Spring is one of the best times to think about getting a new pup, and it is also the time people start calling me to ask for advice. I give the same advice regardless of whether the person wants a hunting dog or a family companion. I suggest they look for a field-bred pup. A field-bred pup is a pup from field trial lines, and one glance at the pup’s pedigree gives you this information. You want to see one or more champions in a four generation pedigree.
Stay Out of the Way
If you are following the monthly training tips, you have heard me talk about times in training when I do not have a clue what to do. A Brittany pro that has trains dogs to National Championship wins told me one time that dog training is a guess. The trainer guesses, and the dog’s reactions tell him if he is right. Undoubtedly, the more dogs you have on the end of the check-cord the better you guess. Since I am an amateur and do not get to train a lot of dogs, I carry a short list of rules in my head to guide me into making better guesses.
- Don’t say anything.
- Let the bird teach the dog.
These simple rules are part of the West philosophy of dog training. A few years ago I added another one to the list.
- Stay out of the way.
Flushing Birds for Your Dog
Last week I was explaining to a training buddy how to flush birds for her dog. As we were talking, I realized that as trainers we were constantly adapting to each situation—both the dog situation and bird situation, and that made for a myriad of flushing situations.
Let me give you some examples. Flushing in front of young pups is different than flushing in front of older pups. There is flushing for green-broke dogs verses broke dogs, birds in launchers verses planted birds verses wild birds. How you flush can help your dog or hurt him, and while an entire book could be written on this topic, for now here are a few tips.
Martha Greenlee: Dave---dogs that prefer to back often lack desire to point the bird. T...
Dale Parker: Martha,
I have a lazy dog. He's a 2 yr old Pudelpointer. I call him m...
redbirddog: False points.
Came back from the hunting preserve where I hunt with B...
