My back started bothering me yesterday and although it rained yesterday morning I could have worked dogs, had I felt like it. I thought it would be better today but when I got up it was hurting about like yesterday. I believe walking will cure about anything so this morning I started walking. I made a couple of trips around my yard and thought if I’m going to walk I may as well have bird dogs out. So I started working dogs.
Boss pointing a chukar.
Abby pointing a pigeon.
Mann with a pigeon in the tree above him.
I had walked to the back and then back to the front porch. After a cup of coffee I went to the back again. That’s when I decided I may as well be working dogs. I went to the kennel and led Luke out with a check cord. I let him run for a few minutes then petted him near the water faucet. I turned Mann out and let him run for a few minutes. He jumped onto the retrieving bench so I petted him there and then we went back to the wall around the water faucet where I petted him some more.
I had to call Luke to the water faucet to be petted but he was happy to be there. All of the others are waiting for me to get there. In fact they stand between me and the rock wall. But as soon as I get seated they are ready to be petted.
I put an e-collar and GPS collar on Boss and led him out with the check cord. Abby, Boss and Sally are still being worked on the whoa post. I hooked the whoa post rope to Boss’s collar after running it between his back legs and making a half hitch around his flanks. As usual I pulled him until the whoa post rope was taut. I held the check cord tight until he licked his lips.
This morning we are doing something different. After Boss licked his lips I went to him and picked him up and set him back where the whoa post rope was loose. I said, “whoa” and pulled the check cord taut. He didn’t try to move and he licked his lips again. I stroked his sides, unhooked him from the whoa post, tapped his head and said, “okay”. We went to the next whoa post.
I did the same thing on all 3 whoa posts. After the third one I led him a few feet away, tapped his head and let him run. He ran toward the back but I only walked to the retrieving bench. In a couple of minutes he came back and jumped onto the retrieving bench.
One of my dumb pigeons.
I petted him several times on the bench then I could see him remember that I had been putting my fingers in his mouth. He didn’t want to come to me for more petting. I said, “here” and pulled him to me. I stuck two fingers in his mouth behind his canine teeth. I stroked his head as he tried to get rid of my fingers. After a little fight he held my fingers. I wiggled my fingers and took them out of his mouth. I did that 3 times. I set him on the ground.
I always lift my dogs off the retrieving bench. In my opinion its hard on their joints to hit the ground from that height plus I want to be the one to end the session. I don’t want them to be able to jump off and run off.. As they are lowered to the ground I say, “whoa” then walk around them so I’m not tangled in the check cord. I tap their head to release them and we go back to the water faucet wall. I did all of this to Boss and after I petted him at the water faucet wall we went back to the kennel.
Abby pointing a pigeon.
Boss is a tall skinny dog. He doesn’t weigh very much. Abby is a different story. I worked her on the first whoa post and she acknowledged real quick so I picked her up and set her back. I felt it in my back. We went to the second whoa post and when I set her back on that one I almost couldn’t get straightened up. We skipped the third post. We will work on that when my back is better.
I let her run for a while then helped her to jump on the retrieving bench. The fingers in the mouth doesn’t bother her much. After I petted her for a few minutes she held my fingers with no fight. I set her on the ground, whoaed her then tapped her head to release her. We went to the water faucet where I petted her before putting her in the kennel.
I just let Sally run. We went toward the back then when we got close to the retrieving bench I helped her on. I petted her then set her on the ground, whoaed her and tapped her head to release her. We went to the water faucet wall where I petted her some more. I put her in the kennel.
Boss pointing a pigeon.
I went back to the house and ate lunch. After lunch I walked some more around my front yard. Once my back was feeling better I got the 4-wheeler out and hid two pigeons in release traps on the training grounds.
I had put the 3 training collars and the one bark collars on the other dogs, Luke, Boss, Abby and Sally so I just put the GPS collar on Mann and heeled him near the 4-wheeler. I whoaed him, got on the 4-wheeler, started it, put it in gear and said, “okay”. He was gone.
With my back bothering me I slowed way down to cross the creek and Mann was on point by the time I got to him. I took pictures then stroked his sides. I kicked in front of him and went back and stroked his sides again. I went back in front kicking the cover then flushed the pigeon. It was a dumb bird and only flew to a limb right above the trap. Mann didn’t move he just looked up. I took more pictures then led him away.
Boss pointing a pigeon.
He was going really fast when he hit the scent cone and pointed. I took more pictures, stroked his sides, kicked the cover and flushed the pigeon. Another pigeon that just came out of the trap and didn’t fly away. Mann just turned his head without moving. I stroked his sides and led him away. We went back to the kennel.
I turned right around after putting Mann up and went back to reload the release traps. Before I got to the first one I saw a pile of feathers where something, probably a hawk, had caught one of the pigeons. I think the hawks are migrating through. There are a lot of them.
Abby pointing a pigeon.
I brought Abby out and whoaed her next to the 4-wheeler. The last time I worked her on birds she had to be whoaed twice before I turned her loose to hunt. Today I said, “whoa” and as I climbed on the 4-wheeler I held my hand up like a traffic cop. She didn’t move until I said, “okay”. Then she wasted no time.
All of my dogs are more steady after the flush than Abby is so I try to make sure I have good flyers in the release trap for her. She was almost in the same tracks that Mann had been in on her first bird. I took pictures then stroked her sides. I kicked in front of her then came back and stroked her sides again. I kicked the cover and flushed the pigeon. It flew back toward the coop with Abby right behind.
Her chase is getting shorter. She came back and went on to the back where she pointed the next pigeon. Before she found this bird she had found the pile of feathers left by the hawk or whatever. I stroked her sides after taking pictures. I flushed the pigeon. It came out right over her head and she almost did a backwards flip before chasing the bird back toward the coop. After petting her at the water faucet I put her in the kennel.
Mann pointing a pigeon.
I whoaed Boss near the 4-wheeler, got on the 4-wheeler, started it and said, “okay”. He wasted no time getting to the training grounds. It’s like the dogs know where I hide the birds. It was too muddy to go on the neighbor’s side and the dogs knew. If any of them went on his side they didn’t stay long. If there are no 4-wheeler tracks over there, there are no birds.
Boss found the pile of feathers and spent a little time circling them trying to find the bird. He pointed the pigeon in the release trap and I took pictures. I stroked his sides then walked in front of him, kicking the cover. When I flushed the pigeon it lit in a bush just a few feet higher than Boss could jump. It was hard to get him away from the bird. I rode away, calling him a couple of times before he came away.
Sally pointing the covey.
Boss was going all out when he hit the scent cone on the next pigeon. He spun around and went on point. I took pictures then stroked his sides. I walked in front of him kicking the cover. When I flushed this pigeon it flew up in a tree right above the trap. Out of six birds I only had two that flew good. I took him back to the kennel, petting him at the water faucet before putting him up.
Even Abby and Boss are starting to understand when I say, “whoa” they must stop. Immediately. I thought with her personality, Abby would have the hardest time understanding whoa. But a couple of days ago, with birds on the training grounds, she took off before I said, “okay”, when she was on whoa. I yelled whoa and she stopped. She started again and again I stopped her with a whoa. Then released her with an okay. The last time she stayed until released.
Boss with a pigeon in the tree above him..
My pigeons are not doing well. Although I have some setting they aren’t smart enough to come back. I’ve had all of these birds in the coop for at least 5 months. When I turn some of them loose they just set in the trees near where they were released without even trying to fly back. It doesn’t take the hawks and owls long to find the ones that don’t return to the pigeon coop. A day or two and they are gone.
Last year I got down to 5 pigeons so I bought a dozen, supposed to be rollers. They didn’t come back very well so I bought another twelve birds. These were supposed to be homers. They may have returned to where I got them. I still have a few of both of these purchases but not many. Then a friend wanted to get rid of his pigeons and he gave me 5. I should have a lot of pigeons. I started, after the quail season was over, with 16 pigeons. I now have 11 birds. That’s enough birds to train my dogs. I can’t afford to lose many more though.