Dog Training

[Seabass77]

Someone at work told me of a game farm that also serves well as a Dog Training Center. Apparently, they take a pheasant, pull it through small field and then cage it in the field. The next step is to let your pup, track the scent and once he finds the bird, you release it and shoot. I know it sounds cruel but for dog training purposes, it sounds like a pretty good idea to me.

Any other suggestions would also be appreciated. My pup is 1 year old, and not a bred hunting dog. I am not looking for miracles but if he could at least pitch in on some duties in the field, that would be great. Any ideas on books, videos, classes, anything would be great.

Seabass

[BLACKJACK]

Get some live pigeons and keep them in a cage. Trim the main flight feathers off ONE wing, turn them loose. The first couple of times let your pup see you turn them loose. After awhile, give the birds a 5 minute head start. Your pup will love it and he'll learn to love birds. If he has a soft mouth, you can keep reusing the pigeons. Use the pigeons as a reward after your dummy work, after getting a pigeon, they don't want to do dummies. Make sure that you have 'hold' down pat and make sure that they'll bring it back to you - if they won't bring back a dummy, they won't bring back a pigeon. 'Game Dog' by Wolters is a good book, he stresses the basics - sit, heel, stay - while giving you the info to make your dog into and upland and/or water dog. Good luck.

[Seabass77]

Thanks Blackjack...any other tips??

[Guest]

Seabass, some game farms will let you go out and hunt for scratch. This means you dont prepay for birds, but if you happen to see or shoot birds they have released but not shot they will only charge you for those birds.It's worth checking into because the more time you're dog spends in the field with naturally occurring scent, the more they learn and figure out what they are looking for. GUN DOG is an excellent book just for enjoyment alone,and also very useful for reference. Same author as GAME DOG. Good Luck