What if I’d said “WHOA”?

Northwoods Eddie Setter (CH/RU-CH Northwoods Sir Gordon x Northwoods Valencia, 2023)

The video shows two young setters working wild bobwhite quail in southwestern Georgia. The dog in front that stopped looks, at first, relatively sure. But then he starts to move. He and the backing dog then both move up, point and move again.

Both dogs are trying to locate the birds. They eventually leave the area when they realize the birds are gone.

I never said a word. My only help was a soft whistle, encouraging them to move up.

This is the way to develop a wild bird dog. The handler should let the dog learn accurate location of the bird with minimal interference and, ultimately, learn how close it can get to the birds without causing the birds to flush. (The dog will flush some birds, but who cares? Give the dog freedom to make mistakes.)

What if I’d said “WHOA?” when I walked in on the point and the back? What if I had made the dogs stay on point when they first stopped? What if I’d corrected them?

The dogs would have learned that moving in the presence of bird scent is not allowed. Even if they wanted to move, staying put was the safest thing to do. The dogs would have learned to be more concerned about making a mistake than in handling the birds correctly.

And the dogs would have learned to depend on the handler to decide if the birds were there.