Much of what a bird dog needs to know is learned from the birds themselves. Among those lessons is the key concept that the dog can’t catch the bird. The dog needs to understand that once it smells a bird, it should stop, point and stay on point. It will learn that moving closer will cause the bird to flush and once flushed, the bird is gone and the fun is over.
Female bobwhite quail on training grounds in western Tennessee.
Wild birds are the ultimate teacher of this lesson. But it’s not always possible or feasible to completely develop a dog on them. The next best option is to use liberated birds in situations where the birds act as close to wild as possible.
We’ve tried chukar partridge and Hungarian partridge but bobwhite quail have proved to be the best.
After some trial and error, I now have two reliable methods of working with quail. Both worked at our home kennel and at winter training sites in Oklahoma and Tennessee.
First, though, it’s important to find the right habitat. The cover needs to be thin enough so the birds can easily fly from it, but also near enough to areas with heavy cover where they can fly to and escape.
My preferred method is to establish a strong, well-seasoned covey using a Johnny house. I basically “train” these quail by flushing them from the house many, many times. They fly into the surrounding area and become familiar with the cover. The more these birds are used, the better they get. After they’re adjusted to the habitat, it’s not uncommon to have the covey disappear for a day or more before coming back to the house and, when they do that, you have some great training birds.
The second option is to release a covey in a likely area surrounded by a good mix of cover. I then feed them three times per week to keep them coming back. There are two big disadvantages: the whole covey can be lost and these birds aren’t as reliable as Johnny house quail. But this method is invaluable for advanced training and teaching a dog that birds are not always easy to find.
We put great effort into having quality released birds for training; it’s expensive and time consuming. Ultimately, it’s worth it because the better the birds, the better the bird dog.
Martha Greenlee’s article on Steady With Style provides excellent advice on using training birds.
Dog training—whether as passion or profession—is a continual learning experience. One of the best ways to learn is to hang around experts. I was fortunate enough to spend some time recently in Arizona with Bill Gibbons.
Bill Gibbons
Bill has been training dogs for more than 39 years and is widely renowned and admired. He first trained and handled vizslas on the field trial circuit for 15 years and then worked with pointers and setters for another 10 years. He now trains dogs for bird hunters and field trial competitors.
Over the years, I’ve researched many different training techniques and styles. Even though Bill’s philosophy is quite different from the way most bird dogs are trained, it definitely resonates with me.
Central to Bill’s philosophy is the belief that a bird dog learns best from the birds themselves. He trains using dog psychology and creates situations that allow the dog to make its own decisions about how to act around birds. Bill uses a short check line, pinch collar and an ecollar to communicate to the dog.
Bill flushing a carded pigeon while two dogs honor
Following are some quick observations.
• All of Bill’s training takes place on the ground in areas where birds are present. He never does traditional yard training.
• Bill doesn’t have mechanical bird releasers. He uses wild-caught pigeons that are attached by a short piece of yarn to a cardboard square. The pigeon can fly at will but not very far because of the cardboard. In the desert, the pigeons are spooky and take flight as soon as a dog gets near.
• Bill trains daily with an ad-hoc group of amateur trainers and dog owners. At any time, there might be three or more dogs working in the field at the same time.
• He never talks to the dog and instead lets it learn from the birds. (I never heard him say “Whoa.”) A soft stroke and a pat on the side shows the dog it did well.
Common sense should tell us that the best and most efficient way to get a dog with the inherited ability to find and point ruffed grouse would be to get one from a line of proven grouse dogs. But common sense, often, is not so common. People mistakenly believe that any well-bred bird dog will make a grouse dog, even if none of the dogs in the pedigree have ever hunted, much less pointed, a grouse. While some could develop into fine grouse dogs, the odds don’t favor them.
What are the genetic qualities of a grouse dog?
To start:
• strong hunting instincts
• above average intelligence
• right amount of point
Also important, though:
• physical strength and stamina
• desire to hunt in heavy, punishing cover
• good hearing and eyesight
Finally, a little fine-tuning:
• the instinct to range in a manner that effectively covers ground and yet stays in contact with the hunter
• scenting ability that allows accurate location of a bird while the dog is moving through the woods at a fast pace
• capability to follow a running bird, possibly for hundreds of yards, and get it pointed
So, you bought a puppy prospect with the right genes; now the work begins.
It will take about three seasons of consistent exposure for that prospect to develop into a grouse dog. Consider a good year when one could average three grouse flushes per hour. For a hunter walking at 2 mph, that’s about 1.5 grouse per mile. If you hunt four hours per day for 10 days, you will have walked 80 miles to flush 120 grouse. (4 hours x 10 days = 40 hours. 40 hours x 2 mph = 80 miles. 80 miles x 1.5 = 120 grouse).
After three seasons you’ll have walked about 240 miles!
Bottom line? Buy a puppy from a line of proven grouse dogs and buy two pair of good boots. Find hunting spots with good grouse habitat. Turn your dog loose and start walking.
By the time both pairs of boots are worn out, you’ll have a grouse dog!
In our gun dog foundation training, we use pigeons in launchers to teach dogs about birds and how to act around them. We need control of the bird to create the necessary training situations. That control gives us better timing and helps instill the desired behavior.
But since the goal is not to have the best pigeon dogs around, we eventually need to transition to wild birds.
While a dog may be finished on pigeons in two or three months, it will take at least that long and much more effort to finish it on wild birds. There are three reasons.
We lose the ability to control the bird.
This creates a whole new set of conditions for us. Since we don’t know when or how the bird will flush, we have to focus intently on everything going on to react and to properly correct the dog.
The level of distraction is much higher.
The locations and terrain are different. The dog is more excited and less focused on us. (Wild birds are much more stimulating to the dog.) The sessions are longer which may cause the dog to be hot and/or tired.
The number of bird contacts changes.
The dog can only progress when it finds a bird. As trainers, knowing where the birds are is critical. Consistent bird contact creates consistent opportunities for learning.
Key points to remember.
• Progress in wild bird training depends on the foundation created during pigeon training. If your dog isn’t performing well in training situations, it’s not ready to move on.
• Expect your dog to do things wrong on wild birds. Give it some freedom to learn from mistakes. Don’t correct too hard or too fast. Look for progress not perfection.
• More birds are not always better. Dogs learn by repetition and consistent bird contact over a longer period will provide those repetitions.
• Some dogs can take a lot of pressure and the finishing will go quickly. Others must be handled more delicately. Read your dog.
• Timing is everything. The dog must understand why it was corrected. If your timing is good, much progress can be made in a few encounters.
• Dogs are place oriented. They learn to respond to certain stimulus in the training field, but it will take repetition to generalize that behavior on wild birds.
• Dogs constantly read our body language. We, too, act differently in situations involving wild birds.
Finishing your dog on wild birds will take time. But the results of that effort will reward you with many years of satisfaction and pride.
Touch remains forever the most potent reward that a dog can receive. ~Bruce Fogle, The Dogs Mind
Physical touch is a powerful way to communicate with a dog. By far the most common means is petting. While petting might seem like a no-brainer it is incredible that so many people do it incorrectly.
First of all, petting a dog is not “patting” a dog. “Patting” is a slap and similar in motion to dribbling a basketball. Dogs don’t like to be “patted” anywhere but especially on their heads. (I’ve seen dogs flinch when being “patted” on the head.) Watch while a dog is getting “patted.” It’s obvious by the expression and reaction of the dog that it’s not a pleasing or enjoyable experience.
What dogs really like is being touched with gentle, stroking motions. This petting can be applied differently to various parts of the dog’s anatomy and to convey specific messages. Long, slow, light strokes calm and quiet a dog while harder, short, quick pets will excite. Petting a dog under its chin is similar to how a submissive dog reacts to a more dominate dog and isn’t the message to convey. When petting the side of the head or cheek area in a front-to-back motion, the dog assumes a “submissive grin” which reinforces your status as the pack leader.
All dogs have a “sweet spot” where they love being petted. This spot is the area between and slightly behind the shoulder blades. When dogs roll on their backs on grass or carpet, they are really focusing on these parts of their bodies. It’s obvious how good it feels.
Petting your dog using the proper touch, technique and location is very important. You’ll be communicating the message you desire and the dog will be much happier, too!
Proud Austin with a pheasant pointed by Blue Riptide.
I am often asked the question: “Should I hunt my grouse dog on pheasants? Or will that ruin it for grouse?”
My answer is another question about goals: “Do you want the ultimate grouse dog or do you enjoy hunting pheasants as much as grouse?”
If you want your dog perfected on grouse, my answer is no. Don’t use your pointing dog on pheasants. If, however, you like to hunt both grouse and pheasants, then I say okay. There are key differences between pheasants and grouse and one, rather unfamiliar, similarity. Pheasants tend to run out from a dog’s points and to not sit well. But so, occasionally, do grouse, especially wily, adult birds in late season. Many times I’ve spotted grouse running ahead of the dog in dense cover. When a pheasant does hold, it allows a pointing dog to approach it more closely. Most ruffed grouse don’t. The ability to point a grouse accurately—but at a distance—is what separates real grouse dogs from those that occasionally point a grouse.
Pheasants have a stronger scent because they are larger than a ruffed grouse and are likely to be in a group. Grouse are smaller birds and tend to be solitary which makes them more difficult to locate. Despite those distinctions, though, there are pheasant hunting conditions that favor pointing dogs…and those that don’t. The ideal situation is an expansive, grassy piece with mixed terrain. A running pheasant could stop and hide at various breaks in the cover and, thereby, provide a spot for a pointing dog to pin it.
I wouldn’t hunt my pointing dog where it’s unlikely the pheasant will ever hold—such as cattail slews, standing corn or sorghum feed strips. Even if my dog points a rooster in such cover, it usually evolves into a cat-and-mouse game that only serves to frustrate the dog. Another tough scenario is many birds in a small area, i.e., a food plot, when too much scent is difficult. A flushing dog is the better dog in these situations.
Ultimately, if you want your dog to be the best grouse dog it can be, then avoid more than the occasional pheasant hunt. If the goal is a good wild bird dog and you enjoy hunting pheasants as much as grouse, use you’re pointing dog.
Working dogs on spring grouse is quite different from autumn training. The grassy cover is matted down and birds are frequently seen walking in front of the dog—quite a tempting situation for a young (or not-so-young!) dog—which also makes for great training. It’s common to flush two or more grouse in front of a point.
Shaq pointing grouse.
The spring grouse woods in Minnesota can be tough on a dog. The terrain includes spots of ice, soft mud, cold creeks and many obstacles in thick cover. It is no small effort for dogs to constantly twist, turn, jump and navigate and all at a good rate of speed. It’s important to have the dogs in decent condition. Some of our dogs’ worst injuries have occurred in the spring.
Jill pointing woodcock.
We love working dogs on spring grouse and woodcock…..and we basically have the woods to ourselves.
Have you ever been frustrated with a young dog that puts bird after bird into the air after pointing for only a fleeting moment? Me, too!
But don’t be too quick to admonish your dog. After significant experience with many pointing dogs, I have learned that this type of young dog has the makings of a top-notch, wild bird dog that can provide exciting bird work and excellent shooting opportunities. Why? Because in the process of flushing all those birds, your young dog is learning one of the most important lessons of a pointing dog—accurate location.
Accurate location is essential to productive dog work and good shooting. Consider the alternative: continually walking in front of your dog on point and no birds flush. Anticipation fades and, more importantly, you no longer believe your dog. When you start second-guessing, you are down the wrong path!
How does a dog acquire accuracy of location?
First of all, the dog must have inherited the genetic traits of a strong nose and boldness towards birds. Dogs that demonstrate accurate location are more likely to produce dogs with similar abilities.
Secondly, the dog must be given ample opportunity on wild birds. He must be allowed freedom to match wits with a wild bird on its own turf and, ultimately, must be allowed the freedom to make mistakes. There is no shortcut for his step. Most dogs flush many birds before they learn.
Finally, the dog must be trained to hold point in a manner that doesn’t either diminish its boldness or increase its cautiousness.
Sound genetics, plentiful bird exposure and proven training techniques are crucial components to accurate location of the bird by a pointing dog.
It might seem like a cliché but the message still isn’t out to everyone who owns a bird dog.
Birds make bird dogs.
To wit: A couple brought their male German shorthaired pointer puppy to our kennel for an evaluation. They thought it needed to be taught obedience—especially heel and whoa—to be ready for the fall hunting season. When I asked if the dog had been exposed to birds and gunfire, both nodded enthusiastically.
But when I threw a freshly killed pigeon, he sidled up to it and sniffed from as far away as he could. And when I threw a couple live pigeons on the ground a short distance from the dog, he showed mild interest and little chase when they flew. I inquired further about the bird exposure and the couple replied, “He has seen three birds at the game farm and one was shot over with a shotgun!”
Maybe their expectations are different than mine, but I want a puppy that lives to find birds, enthusiastically busts cover, heartily gives chase to anything that flies and gets excited at the sound of gunfire. I want a young dog that is bold, confident and self-assured. No two dogs are alike and some are naturally more confident and birdy than others, but my experience is that developing a puppy to the level of desire I want does not happen in three or four field outings, much less three or four bird contacts!
We spend hours and hours working puppies in natural cover either on foot, from a four-wheeler or on horseback. The puppies experience woods, creeks, song birds, tall grass, short grass, cattle, fences and all other things they will be exposed to in hunting situations. Most importantly, we put out enough birds so they have several contacts each outing. We want to develop their desire for hunting and finding birds as much as possible. As they start finding and chasing the birds, we shoot a soft blank pistol and work up to a 20-gauge shotgun.
After a number of experiences like that, most will start to point and hold long enough for us to get to them. At this time, we stroke their backs and tail and push them towards the bird. This handling is very important as it increases their intensity and lets them know we approve. When they break and chase we give a hoot and shoot the gun again.
As they point long enough for us to flush the bird, we will try and kill a bird or two for them. And that is a huge reward as nothing fires up a young dog more. It is important not to overdo this stage, though. Two or three times a week at first and once or twice as they come to understand will be enough.
A young dog developed in this manner will have the foundation necessary to progress to more serious training and be well on its way to becoming a bird dog. Heck, you might even kill some birds during its first hunting season!
