Traveling Pointing Dogs

Tur Bo pointing a pigeon.

Tur bo

Tur Bo pointing a pigeon.

A friend, Korey Needham, has about a hundred acres of land that he lets me run my dogs on not far from my house. He just bought this place and doesn’t know if he has any quail or not. I put out three game feeders with quail calls at each one. Although it was really wet, from the recent rains, I decided to take some pigeons and Tur Bo to see if any quail were using the feeders. It’s been either too wet or too hot for training dogs but I decided to try today.

I rode the 4-wheeler over the hill and hid a pigeon in a release trap about 1/4 mile from the truck. I came back and put the e-collars, along with the Garmin GPS collar, on Tur Bo. I whoaed him and got on the 4-wheeler. I started the 4-wheeler, put it in gear and released Tur Bo with an okay.

I had hid the pigeon to the east of the truck and we started off to the west. Tur Bo ran down a fence row and tree line then we crossed a weedy field to another hedge row. We came down this hedge row to another tree line and back south. He went by one of the feeders without slowing. We went on to the south and I had to call him back as he went around the edge of a field to send him by another feeder. Again, he went by without slowing.

We went back north then dropped over the hill to the east. Tur Bo was about 150 yards in front of me as we went over the hill then he disappeared to the front. I came around a thicket and saw him pointing the pigeon I had hidden in the tall weeds. I don’t know how they do it. One bird hidden, in tall weeds, in a 100 acre field and he went to it like he had hidden it.

I took pictures then went in front of him kicking the tall weeds. I had 2 pigeons in a bag. I dropped a pigeon behind me and he never moved when it flew away. I went to him and stroked his sides telling him what a good boy he is. I went back to kicking the tall weeds and when I opened the bag to get the next pigeon it almost flew out with no help. I left the bag open and the pigeon flew out. He didn’t move. I went to him and stroked his sides telling him what a good boy he is.

I still had the pigeon in the release trap. I went back in front of him kicking the tall weeds. I flushed the bird and he didn’t move. I went to him and stroked his sides. I started back in front of him and he took a short step and stopped. I set him back and stroked him. I walked in front of him kicking the cover. I went back to him and led him away.

We went on back to another small field that we circled then through a hedge row to another small field. I had another feeder in a hedge row between 2 corn fields. We went through a marshy area then by the third feeder. He checked it without much more than slowing a little. We hunted back to the truck.

The fields on this farm may be too thick for quail. I don’t know. I will continue to fill the feeders and keep the calls going. This time of year there are a lot of bugs and quail may not come to the feeders. Also, it’s less than 2 miles for my pigeons to come home. But the best part of this day was being able to run him off the 4-wheeler. He ran for about 45 minutes on a warm morning. I can do my dog training and get them in shape for the season.

Lucky pointing a pigeon.

Blaze

Luke

Blaze’s puppies.

The male is white and orange.

The female is white, black and tan.

It’s been too hot, even early in the morning, to work dogs so I thought I would tell about the puppies that Blaze gave birth to. On June 6, I started putting Blaze in the shed of the night. The shed has a small air conditioner that keeps the temperature a lot cooler than it is outside. Before the pups are born I lock her in of the night to keep her from having the pups outside. If she would have them outside without me being around and it rained the pups might die. I put her back in the kennel in the day time.

On June 9, when I cleaned pens about 5 pm, she was breathing real hard and I knew she was close to having the pups. I put her in the shed. After finishing feeding and cleaning pens I checked on Blaze. She was nervous and breathing hard. I went to the house and ate supper then went back. She had the first pup about 7:30 pm with no trouble. About 9:30 she was trying to have another pup.

I saw just the tip of a nose sticking out. She was straining but nothing was happening. I have had several litters over the years and never had a female have any trouble. Usually, the pup comes sliding out. This one wasn’t moving. I made sure his nose was out in the open so he could breathe. She strained but he didn’t move. I worked her down to where his whole head was out. She continued to strain but the pup didn’t move.

I decided to pull on the pup to get him out. I thought, just a gentle pull and he would slide right out. I pulled but he still didn’t move. I put my hand on her butt and the other hand around his neck. I pulled a little harder but he didn’t move. Now I’m getting nervous. I decided that even if I killed the pup I needed to get it out. Otherwise, they both would die. I put my left hand on her butt and grabbed the pup by the head and pulled as hard as I could. He came out but it was hard all the way. I laid him down in the whelping box and he started moving. I was amazed.

I moved him over close to Blaze and he started trying to nurse. I stayed until 11:30 and no more pups were coming. I came back to check on Blaze and the pups about 1:30 am. Everyone was doing fine. I came back at 6:30 am. Everyone was still doing fine but only 2 puppies.

I texted my daughter, Dana, and my son, Ryan, then all of the grand kids. They are the ones that help me socialize the pups. One of the pups is sold to a local guy, Jim Tharp, so I texted him, also.

When the pups are one day old I weigh them and then each week until they go home with their owners. This is so I can tell if they are growing and then later they will have to be wormed. The worm medicine is per pound of weight.

The pups are born deaf and blind. They open their eyes about nine days old. They can’t hear until they are about 3 weeks old. From their first day I hold them twice a day at a minimum and everyone that comes by my house has to pet puppies. My puppies always like people.

At 3 weeks old, when the pups just start being able to hear, I play Master’s Voice’s, Gun Dog Conditioning System cd. One of the first things my pups hear is music with gunshots interspersed. You still need to be careful when you introduce the gun but this takes some of the worry out of it. Some of the people that have my pups say they can call their pups in with a gun shot.

I also, at 3 weeks, put small collars on the pups with small ropes about 18 inches long. This is from Delmar Smith’s book, Best Way To Train Your Bird Dog. They will see a rope close to them and grab it and tug. This makes them easier to break to lead and I don’t have anything to do with it.

I get them out in the grass as often as I can. I start this about 3 weeks old, also. The puppies start off not moving around much. Then as they get used to being outside they start exploring more and more. When they get a little way away from me I clap my hands, loudly, and say, “here puppy, here puppy”. When they come to me I pet them and tell them what good puppies they are. I want them to know that when I’m around there is going to be a lot of noise.

I, also, start feeding the puppies at 3 weeks old. My vet, Dr. Becker, gave me a recipe for a replacement milk. The recipe is;
1 can of evaporated
1 can water
An egg yolk (egg white is supposed to be bad for dogs)
1 tablespoon plain Yogurt
1 tablespoon honey or Karo syrup
Later on I’ll mix dry dog food in with this milk until they can eat dry dog food.

The pups are now 4 weeks old and they aren’t taking the milk very good. With only 2 pups the mother has plenty of milk for them. These are the biggest puppies I have ever raised. I continue to put the milk in their box and I play the gun shy cd for them twice a day. I will introduce them to pigeons when they get a little older. I, also, have some quail in a flight pen where they can go around and around the pen.

As they grow I will take them on walks. I have left several rows of grass grow to hide quail and pigeons in. I enjoy playing with pups and watching them learn. Now that the pups are moving around I will do more with them.

The female saw something and stopped. Is this a point.

Blaze is the mother of the pups.

Luke pointing a single quail. Luke is Blaze’s brother..

Tur Bo pointing a pigeon.

Tur Bo

Tur Bo watching a pigeon fly away.

According to the weather forecasters this is the last cool morning for at least a week. I loaded Tur Bo and seven pigeons in the truck and drove to the county park that is just a few miles from my house. I hid a pigeon, in a release trap, in the tall weeds. There was a gentle breeze out of the north so I heeled Tur Bo to the south side of the field. On the way, as I heeled him, I would whoa him, occasionally. I, also, hit the button on the e-collar that was around his flanks on a real light setting. He whoaed on the command or on the e-collar with no command. He knows what whoa means.

As we heeled down the road to the south end of the field Tur Bo really looked into the field where I had hidden the pigeon. I don’t know whether he could smell the bird or could smell where I had walked into the field but the pigeon was at least 35 yards into the field. I whoaed him on the south edge of the field then tapped his head to release him. Usually, he stays fairly close to me because I have a bag of birds with me but not this morning. When I got into the middle of the field he was already on point 75 or 80 yards down the field from me.

When I got to him he was about 15 yards from the pigeon in the release trap. I walked in front of him after taking pictures. I took a pigeon from the bird bag and dropped it. He never moved when it flew away. I went to him and stroked his sides. I put a pigeon to sleep between him and the pigeon in the release trap. He had a foot up. When I placed the sleeping bird in front of him he put the foot down and leaned forward. I walked back and forth in front of him then released the pigeon in the trap. He never moved. I went to him and stroked his sides.

I reloaded the release trap with another pigeon. I went back and forth in front of him then woke the pigeon I had put to sleep in front of him. He watched it fly away without moving. I went to him and stroked his sides with me telling him what a good boy he is. I still had a couple of birds in the bag and a bird in the release trap.

I walked back and forth in front of him and dropped another pigeon. He never moved as it flew away. I tried to remember to pet him after every bird to let him know that I wanted him to stand as the birds fly away. I dropped the last pigeon. He didn’t move. I walked back and forth after petting him. I flushed the pigeon that was in the release trap. He never moved. I stroked his sides then went back in front of him kicking the cover. I went to him and led him away.

He had not moved as I had flushed 7 pigeons in front of him. Is he now steady to wing. Probably not but it is a good start. I will work him on a lot more birds and I need to start shooting a blank pistol around him to get that down, also. As he runs I will shoot the blank pistol and say, “whoa” until he starts stopping when I shoot the pistol.

He knows whoa, really well, but I’ve let him chase after the flush for 3 years. If I had of worked him on steady to wing and shot as a year old dog it would have been easier. I, also, do my dog training with as little pressure as I can get by with. Once you take something out of a dog you can’t put it back.

Blaze pointing a pigeon.

Dolly honoring.

Luke pointing Dolly honoring.