Traveling Pointing Dogs

Field at the county park.

The field that I train on, at the county park, has a road down the side with just a little cover on the east side. When I hid the birds this morning I put them east of the road. One time I hid one of the birds for each dog on that side of the road. After hiding the pigeons I walked west of the road to put my scent in the field that I turned the dogs loose in. If I hadn’t put my scent in that field the dogs would not hunt very long there. They’re not stupid. If I haven’t been there, there are no birds there.

At home I have a limited area to work the dogs in so I have to vary the way I hide the pigeons. Sometime I hide them on my side, then walk back on my neighbors side, trying to fool the dogs. After being worked just a few times the dogs will not spend any time on the side without birds.

Whitey

Whitey

I had left the dogs tied out in the shade while I hid the pigeons. I had worked Blaze first yesterday so today it was Whitey’s turn to go first. I put an e-collars around her neck and another around her flanks and heeled her toward the field. Before we got to the field I had her jump a guard rail that the county used to surround the parking area. I heel all 3 dogs up to the guard rail, on the way to the field, and I step over then say, “up.” This will carry over to the field if I need them to jump a fence.

After whoaing Whitey and walking around her for a minute or so I tapped her on the head. She started working back and forth across the field but when she didn’t find any bird scent right away she really started reaching out. We worked further down the field than ever before. She wasn’t finding anything so I worked her across the road. She hit some scent but not enough to stop her and she passed the first bird then came to the second and locked up. When she first pointed she was more sideways than she is in the picture. I took pictures then walked around behind her and on both sides. The pigeon was in the tree line so I couldn’t walk in front of her. I flushed the pigeon and shot the blank pistol. She never moved. After walking around for a little while I tapped her on the head.

She worked back toward the first bird and pointed. This pigeon was hid in the tree line so it restricted my walking. After a short time I flushed the bird and fired the blank pistol. The bird came out real low and couldn’t have been over 2 feet above her head. She turned her body and watched it fly away. I walked around kicking the grass then tapped her on the head.

Blaze

Blaze

Blaze jumped the guard rail on the way to the field. I whoaed her and walked around her for a minute or so then tapped her on the head. Each time after hiding the pigeons I walked back through the field on the west of the road. Blaze was working the field but she wanted to point, a couple of times, in places I had put birds in the past, probably. That’s the nice part about knowing where the birds are. I kept walking and said, “let’s go.” She knows she’s not smelling anything so she goes on. When she went to hunting we went across the road.

She hit the scent on the first bird and pointed. I walked around kicking the grass then flushed the pigeon and fired the blank pistol. When I fired the blank she started moving. I didn’t say anything or do anything. I wanted to see how far she would chase. She only followed about 7 or 8 yards and stopped. She knows what she is supposed to do and is willfully disobeying. I put the e-collar on level 3 and held it down. I walked to her, picked her up, with the e-collar button still held down and carried her back to the original spot. When her feet touched the ground I let off the button. I made her stand there a couple of minutes then tapped her on the head.

She pointed the second pigeon and I took pictures before walking around kicking the grass. When I flushed the second bird it must have hit a limb or something because Blaze caught it about 2 feet out of the release trap. That’s not supposed to happen. Especially with a dog as far along as she is. When a dog catches a bird I try not to say anything. I want to use it as a retrieving exercise. By the time they catch the bird there is nothing going to change anything so use it as training. I took the bird from her and picked her up and set her back. (When I got home I tossed the pigeon in the air and he flew away. When I fed later he was in the coop.) I made her stand for a couple of minutes before tapping her on the head.

Blaze’s training is going to change. We are going to back up some and I’m going to get stricter. She knows what to do but she is refusing. She may need a little stress in her life.

Tur Bo

Tur Bo

If you’ve seen Tur Bo on the blog before you might notice his tall isn’t as full as it used to be. I clipped all of the dogs yesterday with what I call their prison haircut. Actually, their bodies look pretty good but I used scissors on their tails and they look pretty bad, but it’s cooler. I heeled him to the field after he jumped the guard rail. I whoaed him, walked around for a couple of minutes then tapped him on the head to release him. I like to see him charge down the field. He went way past where we usually put birds and kept going. He finally turned and came back near me then was gone again. The next time he got close I worked him across the road.

When he pointed the first bird he was twice as far as either one of the females had been. The ground wasn’t as saturated as it had been and I was going to use my stake again. He was dragging a check cord with a half hitch around his flanks. So I pushed the stake into the ground behind him and ran the check cord around it. This let me get in front of him and kick the grass still holding the end of the check cord. He never moved until I flushed the bird and he only tightened the check cord, he didn’t really pull until I shot the blank. When the blank pistol went off he started after the pigeon and the stake pulled out without slowing him one bit. I stopped him when he hit the end of the check cord. I picked him up and set him back. After a couple of miutes I tapped him on the head.

He pointed his second bird and I pushed the stake in behind him. I held the end of the check cord, walking in front of him kicking the grass then flushed the pigeon and fired the blank pistol. He still moved but only about a step. As soon as the check cord got tight he stopped. I put him back, kicked the cover then tapped him on the head.

I’m going back to the whoa barrel or the whoa board with Blaze and Tur Bo for a few days to see if I can make them understand. Blaze knows what she is supposed to do, she’s just telling me she’s not going to do it my way. I think she will. Tur Bo is only a year old so he’s about where he should be. Figuring out how to get a dog over a hump like this is the fun of dog training. All dogs can’t be trained the same way.

Finally, we had a cooler morning. I haven’t worked Blaze and Whitey in quite awhile so they were ready this morning. I took them, Tur Bo and 6 pigeons, with release traps, to the county park.

Blaze

Blaze curled her lips on this point.

Blaze has been barking while I hid the pigeons but not this morning so I worked her first. I put an e-collar around her flanks and one around her neck then heeled her to the field. I whoaed her, walked around, came back and stroked her sides. I walked around her again then tapped her on the head to release her. I had walked farther down the field to hide the pigeons than usual but Blaze got in front of me going back and forth. The grass in most of the field is higher than the dogs head.

She hit the scent of the first bird and went on point. From where I was I couldn’t see her for the tall grass but I knew where she had to be. I walked around her kicking the grass after taking some pictures. I haven’t been shooting my blank pistol over them but this morning I had it with me. I made her stay on point for a couple of minutes then flushed the pigeon. She was steady for the flush but when I shot the blank pistol she lunged forward then stopped. I picked her up and carried her back to the original spot. I walked around kicking the grass for a couple of minutes before tapping her on the head to release her.

She was quite a ways from the second bird when she pointed. I went to her, took some pictures and walked around her for a couple of minutes. I flushed the pigeon and shot the blank pistol. This time she never moved. I walked around her kicking the grass then tapped her on the head to release her.

Whitey

Whitey

After putting the e-collars on Whitey I heeled her to the edge of the field, where I whoaed her. Usually I don’t walk straight to the edge of the field. I heel the dog, then make several right and left turns so they get used to staying by my side. It also makes them less anxious about going to the bird field. Then I whoa them and walk around for a minute or longer.

I tapped her on the head and she ran back and forth as we went down the field. When she went on point she was buried in the tall weeds. I took some pictures, walked around in front of her then flushed the pigeon. She was steady to the flush but, like Blaze, she moved when I shot the blank pistol. I put her back then shot the blank pistol again as I kicked the tall grass. She didn’t move the second time but there was no bird, either. I tapped her on the head to release her.

When she pointed her second bird, I could see her, but just barely. (I may have to get some taller dogs.) I took more pictures, walked around her for a couple of minutes then flushed the pigeon. She never moved when the bird flew or when the gun went off. I walked around her some more then tapped her on the head.

Tur Bo

Tur Bo

Tur Bo no longer gets the e-collar around his flanks, I put a check cord on him with a half hitch around his flanks with the snap attached to his collar. I still slip the piggin’ string around his neck to heel him to the field. I also make a few right turns and a few left turns on the way. After putting him on whoa I walk round him for a minute or longer before tapping him on the head to release him.

Blaze and Whitey cut through the field but when I turn Tur Bo loose he bulls through. He’s taller and out weighs them by at least 20 pounds. He’s fun to watch as he goes through the heavy cover. It has to be solid, like a tree, for him to go around. When he pointed his first pigeon I took pictures before picking up the check cord. I stood a couple of feet behind him holding the check cord. I don’t hold him back with the check cord. I leave some slack in it but if he moves I don’t jerk the cord, I just hold it. The half hitch will tighten if he pulls hard enough on the check cord. After he stood there a couple of minutes I flushed the pigeon. He moved about half a body length when the bird flushed but when I shot the blank gun he hit the end of the check cord. That was the first time I remember shooting the blank since I’ve been trying to steady him to flush. Always before I shot the blank when he was chasing. I set him back and walked in front of him kicking the grass. I came back and tapped him on the head.

Tur Bo pointed his second bird and I took more pictures. Then I walked behind him and grabbed the check cord. I let him stay on point for a couple of minutes before I flushed the pigeon. He never moved when the bird flushed and I was out of bullets for the blank gun but I snapped it a couple of times. He never moved. I walked in front of him kicking the grass then tapped him on the head.

It felt good to be working dogs on a cool morning but we still have July and August to go through. I will have to start working the dogs earlier of the mornings but we lost a minute of daylight today. Days are getting shorter.

It was another hot morning so I trained Tur Bo at home, again. It was 78 degrees with a strong west wind at 8:00 am this morning. I hid 5 birds near my pigeon poles where I have let the grass grow. It’s an area about 8 yards wide and 25 yards long with grass about 2 feet high. I put the pigeons about 3 or 4 yards apart right up the center of the grass with the last bird close to the edge so Tur Bo could smell it.

Tur Bo

Tur Bo and the tall grass.

Tur Bo after the third bird was flushed.

I had Tur Bo jump on his house for me to put the e-collar around his neck. I heeled him toward the bird field where I whoaed him and attached the check cord to his collar with a half hitch around his flanks. He went on point, near the center of the field, about 5 yards from the bird. I took the piggin’ string off, took some pictures, then walked a big circle around Tur Bo. I picked up the check cord and waited a couple of minutes before flushing the bird that was farther away. He never moved.

I waited a minute and flushed another bird. I had positioned the birds in the release traps with their heads toward Tur Bo hoping they would fly over him. The first two didn’t. When the second pigeon flew he watched it fly off. I walked all the way down the field to where the first birds had flushed from, kicking the grass, then back behind Tur Bo and picked up the check cord. I let him point for a minute then flushed the third bird and it flew right over him. He didn’t move.

The fourth pigeon was only about 10 yards from him and after about a minute I flushed it. It flew over him and he didn’t move. I thought that he was nearly broke. As I patted my self on the back I hit the button on the one release trap that is not a D.T. and nothing happened. I held the button down and nothing happened. The battery was too low for it to flush the pigeon. I walked out to the release trap, bent over to turn it on without watching Tur Bo and he was right there helping me release the pigeon. He stopped when I whoaed him. I picked him up and put him back. He went back on point.

I left him on point while I picked up the release traps, starting with the one farther away. I brought them one at a time and set them down in front of him. He tried to move on the first two but I whoaed him then set him back. He had to stand, on point, until I brought all 5 release traps and placed them in front of him. I let him stand for a little while then tapped him on the head to release him. We went to the back of the property then back to the kennel.

That’s the way dog training is for me. About the time you think you have it figured out the dog does just the opposite of the way he’s been trained. Tur Bo has not seen me bend over to release a bird before. If I was going to do something different, he didn’t have to do what he was being trained to do. I will start bending over, pulling grass and throwing it in the air. I have already started walking in front of him after I release each bird. The more distractions I can use the better.