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

Continuing along with the Golden Rule previously written about, you should also know that first year hunting dogs can be easily confused with the ’stop to flush’.

It is not unusual for a hypothetical hunter to be hunting with his companion when suddenly a game bird ‘wild flushes’ from an area where the young dog has not hunted.  Therefore, it was not the young prospects fault.  If a bird flushes on its own without the dog being the cause, it is called a wild flush as opposed to the dog ‘bumping’ the bird unintentionally or ‘busting’ the bird intentionally.  Notice the difference in terms and use them correctly.

So the bird wild flushes and we shoot it.  Our reasoning was no harm, no foul.  Wrong.

The young dog that had nothing to do with the wild flush may get the idea that the rules of being steady do not apply in that location (and all locations if you keep doing it) since he was hunting (running) when a bird flushed on its own and you shot it for him.  In the young dogs mind, he does not know whether it was a wild flush, bump or bust.  All he knows is that he has new rules when afield.  Huh?  Yep. 

In this situation described above, it is possible that your dog will be confused and begin to bust birds intentionally.  Later, if not corrected properly, he can get the idea that he is suppose to bust, stop to flush, then retrieve.  Now you have flushing dog.  Not good.

This is why my addendum to THE Golden Rule is this:  Never shoot a bird not flushed EVEN if a WILD FLUSH!  (for young first year hunting dogs) Lets concentrate on pointing skills that first year in the field.  It’s about the dog, not the kill.  First year hunting dogs provide a means to hunt, not necessarily a means to shoot much game.  BTW, older dogs can develop this habit too.

Happy training and happy hunting to those folks who have a week or two of hunting season remaining!

Dave

Assuming the dog is properly sound conditioned and has basic training complete, the number one rule that one must obey when hunting is so important that if you do not obey it, you are actually undoing proper training.  What is the rule?  … [Read more →]

Earlier I spoke about hard mouth with a promise to share a technique or two to bypass formal force training to repair the hard mouthed dog (or the dog that doesn’t want to bring it to you).

I do not advocate this technique for you or your dog, it is what I do on rare occasion if needed.  I have multiple techniques that I use and it varies with each dogs personality.  I have many years of experience and use modern, safe and humane tools.  Use this technique at your own risk.

I’ll preface this with a note that this is a dog with a lot of field experience and birds shot over it.  Don’t do this to a pup.

Here is one technique:

I go back to the early days of teaching the dog to ‘come’. 

For a couple of weeks  I only work this dog on the come command.  To the point that the dog just does it without thinking.  The dog must come running to me on ‘come’ and be happy to get there.  I start with a check cord and vibration for praise.  I later blend in very low level stimulation with the ‘check’ so he knows both mean the same thing.  Vibration is only praise for a job well done blended in with stroking the dog shoulder to flank.  I never use it with stim.

Once he knows both mean the same thing (the check and low level ‘nick’) I move on to just using the low level nick.  The SPT 2432 that I use has 50 levels, much more than other collars.

I use the nick and the come command over several lessons though the dog is coming to me just fine.  This low level nick is nothing more pressure than someone tapping you on the shouldler to get your attention. 

If you have a collar with less than 16 levels, don’t use this technique!  Your collar will probably be too low on one setting and too hot on the next.

A couple of weeks pass and now I move on to the retrieve.  I am portraying a dog that loves to retrieve and is hard mouthed and/or doesn’t come immediately when called in from the retrieve. 

I use the same easy tone of voice and same low level ‘tap on the shoulder’ level stim when I ask the dog to come to me with the object being retrieved.  The dog has learned to report immediately in earlier lessons.  If it doesn’t, you can repeat the command and give a simultaneous low level nick.  9 times out of 10 the dog will no longer think of chewing or delaying his arrival and report immediately.

I set this up with 2 weeks or more of just working on ‘come’ as outlined.  If you don’t, the dog will associate the nick with the object and spit it out.  He must understand the nick means to report to you immediately.  REMEMBER, I am using a collar with 50 levels and have many years of professional experience.  If you do this, you are doing this at your own risk.

If you attempt this and do it wrong, you will undoubtedly end up having to perform the force retrieve or trained retrieve method.

Obviously you can’t use this technique for dogs that have zero desire to retrieve anything.  They require the trained retrieve (force retrieve)

Dave

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 →]