American and French Brittanys as companion gun dogs. Hunting, training, trialing and more.

If you haven’t had a chance to read my article on my free training tips web page at http://brittanys.com/ , give it a read.  It might help you however, if you have a dog that retrieves but chews up your bird, read on.  At this point, I think it more important to figure out how you arrived at that point.

First thing we should discuss is ‘how did my dog get to this point?’.

Besides being undernourished and other health related issues let’s assume the dog is in good health.  Hungry dogs do eat birds!

Everything starts with the ‘rules of posession’ which begin on the first retrieve.  We quickly take the object from the pup as soon as pup arrives.  This sends the wrong message.  You want to share the object with your dog.  If the only satisfaction your dog gets on the retrieve is to hold it briefly, you are setting yourself up for possession issues.

I strongly believe that the rules of posession can set up concerns later down the road.  Share your dogs retrieve by gently stroking him when he arrives with the object.  Don’t immediately take the object.  Praise him for a job well done while he holds it in his mouth.  This reward encourages him to bring it back over and over so that he can receive the praise.

Another thing is ‘what object’ to play fetch with.   I believe in using firm objects that discourage chewing.  Not a hard treat but maybe a bumper with knobbies on it like DT Systems offers.  They have one that can be inflated with a football airpump.  Inflate to firmly.  Use an object that only you two share together and no other time which is why I say “no toys!”.

So now we’ve discussed early retrieves and how to share the retrieve as well as firmness of the object.

Now lets talk about the chewing of soft objects.  I have always given my pups chew toys and they usually end up taking the stuffing out.  Some folks may say that it encourages chewing but I don’t believe that.  If anything, it makes soft objects seem routine.  Of course I never play tug-o-war with my dog! 

When I move to birds I start with a hard frozen quail.  It’s better to have two that are hard frozen so that when the first one begins to soften in about 2 to 3 minutes, you can put it up and use the second one. 

Don’t allow your pup to start with a soft, fresh quail.  Especially one that is shot.  The quail is a fragile bird to begin with and we don’t pup to get a taste of entrails and such.

The trained retrieve or ‘force fetch’ works for hard mouth so if you are dealing with this issue it may be too late to go back and start over with hard objects but give it a try anyway.  Start all over as if pup has not been retrieving.

If that doesn’t work, I have a couple of techniques that I will discuss in a future post.  These are techniques that if they fail, the worse that can happen is that you have to force train anyway.

Allow a trained professional to perform the trained retrieve as it is not an easy task and not for the faint of heart.  You must follow through with the entire program because if you stop, you’ve lost.

Take care!

Dave

Now What? …Often asked but rarely followed through on in late winter and early spring.

My observation has been that when the season is over, we all relax and start thinking of other activities.  I would say that right after season is the time to train and correct issues you had during season but maybe could not get a handle on.

The reasons are this: First, it’s still fresh on the dogs mind.  Second, it’s fresh on your mind.  Third, the weather is still cold so you can really work your dog for longer periods of time plus your dog is still in ‘hunting’ shape.

Work on those issues that bothered you.  If your dog was just over a year when season started back in Sepetember’s dove season, that dog is now a full year and a half.  The dog is more mature and can handle a bit more extensive training.  Older dogs that developed bad habits can be tightened up.  Perhaps your dog is 2 or 3 and not a good natural retriever.  Now would be the time to perform a ‘trained retrieve or force training’ program.

If you get all of this done now, the hot lazy days of summer will truly be lazy as all you’ll have to do is touch-up work and conditioning.

Put those golf clubs away and whatever other spring treat you have for yourself and begin training!  If you do, your summer will truly be lazy.

Happy Hunting’ and Trainin’

Dave

Matt is your typical Kansas upland hunter.  He loves to pursue bobwhite quail and ringneck pheasant.   All he had in his mind when he obtained a pup from me out of Nubbin’ was a nice little Brittany for his kids and hunting activities.

Matt brought his young pup ‘Lady’ to me for phase I training later and followed through with my program as instructed.  Of course, he did much more, he hunted her every opportunity he could do so.  Wild birds make bird dogs, it’s that simple and he knew it.

I had told Matt that I thought she was going to be something special when she completed Phase I training and it has come true.  In just a year of field trials in which Lady mostly missed this past fall, she has come into her own realm as a 3 year old.  In a very short time she is just one point shy of her AFC and 4 shy of her FC.  While this is not a record, it is a terrific achievement for ‘just a hunting family dog’.

But how did she get to trials from a guy who only wanted to hunt?  He recognized that indeed he does have something special.  We encouraged him to try a trial or two just for fun and the rest is history.

Lady is a smallish gyp (female dog) but presents great style and intensity.  Though she is small, her run has improved over time to where she can hunt virtually any cover with ease.  She has seen nothing but wild birds in her life except for her initial phase I training here on my grounds.  Matt has sent her to Montana twice and each year she looks better and better.

While I’m not a trialer, I am pleased that Matt has chosen to share his bundle of joy with the rest of the Brittany community.  She’s not perfect but she is definitely fun to watch.

Dave

It does rank in the top 3 on my list of important commands but the question is tricky.

“When”  and “how” is most important in the way ‘come’ is taught.

I suppose the most important thing we should all remember is that the Brittany, though lovable and cuddly, is put on earth to hunt.  Unlike flushing and retrieving breeds, they are not bred to stay around your feet within shotgun range because their job is different. 

A flushing / retrieving breed should …   [Read more →]

It’s funny how a first aid kit for a dog grows and grows.  It seems the more you run into, the more you need.  I remember my first kit dedicated to dogs.  It consisted of …   [Read more →]

Our cover is tall and its January.  The dogs have no problems hunting as the cover is mostly comprised of broomweed.  Broomweed is shaped a bit like umbrellas, wide at the top on a narrow woody single stem arising from the ground.  Quail can easily run down below yet they are shielded by the overhead cover against avian predators and man.

Broomweed is best attacked by freezing precip like freezing rain, sleet and snow.  It’s really weird this year as my lease has been passed by each time we’ve had frozen precip.  I actually live to the south of my lease and we have been hit by frozen precip 2 or 3 times already.

So what is my tactic in this kind of late season cover?…  [Read more →]

I once knew a guy that fed each of his pointers one full can of dog food before hunting. He said it is all they would eat if they knew they were going to hunt. He thinks it gives them an energy boost. My personal opinion is that I’ve tried that many years ago and I didn’t notice any difference.

I knew another guy that use to feed his dogs before hunting but his reasoning was so that his dogs wouldn’t eat his birds. LOL Looked to me like the dogs were a bit thin to begin with. Here’s a true related story:

About 11 or so years ago… [Read more →]

I had a new dog come in early this morning for phase I training. According to the handler, the dog has been sound conditioned and introduced to birds.

Now as a trainer, I can take that knowledge, accept it and move on to the next step or I can be from Missouri and have to be shown. (Missouri is the ’show me’ state). There is absolutely no question what I will do as I have journeyed down this well worn path many, many times.

Before I answer though I would like to make a point, pardoning my often times pun. Though this situation may not sound like something you would encounter it actually is similar.

We often think our dog …..  [Read more →]

Everyone who has hunted sharptail grouse (sharpies) both early and late season will tell you there is a huge difference in the approach.

Early season sharpies will hold almost like bobwhite quail.  Late season sharpies will post sentinels and flush well out of range.  Pointing dog work is near impossible if they have been hunted and pressured much.

One primary tactic taught to me years ago … [Read more →]

You know, this is something I face just like many Brittany owners. Though I do this full time, I have to make a logical choice based on where the dog was on the last lesson. The difference between me and most of you is that my last lesson for any particular dog was less than 4 to 24 hours ago.

Even though my last lesson was recent, I still have to plan what I should do next. I’d say about 1/3 of the time, I change my plans as the dog enters into the lesson based on his / her physical and mental presentation.

Huh? If you are a visual sort of person remember “P.M.” for physical and mental presentation:

Physical presentation is the position of the dog’s tail, ear position and overall body posture when beginning the lesson. I want to know up front what kind of ‘mood’ my young charge is in.

Did you know that there are over 100 positions of ears/tails that mean different things? I am still a student of the dog and don’t profess to know it all. Seminars and clinics that I give and others who make a living at it are not representative of everything you need to know.

Mental presentation or readiness is his receptiveness to training. Some lessons the dog just doesn’t want to participate and is stubborn….sometimes he is physically presenting ‘I’m happy’ but mentally not wanting to go along with training and projects a ‘yeah right, not this lesson’ kind of attitude.

There have been many times that I have last second ‘read’ a dog and changed the game plan. This change can be everything from going back and repeating the last lesson to recognizing that the dog didn’t ‘get’ the last lesson and we need to back up two lessons. It could also be that the dog is ready to move forward!

Here’s some things I’d like to share with you that may help you be more successful:

1. If the dog is not a willing participant that lesson, do something you know he will do readily. Do that repetitively and praise. Often, a warm up on what is already learned will make the dog more receptive to the next lesson.
2. Having said that, always start with something they know! It gives the dog confidence. If every time you train you start with something he doesn’t know he’ll begin to shy away from lessons.
3. Watch your dogs physical and mental reactions (P.&E.) to the lesson. Learn to read the ears and tail. They are senders. The two point out a lot to the trainer.
4. Speaking of senders, I get questions about the tail. I suggest it be left alone. Stroking it up in a lesson is debatable among trainers but most reputable trainers including me will tell you the tail is not for yanking around. It is a sender.

Well, that’s about it for today. I’m about to head out to train on wild birds at my lease so need to get going. Take care and Happy Hunting!

Dave