Traveling Pointing Dogs

Tur Bo

Blaze

Luke

We have been getting some rain that has kept me from working dogs. Today it stayed cool all day so I went out about 2:00 pm. I put 5 pigeons in a bird bag then hid 2 of them in release traps on the training grounds. I put the e-collars on Tur Bo and heeled him out near the 4-wheeler. I released him with an okay.

When he hit the scent cone on the first pigeon he slid to a point. I took pictures then walked in front of him kicking the cover. I took a pigeon from the bird bag and dropped it behind me and shot the blank pistol when it flew away. He didn’t move he just stood taller and watched it fly away. I continued to kick the cover, flushed the pigeon in the release trap and shot the blank pistol. He flinched but his feet didn’t move. I stroked his sides and led him away. I released him with a tap on his head.

When I walked to the next pigeon he was already on point. I took more pictures then kicked the cover in front of him. I dropped a pigeon, from the bird bag, behind me and shot the blank pistol. He didn’t move. I continued to kick the cover, flushed the pigeon in the release trap and shot the blank pistol. He flinched again but he didn’t move his feet. I stroked his sides then led him away. I tapped his head to release him.

I still had a pigeon in the bird bag so when he came close I threw the bird in front of him and whoaed him. He stopped. I let him stand then went to him and stroked his sides. I released him with an okay. He hunted back to the kennel.

I put the e-collars on Blaze and heeled her out near the 4-wheeler. I released her with and okay. When I got to the first pigeon she was on point. I took pictures then walked in front of her kicking the cover. I took a pigeon from the bird bag, dropped it behind me and shot the blank pistol. She didn’t move. I continued to kick the cover, flushed a pigeon from the release trap and shot the blank pistol. She didn’t move. I stroked her sides then led her away and released her.

She pointed the second pigeon by the time I got to it. I took more pictures then walked in front of her kicking the cover. I took a pigeon from the bird bag, dropped it behind my back and shot the blank pistol. She didn’t move. I continued to kick the cover, flushed the pigeon in the release trap and shot the blank pistol. She didn’t move. I stroked her sides, led her away and released her to hunt.

I still had a pigeon in the bird bag and when she came close I threw it in front of her. She stopped. I let her stand for a few seconds then stroked her sides and released her. She hunted back to the kennel.

I had to wait about 45 minutes for the pigeons to come back to the coop before working Luke. After reloading the release traps with pigeons I heeled Luke out near the 4-wheeler. I released him with an okay.

Luke didn’t come close to the first pigeon, went on to the back and pointed the second one. I took pictures then walked in front of him kicking the cover. I took a pigeon from the bird bag, dropped it behind me and shot the blank pistol. He didn’t move. I continued to kick the cover and flushed the pigeon from the release trap. He still didn’t move even when I shot the blank pistol. I stroked his sides then led him away and released him.

When I got near the front of the training grounds Luke was on point on the first bird. I walked in front of him kicking the cover. I dropped a pigeon from the bird bag behind my back and shot the blank pistol. He didn’t move. I continued to kick the cover, flushed a pigeon from the release trap and shot the blank pistol. He still didn’t move. I stroked his sides then led him away. I released him to hunt.

I had a pigeon in the bird bag when I got back to the kennel. I forgot to throw it for Luke but he has been stopping on them. This is a really good exercise for the dogs. A friend of mine, Vince Dye, asked me several times if I was dropping birds in front of the dogs and I would tell him what I was doing. But it wasn’t dropping pigeons in front of the dogs. I have done this before but I hadn’t in a long time. I had forgotten what a good exercise it is.

Tur Bo was almost steady to wing and shot but he would move his front feet when I flushed the bird. With just a few times of me dropping a pigeon in front of him he’s starting to stand instead of move his front feet. Then with him running I throw a pigeon in front of him and whoa him. This will teach him to stop to flush.

Blaze is steady to wing and shot on these pigeons but today both of the birds she pointed, she was right on top of. The next time I work her on pigeons I will flush the birds just as soon as I see her hit the scent cone. A few times and she will back off the birds. Since she can’t chase the birds (she stops to flush) the only fun she gets is pointing. She will back off so I will let her point.

Some really smart dogs are easy to work with and some will try you every once and awhile. That’s what Blaze is doing now. I’m okay with that, it’s worth it to have smart dogs.

Tur Bo

Blaze

Luke

Tur Bo

Blaze

Luke

I got back to working the young dogs this morning. The dogs and I enjoy working the pigeons in the backyard. I hid 2 pigeons in release traps and carried another 3 pigeons in a bird bag. As I heeled Tur Bo out with the e-collars on his neck and flanks Luke started barking. I whoaed Tur Bo next to the 4-wheeler and went to put a bark collar on Luke. When I came back Tur Bo was lying down. He knew Luke was in trouble but he thought he was in trouble, too. I stood him up but he went right back down on his belly. I put the piggin’ string on him and led him a few feet. When I whoaed him he stayed up.

I got on the 4-wheeler and released him with an okay. There was a bush between me and him when he went on point. I parked the 4-wheeler and went in front of him kicking the cover. I took a pigeon from the bird bag and dropped it. Tur Bo watched it fly away without moving. I shot the blank pistol and he still didn’t move. I continued to kick the cover and flushed the pigeon in the release trap. He flinched without moving his feet when the bird flushed but when I shot the blank pistol he moved his front feet. I set him back then led him away. I tapped his head and he went back to hunting.

He pointed the second pigeon hidden in the release trap. I went in front of him kicking the cover and dropped a pigeon from the bird bag. He didn’t move. I continued to kick the cover and flushed the pigeon in the release trap. He didn’t move until I shot the blank pistol. He moved his front feet without moving the back feet. I stroked his sides then led him away. I tapped his head and he went back to hunting.

I still had one pigeon in the bird bag. He was running toward me when I threw a pigeon right over his head. He almost did a back flip but stopped at my whoa. I let him stand for a few seconds then tapped his head to release him. I got on the 4-wheeler and let him run to the back side of my place then back to the kennel.

I put 5 more pigeons in my bird bag then reloaded the release traps hidden on the training grounds. I put the e-collars on Blaze’s neck and flanks then heeled her out near the 4-wheeler. I released her with an okay. She missed both birds on the way through but came back around and pointed the first one. I walked in front of her kicking the cover after taking pictures. I dropped a pigeon from the bird bag and shot the blank pistol. She didn’t move. I continued to kick the cover then flushed the pigeon in the release trap and shot the blank pistol. She didn’t move. I led her away and released her to hunt.

She pointed the second pigeon. I took pictures then walked in front of her kicking the cover. I dropped a pigeon from the bird bag and shot the blank pistol. She watched it fly away but didn’t move. I continued to kick the cover, flushed the pigeon from the release trap and shot the blank pistol. She didn’t move. I stroked her sides then led her away. She went back to hunting.

I had another pigeon in the bird bag. It’s really hard to tell a young pigeon from a full grown bird. When Blaze came close I threw a pigeon in front of her and she stopped but the bird lit right in front of her. She started to the pigeon and I whoaed her. She stopped and the pigeon started walking away. I went in front of her to catch the pigeon and Blaze started moving. I whoaed her again and she watched the pigeon walk away. When the pigeon got in the fence row I led Blaze in the other direction. I kept her moving away from the pigeon even though she wanted to go back. I let her run to the back on my side of the training grounds then back to the kennel.

I had to wait for about 45 minutes for my pigeons to return to their coop before I could work Luke but when they returned he was ready to go. I replaced the 2 pigeons in the release traps then with 3 more in the bird bag I put the e-collars on Luke. I followed him to the first bird on the 4-wheeler.

Luke was pointing so far from the first bird that I didn’t think he could smell it. I said “okay” and he moved about 5 or 6 feet and pointed again. I took pictures then walked in front of him kicking the cover. I dropped a pigeon from the bird bag and shot the blank pistol. He didn’t move. I continued to kick the cover, flushed the pigeon from the release trap and shot the blank pistol. He didn’t move. I stroked his sides then led him away. He went back to hunting.

He pointed the second pigeon. I took more pictures then walked in front of him kicking the cover. I dropped a pigeon from the bird bag in front of him and shot the blank pistol. He didn’t move. I continued to kick the cover then flushed the pigeon in the release trap and shot the blank pistol. He still didn’t move. I led him away after stroking his sides and telling him what a good boy he was. I released him to hunt.

I still had a pigeon in the bird bag and when Luke came close to me I threw it in front of him and he stopped. This is a good exercise to get dogs used to stopping to flush. Luke and Blaze usually stop but today with the bird landing right in front of Blaze, it made her want to catch it. Tur Bo will stop when I whoa him but he will soon learn to stop on the sight of the pigeon.

If dogs stop to flush you might be able to get a shot at any birds that didn’t fly when the first bird or birds flew. This also makes them steadier when a covey or group of birds flush. There is often a bird or two that doesn’t flush when the covey does. This might give you another shot.

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Tur Bo

Luke

Luke

Tur Bo

Blaze honoring the backing dog

The pictures were just some I liked, they don’t have anything to do with field trials. These are some of my experiences with the different types of field trials. It will be different for everyone.

Gailen Cooper gave me a young pointer female by the name of Angel. She was solid white with just a few small orange ticks on her ears. I was running her in a walking trial, in Kansas, the day that they named her sire, Snowatch, the National Champion on the steps of Ames Plantation. She was a derby in the walking trial and didn’t do well but I continued to work her. Gailen has horses and we ran her from horse back a couple of times.

After I got her steady to wing and shot Gailen wanted to run her in a horseback field trial at Groves Springs, Missouri. He picked the Missouri Shooting Dog Derby. There were about 20 dogs in the derby. Angel drew an afternoon brace so Gailen and I rode all of the early braces. This was the first horseback trial I had ever been to. Not a single dog found a quail in their 30 minute brace.

Then it was Angel’s turn. She was running real good and hunting the objectives. Several people who knew she was my dog said how good she looked on the ground. About 20 minutes into her 30 minute run she went on point. Gailen went to her and when he started in front a covey of quail flushed. Angel never moved. When he turned her loose she went about 75 yards and pointed again. Gailen went to her and when he walked in front another covey of quail lifted. She never moved even when he shot. When she was turned loose she ran out of sight down the course. When the judges said the time was up Gailen called her in. The gallery were congratulating Gailen and me both saying Angel had just won this trial.

We continued to ride until all of the dogs had run. One other dog found a single bird, probably from one of the coveys that Angel had pointed. It too was steady to wing and shot. After all of the dogs had run we went in to wait on the judges decision. Finally, someone said come on down to the clubhouse for the decision.

When we got to the clubhouse several people were there to hear the decision. Before the judges started a couple of people told me Angel had probably won. Then the judges decision. The dog that pointed the single quail was third. Everyone clapped for the third place dog. Then they named Angel second and a dog that hadn’t even seen a bird was the winner.

Several people told me the judges were wrong. Angel should have won the trial. You know what, I was happy for a second place. First would have been better but most of the dogs there had been run by pros. Angel looked really good, no matter what the judges said. In all fairness to the judges the dog they placed first has gone on to win several championships.

I went to a Shoot To Retrieve trial in Northeast Missouri and ran Lucky and Dolly. Dolly ran in the second brace that morning and I was late getting there. It was farther than I thought. Just as I got my dogs out of the truck they said you are up next. They put us in a blind while they hid birds. As we waited someone came by and started talking to the guy running against me. He said is that old Showboy or whatever his dogs name was. He said”yep”. The guy said, “what is he a 24 time Champion”. “Naw, he’s a 26 time Champion now,” he replied. Come to find out nearly all of the dogs were on their way to Illinois to run in the Dog Of The Year Trial. Probably not a good trial to start some dogs in. Needless to say we didn’t do well at all.

I ran Luke in a walking derby trial in eastern Kansas a few years ago. We ran in the 3rd or 4th brace. Luke pointed 2 quail and honored his brace mate when he had a non-productive. The guy we were running with looked over at me and said, “you know you are winning this trial”. To me Luke looked better than the dog I was running against but I knew I might be just a little prejudice. Luke had been steady to wing and shot on the first bird but had taken one step on the second but this was in the fall. Derbies don’t have to be steady in the fall. By the next spring they should be.

They finished the derby class and ran some shooting dogs before giving the placements on the derby so I stayed, expecting a trophy. They named the winners and Luke was not one of them. After naming the winners the judge named some dogs that he thought were really good. Luke wasn’t in this bunch either. I was telling Gailen Cooper about this trial and he knew the judge so he called him. The judge remembered Luke and said he checked back in too much. As a walking bird hunter, my dogs have to check in.

I decided I wouldn’t run any more field trials but the other day I heard about an AKC hunt test that was near my home and they always have a field across the road that you can run your dogs on quail for $25. They give out ribbons to some of the dogs. I’m not sure how they score these runs but I thought it would be good for Tur Bo. There were not many people around when I got there but I paid my money. They said if you’re ready we can go right now. Another man had come up with a good looking English setter that was about 10 months older than Tur Bo.

We turned our dogs loose and they hunted to the back then turned into the bird field. The wind was pretty strong out of the west and Tur Bo pointed looking straight into the wind. The only cover was about 10 or 15 yards in front of him. He was standing with his head up and his tail straight. I went to him and held his collar. The shooter went in front and kicked and kicked with no luck. I tapped Tur Bo’s head and he moved a few feet and went back on point. The shooter came in and kicked while I held Tur Bo. (I knew Tur Bo would move when the bird flushed and I didn’t know the shooter. I wasn’t going to take a chance on getting him shot.) Again the bird didn’t flush. Tur Bo’s brace mate honored Tur Bo both times. I released Tur Bo and his brace mate pointed with Tur Bo honoring. Again they couldn’t get a bird to flush. We released the dogs and Tur Bo pointed again. Finally, the quail was flushed but it only flew about 15 feet and landed in some tall grass. When the shooter got close the quail flew back over our head. The shooter couldn’t shoot.

We released the dogs and went about 150 yards where Tur Bo pointed again. He was pointing with high head and tail directly into the wind. When the shooter got about 15 yards in front of Tur Bo the quail flushed. He shot but missed the quail. The bird only flew about 20 yards. Tur Bo wanted the quail really bad. He was about to drag me to it when I said fetch that bird and released him. When he got near the quail it jumped about 4 feet high then went back down and Tur Bo had it. He brought it to me in a dead run and dropped it in my hand.

One of the judges came to me and asked me to leash my dog so we could see if the other dog would point. I had him repeat it but that is what he said, so I did. The other dog pointed the last bird that was put out for us. When the shooter went in front of the dog the quail flushed. The shooter was able to hit the quail and the dog retrieved. They had only released 3 quail so I released Tur Bo and we hunted back to the finish.

Each time a brace of dogs went out they added 3 quail to the field. A friend ran later in the afternoon and he said there were 7 to 10 quail flushed by his dog and it’s brace mate. If they give points for dog work Tur Bo and his brace mate were really handicapped. They had only 3 quail to work. If a dog had 5 points and then was leashed I know he would score more than Tur Bo.

The next day I went back to check on the results. When I asked one of the judges if all of the dogs had been leashed after they had pointed twice, after some thought, he said sure if there was only three birds in the field. The only time there were only 3 birds in the field was the first brace, in my opinion. Tur Bo got a third place ribbon.

I went because I could work my dog on quail not caring about a ribbon but I don’t like playing on an uneven playing field. The judges may have only judged the dogs on their first 2 birds but I doubt it. I think the 2 dogs placed ahead of him had more bird chances.

The silly thing is, if I get the chance to run again I probably will. Any time spent with the bird dogs is good time and Tur Bo didn’t know it wasn’t fair. If you see any ads on here that interest you at all please click on them. I make a few cents each click.

Tur Bo in front on point Dolly behind honoring

Luke

Tur Bo

Blaze

Luke

I worked the young dogs on pigeons again. Most times, Blaze and Luke are pretty steady on the birds even when I throw one as they are running. Tur Bo is still jumping at the flush. When he’s running and I throw a pigeon he takes a few steps before stopping. He’ll get it. He’s a young dog and I’m not using much pressure.

I put 5 pigeons in a bird bag then hid two of them, in release traps, on the training grounds. I put e-collars on Tur Bo’s neck and flanks then heeled him to the training grounds. The ground is still wet and I’m trying to limit how much I use the 4-wheeler. After the grass greens up it won’t make much difference but now it creates ruts and mud holes. I released him and when I got to the first pigeon he was on point. I circled around the brush the pigeon was hidden in, after taking pictures. I kicked the cover and dropped a pigeon. I was about 15 yards from him with some brush between us and he never moved. He just watched the bird fly away. I continued to kick the cover, flushed the pigeon in the release trap and shot the blank pistol. His front feet moved at the flush and at the shot. I set him back and stroked his sides. I led him away then released him.

He hunted all of my neighbors side of the training grounds then crossed over to my side. He pointed the next pigeon and I went around to the other side of the brush he was pointing into. I dropped a pigeon and shot the blank pistol. He was steady when the pigeon flew away but his front feet moved at the shot. I continued to kick the cover, flushed the pigeon and shot the blank pistol. He took one step then stopped. I picked him up and set him back. I let him stand as I kicked the cover then led him away and released him.

We started to the back of the training grounds and as he came close I threw a pigeon in front of him. I said whoa and he stopped. He stood and watched the bird fly away. I tapped his head to release him. He hunted back to the kennel.

I heeled Blaze to the edge of the training grounds with the e-collars on her neck and flanks. I released her and she missed the pigeon I had hidden, on her first pass so we hunted to the back. On our trip back through, on my neighbors side, she pointed the bird in the release trap. I walked around to the other side of the brush she was pointing into, dropped the pigeon and shot the blank pistol. She didn’t move. I continued to kick the cover then flushed the pigeon in the release trap and shot the blank pistol. She didn’t move. I stroked her sides, led her away then released her.

She’s hard to fool. I tried to get her to hunt on my neighbors side some more but she knew she had already covered it and started hunting my side. She pointed the pigeon and I walked to the other side of the brush. I dropped a pigeon and shot the blank pistol. She never moved. I continued to kick the cover and flushed the pigeon in the release trap. She never moved even when I shot the blank pistol. I led her away then released her.

She ran down the tree line, across the fence row at the back and was coming up the ditch that splits the neighbors property from mine when I threw a pigeon in front of her. Without me doing anything she stopped. I didn’t say whoa or hit the e-collar. This is the start of her learning to stop to flush. I went to her and stroked her sides telling her what a good girl she is. I tapped her head and she hunted back to the kennel.

I heeled Luke down to the edge of the training grounds with an e-collar on his neck and flanks. I released him to hunt and he was on point when I got to the first pigeon. I walked around to the other side of the brush after taking pictures. I kicked the cover, dropped a pigeon and shot the blank pistol. He didn’t move. I continued to kick the cover, flushed the pigeon in the release trap and shot the blank pistol. He didn’t move. I stroked his sides and led him away. I released him to hunt.

We hunted on to the back then crossed to my side. After he pointed the pigeon in the release trap I walked to the other side of the brush. I dropped a pigeon and shot the blank pistol. He didn’t move. I continued to kick the cover. I flushed the pigeon in the release trap. He never moved even when I shot the blank pistol. I stroked his sides then led him away. I tapped his head for the release.

We hunted toward the back. He went into some woods and when he came out he was behind me. When he ran by me I threw a pigeon in front of him. If he had of been coming toward me he would have stopped but this was something new. When he came by I threw the pigeon right in front of him and he went with it. I yelled whoa and he stopped. I will try this again but I think the next time he will stop. I stroked his sides then tapped his head. He hunted back to the kennel.

Next week I should be able to ride the 4-wheeler to keep up with the dogs. It’s getting dryer. With the nicer weather I may start force fetch training on all 3 young dogs. I would like to be able to send the dogs to retrieve instead walking to the area then getting them to hunt dead. I worked a continental hunt at Bird Fever Hunting Preserve this weekend and saw some great retrieves from Keith’s Labs. There is no reason that pointing dogs couldn’t learn to go in a straight line then over as necessary and do the retrieve. It will be fun to try. We will see how it works out.

Luke

Tur Bo