Traveling Pointing Dogs

This last week has been unseasonably hot. It’s hard to do any dog training when it’s hot. The cover is tall and that makes it even hotter on the dogs. Usually, I have been prairie chicken hunting, in Kansas, several times but not this year. I have been one time for about an hour and never saw a thing other than Luke pointed a rabbit. Next week the weather forecast is for cooler weather. I will get the dogs out.

Betsy watching a pigeon fly away.

Sally pointing a pigeon.

Dolly She doesn’t seem to be 11 1/2 years old.

Rather than just leave the dogs in the kennel I have been getting them out for a few minutes most days. Early on Monday, Wednesday and Friday I roaded the dogs for about 20 minutes each. Well, I roaded Luke, Tur Bo, Betsy and Sally. Lucky and Dolly I just turned out for a few minutes. Lucky is, probably, totally retired and Dolly will be on short hunts, only.

Lucky is a little over 13 years old. I had him checked by my vet, Dr. Becker, and he said he was in good shape for his age. He can’t see very far and doesn’t hear very well but his heart sounds good and he’s not in pain. (Sounds like me.)

Dolly is 11 1/2 years old. She is in good shape and will still hunt but it will just be for short periods. If they are left at home when I take the other dogs they bark all day long. They are hurt, they just know the other dogs are finding more birds than they have seen in years.

I haven’t roaded dogs very much and I’m learning a few things. This week I roaded Luke and Tur Bo together. It didn’t matter which side of the roading bar I hooked them to, Tur Bo pulled. He would make a good sled dog. No matter how fast I drove the 4-wheeler he pulled. Luke ran with some slack in the tether but not Tur Bo.

I roaded the girls, Sally and Betsy, together. When I hooked Betsy to the left side she thought she should be heeling. She dropped back and ran right beside me whether I was going fast or slow. The next time I hooked her to the right side and she ran mostly out front. She didn’t pull like a sled dog but she wasn’t right beside me. Sally pulled most of the time but tired some near the end. When she tired she ran with a loose tether.

I feed, change water and clean pens of the evening. The past week I have been doing the walking retrieve with the dogs. I drop 6 or 7 retrieving dummies in a circle several feet apart. I walk the dogs at heel with the piggin’ string and when we get close to a dummy I say, “fetch.” When the dog picks the dummy up I have them walk a short distance then I kneel and have the dog hold the dummy until I say, “give.”

Lucky, Dolly, Luke and Tur Bo have been force broke to retrieve. Lucky and Dolly, in their semi-retirement don’t have to play this game but the other two do. I sometime just turn Lucky and Dolly out for a few minutes. I pet them for a while then put them back up so they don’t feel left out.

Luke has never cared for retrieving but he does this because he’s been force broke. Tur Bo likes to retrieve but he wants to do it his way. He would like to go get the dummy, race back and toss it to me. I have to keep the piggin’ string on him so he knows I’m in charge. As I work with him he’s getting better about bringing the dummy to me, sitting while I pet him then giving when I say, “give.”

Sally and Betsy have been worked on hold and give. They haven’t been force broke. I, also, lead them around the circle of dummies but I just stop them, open their mouth, put the dummy behind their canines and tell them to hold. I have them carry the dummy for a few feet then kneel in front of them. I have them walk to me and I pet them. I say, “give” and Sally drops the dummy right away. Betsy holds on for several seconds before she drops the dummy. I only say give one time, hold one end of the dummy and then wait on her to drop the dummy. I pet her when she drops it.

Betsy and Sally are ready to be force fetch trained but I hate the process. Most of my dog training is without pressure. To force fetch you must put pressure on the dogs. There are so many positives come out of force fetch that I usually do it but I don’t like the process.

Lucky and Dolly in the shade.I made one round with them so they wouldn’t feel left out.

Tur Bo always pulls.

Sally pointing a pigeon.

I’m writing about dog training on 9/11/17 but this session was done on 9/7/11. I was gone over the weekend and couldn’t train. We are just a few days away from prairie chicken season, in Kansas, and I hope to have some posts about actually hunting the dogs.

Sally pointing a pigeon.

Betsy and the backing dog.

Betsy watching a pigeon fly away.

A lot of people quit hunting quail when they got real scarce. (I’m not that smart.) One of these is my friend Mike Devero. He came over to watch me work the dogs so I showed him most of my tricks. After the training was over I put a pigeon to sleep in front of the kennel. The dogs are all running around and panting in their kennel. When I put the pigeon down in front of the kennel they all go on point and quit panting. As long as the pigeon lies there they will point. I woke the pigeon and it flew back to the coop. The dogs went back to running around in their kennel and panting.

I also told Mike about Tur Bo in a field trial and I wanted to take a picture of him. I called him back and when I held the camera up he posed. In the field trial he had a lot of style. The judge was on a horse right behind me and he laughed and said, “that’s the first time I’ve seen a dog pose for a picture.” I turned Tur Bo out and after just a few seconds called him to me and held up the camera. He stopped and I took his picture. Just to show Mike that wasn’t a fluke I held the camera up again and he stopped again.

When Mike got here I already had the backing dog out with two pigeons in front of it, two other pigeons hidden, one on my side and one on the neighbor’s side. I also had a pigeon in the bird bag. I put the e-collars around Sally’s neck and flanks and heeled her out of the kennel, with the piggin’ string. As we walked toward the training grounds I whoaed her and walked in front. I took the pigeon from the bird bag by the feet letting it flop for a few seconds. I placed the pigeon on the ground, on it’s back. The pigeon flipped over and flew real low right over Sally’s head. She turned to watch it fly by but didn’t move her feet. I shot the blank pistol and said, “whoa.” She didn’t move.

I heeled her about another 30 yards, whoaed her then released her to hunt. She went down a tree line on my side of the training grounds and when we next saw her she was on point along a strip of tall grass. I walked in front of her kicking the grass. I flushed the pigeon, shot the blank pistol and said, “whoa.” She didn’t move. I put the piggin’ string around her neck and led her away. I released her to hunt.

The backing dog, with two pigeons in release traps in front of it, was in a little clearing. There were trees all the way around the clearing and when Sally saw the backing dog she honored. I walked in front of her kicking the cover. I flushed a pigeon, shot the blank pistol and said, “whoa.” She didn’t move. I continued to kick the cover. I flushed the second pigeon, laid the backing dog down, shot the blank pistol and said, “whoa.” She didn’t move. I slipped the piggin’ string around her neck and led her away. I released her to hunt.

Sally checked the available cover and found the last pigeon. She took a step as I walked up and I set her back. I walked in front of her kicking the cover, shot the blank pistol and said, “whoa.” She didn’t move. I released her to run.

Betsy

On the way back to the kennel, when she came close to us, I shot the blank pistol. Before I could say, “whoa”, she stopped. I went ahead and said, “whoa”. Dog training is about repetition and she is anticipating the whoa command to come after the shot by the blank pistol. It’s not necessary for me to say whoa now but I will as long as we are working in the yard. We went back to the kennel.

I reloaded the release traps, put the e-collars on Betsy and heeled her out. I whoaed her and took a pigeon from the bird bag by the feet letting it flap. I placed the bird on the ground on it’s back. When it flipped over and flew away she turned to watch it fly. When I shot the blank pistol I had forgotten to reload. I reloaded the blank pistol after setting her back as she had been before the pigeon flew. I shot the blank pistol and said, “whoa.” This time she didn’t move.

I heeled her away then released her to hunt. She pointed the bird on my side but was wagging. I knew she wasn’t getting any scent. What little wind we had was swirling and she had lost the scent. I tapped her head and she moved about two steps and went back on point. I walked in front kicking the cover, flushed the pigeon, shot the blank pistol and said, “whoa.” She didn’t move. I led her away.

Sally on a pigeon.

After I released her she checked the cover on my side then crossed to the neighbor’s side. When we got to the clearing, with the backing dog inside, she was honoring. I went in front of her kicking the cover. I flushed the pigeon, shot the blank pistol and said, “whoa.” She didn’t move. I continued to kick the cover, flushed the other pigeon, laid the backing dog down, shot the blank pistol and said, “whoa.” She didn’t move. I led her away.

I released her. As we got close to the last pigeon I saw her go on point. As we walked up she moved up to stand right over the top of the pigeon. I yelled, “whoa” and she stopped. I picked her up and set her back where she had originally pointed. I walked in front of her kicking the cover for a couple of minutes before I flushed the pigeon, shot the blank pistol and said, “whoa.” She didn’t move. I led her away.

I released her to run. I told Mike that she hadn’t been stopping on the blank pistol as Sally had but I would try anyway. I shot the blank pistol and before I could say, “whoa” she stopped. I stroked her sides and tapped her on the head. When we got back to the kennel she was pointing the pigeons on their coop. I put her in the kennel.

I’ve said it before but dog training is repeating the same thing over and over until the dogs do as you want. Friday prairie chicken season opens in Kansas and I can work them on wild birds, I hope. The dogs have gotten really good on the training grounds, now we will see how they do on the real thing.

Tur Bo posing for the camera.

Sally

Betsy

I didn’t start training dogs until after 8:00 am this morning (just laziness on my part) and it started to get warm fast. I knew that Sally would honor another dog’s point but I wasn’t sure about Betsy. I probably worked Betsy on the backing dog last year but I couldn’t remember. I put two pigeons, in release traps, on the front part of the training grounds, separated by about 50 yards and I put two pigeons in front of the backing dog at the very back of the grounds.

Sally A stop to flush.

Betsy watching a pigeon fly away.

Sally and the backing dog.

My idea was to have the dogs point each bird, shoot the blank pistol then heel them away. In Sally’s case, I was going to flush the birds if she didn’t point at the first instant that she smelled them. She has been getting closer to the birds than I would like.

I put the e-collars on Sally’s neck and flanks and heeled her out of the kennel. We started down on the neighbor’s side. About every 20 yards I held the button on the flank e-collar down on medium 1 and said, “whoa.” A couple of times I just hit the button and she stopped. I knew she knew how to turn the stimulation off. When we got within about 50 yards of the first pigeon I whoaed her then released her to hunt.

She hit the edge of the cover and was running all out when she hit the scent cone. She whirled around and I flushed the pigeon. I said, “whoa” but she didn’t try to follow the bird. I shot the blank pistol and said, “whoa”, again. She didn’t move. I took pictures then went to her, stroked her sides and heeled her away.

I had this set up so she would go right to the next bird and I could either let her point it or flush it if she got too close. The best laid plans of mice and men…….. I heeled her within about 50 yards of the next bird and turned her loose. When she went toward the back she was way south of the next pigeon. I figured that she wouldn’t stop when she saw the backing dog but would be right on top of the birds that were in front of the backing dog. Not what I had planned.

When I got to the back she was honoring the backing dog from 20 yards away but the best part, it was the first area she could see the backing dog. From where she was she couldn’t see the pigeons in front of the backing dog. I walked around in front of her taking pictures then flushed one of the pigeons, shot the blank pistol and said, “whoa.” She didn’t move. I continued to kick the cover and flushed the second pigeon that was in front of the backing dog. I shot the blank pistol and said, “whoa.” She didn’t move. I stroked her sides and heeled her away.

I released her about 50 yards from the only pigeon that was still hidden. She went around the south side of the clump of brush the pigeon was hidden in. She knew there was a bird close and started around the edge toward the north. I flushed the pigeon and said, “whoa.” She stopped before I could say, “whoa.” I shot the blank pistol and said, “whoa” again. She didn’t move. I stroked her sides then heeled her away. I let her run back to the kennel.

I reloaded the release traps and heeled Betsy out with the e-collars around her neck and flanks. I whoaed her 4 or 5 times, by holding the button on the flank e-collar down on medium 1 until she stopped, before releasing her to hunt. We were about 50 yards from the first pigeon when I turned her loose. She slammed on the brakes about ten yards from the pigeon in the release trap. I took some pictures then walked in front of her kicking the cover. I flushed the pigeon, shot the blank pistol and said, “whoa.” She did her dance with the front feet but didn’t try to chase. I stroked her sides and heeled her away.

We were about 50 yards from the next pigeon when I released her to hunt. She too, went way south and missed the next bird. I called her but she didn’t respond. I went on to the back and she was honoring the backing dog when I saw her. She was where she could see the birds in the release traps but her attention was riveted on the backing dog. I walked in front of her after taking some pictures. I flushed a pigeon, shot the blank pistol and said, “whoa.” She did her dance but didn’t try to chase. I continued to kick the cover, flushed the second bird, shot the blank pistol and said, “whoa.” She did the dance but didn’t chase. I stroked her sides and heeled her away.

When I started in Sally came in front of me, saw Luke and Lucky and honored.

About 50 yards from the remaining pigeon I turned her loose. She was coming around the edge of the clump the last pigeon was in but hadn’t got any scent when I flushed the bird. I said, “whoa.” She followed for a step then stopped. I shot the blank pistol and said, “whoa.” Her front feet did their dance but she didn’t try to follow. I stroked her sides and heeled her away. When I released her she ran to the pigeon coops and went on point. I put the piggin’ string on her and heeled her to the kennel.

I felt really good about the dogs training today. Sometimes when you are training dogs you don’t see any major improvements for a long time. This morning both dogs did really well. I have been shooting the blank pistol and saying whoa for quite a while. Now, both dogs are anticipating the whoa command after the blank pistol is fired and are stopping.

Sally was younger, she’s only about 15 months old now, and has chased a lot fewer birds, when she is hunting, so she is more steady than Betsy. That makes me think that if you want steady to wing and shot you should start early. I haven’t put a lot of pressure on either of these dogs. I started heeling and whoaing them with e-collars on their neck and flanks. I went to a check cord with a half hitch around their flanks. After a while I tied the check cord to a tree or a stake and if they tried to chase the half hitch would tighten around their flanks. When they quit trying to chase I took the check cord off and just used the e-collar.

They aren’t perfect but they have the general idea. Soon I will be able to work them on wild birds and I will see how they are doing. I just want to take the chase out of them plus it gave me something to write about on my blog. And I enjoy training dogs.

Sally honoring the backing dog.

Betsy and the backing dog.

Another shot of Betsy and the backing dog.