

You can dizzy the pheasant just like a pigeon. Head under the wing shake it up good and walk away quickly as soon as you put it down in good cover. Mark where the bird is with survey tape. Bring the dog to the bird with a check-cord and flush the bird guaranteeing that the dog does not get a face full of spurs.

[birddog1968]

we dizzy by holding phez with both hands thumbs over its back and fingers holding each drumstick, make a motion that gets their head spinning, spin until they are dizzy. Tuck head under wing and pull both legs hard out the back and hold till bird relaxes...then plant carefully.

You'll want to have a honest dog tho if your going to sleep them.... otherwise just do the first part and throw down in cover.

[K9luke]

An excellent way to dizzy a bird is to put it in a pillow case or burlap sack. Gently spin the sack in large circles like a propeller. about 5 to 8 times. Then plant the bird in heavy cover with little open sky over its head. The more you spin/dizzy it the longer it will hold. The sack makes a good transport from pen to field as well.
You can take pheasant feathers and plant them with your live pigeons. That's called scent mixing. It works very well with scent training.
A launcher would be the best bet.
If you have one, use a dead pheasant for a few retrieves to get the dog used to the size and scent prior to a live bird introduction. Just throw it like a training dummy. If it's not tore up bad freeze it and reuse it again later.

[gonehuntin']

An excellent way to dizzy a bird is to put it in a pillow case or burlap sack. Gently spin the sack in large circles like a propeller. about 5 to 8 times. Then plant the bird in heavy cover with little open sky over its head. The more you spin/dizzy it the longer it will hold. The sack makes a good transport from pen to field as well.
You can take pheasant feathers and plant them with your live pigeons. That's called scent mixing. It works very well with scent training.
A launcher would be the best bet.
If you have one, use a dead pheasant for a few retrieves to get the dog used to the size and scent prior to a live bird introduction. Just throw it like a training dummy. If it's not tore up bad freeze it and reuse it again later.

That is some good information there.