Stubborn hardheaded bird dogs

I seldom write about stubborn dogs because 99 percent of the Brittanys out there do not exhibit these traits to any extreme.  Often they will exhibit traits that make you think they are stubborn and hard headed when bird dog training but don’t be fooled, that’s desire and that’s a good thing.

I want a dog that is so bird crazy …  that I have to utilize lots of repetition.  That is not necessarily stubbornness or hardheadedness but rather it is a strong desire to do what God has put in their genes.   Now don’t laugh, there is a difference.

I’ve trained many hardheaded dogs.  They are the dogs that no matter what you do, they just don’t seem to care.  You’ve seen those dogs, they are the ones that have no obvious concern repercussions.  They are the ones that don’t want to listen any time, much less on birds.

Some folks may label them as ’stupid’ or worse.  These dogs are often not ‘team players’.  They hunt for themselves with no regard to you.  I’ve actually heard comments from hunters about dogs like that who would rather give away or put down a dog like that because they seem untrainable.

I was given such a dog in the last 10 years.  It was a sickle tailed pointer named Happy that I renamed ‘Dam-it’, for obvious reasons.  His owner was going to put him down and when I protested, he gave me the dog.  At the moment I though, ‘Dang, I had to open my mouth’.  In retrospect, it was a rewarding training experience.

Dam-it was a challenge for sure.  I found out quickly why the guy didn’t want the dog.  He wouldn’t listen no matter what.  At the time I got him I was guiding hunts every single day so Dam-it was more of a liability than a help in my hunts.

I was determined to not let Dam-it win so I hunted him anyway.  It didn’t take long to figure out that an e-collar around his neck was nothing more than an ornament.  My clients were always forewarned before I put him on the ground and they were always glad when it was time to pick him up!

I jokingly told every client that hunted with me that they were the lucky grand prize winners of a hardheaded pointer!  Everyone laughed and no one wanted him.

As the season progressed I finally blended in the e-collar on his flank.  I only used it for one command ‘Whoa!’.  I figured if he really was stupid then we should limit his vocabulary to just one command.  ‘Even the most retarded dog can learn one command’ I reasoned with myself.  LOL

I will admit that it took a lot of ‘reasoning’ with 4 year old Dam-it.  But you know, eventually he got it and began to understand that we don’t bust birds and such.  By the end of the season I had him where he was holding point 7 out of 10 times.

The next season, he acted like he forgot a bit but he quickly reoriented and got better!  He got to the place in his training where if he disappeared for a minute or two, I knew to look for him because he was probably standing birds.   He looked awesome on his birds, a magnificent athlete, well muscled and mostly white with a liver blaze on his head.  He would hold his sickle tail up at 12:00 o’clock (at the base of the tail, LOL) while the rest curled over towards his head.

So what’s this story about?  It’s my story of ‘hang in there, it can get better’ and to be patient.

Often times folks are far too short sighted.  They don’t see the magnificence in their dog because they can’t see a future with that dog.  All they see is busted birds and a ruined season.

Don’t be like that.  Be patient.  If the dog has a nose and a run with a good degree of intelligence in finding birds then be patient.  Patience is a virtue.  All too often the impatient hunter / trainer can only think about shots missed this season and the all the shots they will make over that dog in the next 10 years.

Guess that’s it for today.

Take care and please, please, take a kid hunting.  Preserve our heritage.  If that’s not possible, take that office buddy that is ‘city boy’ personified.   Be a  mentor.

Dave