Traveling Pointing Dogs

It was cooler this morning, better for the dogs and their owner. I tied the dogs in the shade before hiding the pigeons in the tall grass. The wind was from the south at about 15 miles per hour which made it about perfect for working dogs.

Whitey

Whitey

I heeled Whitey out to the field and released her to hunt. She hunted back and forth in front of me until she hit the scent cone. When I got close to her I saw she was almost on top of the release trap, holding the bird. I picked her up and set her back about 10 yards from the pigeon. I walked in front of her then flushed the bird. She never moved. I tapped her on the head to release her.

I knew Blaze wasn’t stopping on the edge of the scent cone but this was the first for Whitey. I knew I would have to flush some pigeons in front of her without letting her point. She hunted back and forth down the field and when she got within about 15 yards of the second bird I saw her turn toward the pigeon and I flushed it. She stopped to the flush without me saying anything. Stopping to flush is not as much fun as pointing. So if I flush birds before she points them she will go back to pointing on the edge of the scent cone, I hope.

Blaze

Blaze

I heeled Blaze to the field and when I released her she went in a straight line toward the pigeon hidden in the release trap. When she got within about 15 yards I flushed it and said whoa. She stopped. She was about 100 yards ahead of me and I got in no hurry to get to her. I walked in front of her kicking the cover then came back and stroked her sides. I walked back in front of her kicking the cover then tapped her on the head to release her.

She hunted a little slower on the second bird like she was trying to figure this out. When she got close to the second bird and I saw her tail speed up, I flushed it without saying anything. She stopped. I was only about 40 yards from her and I stroked her sides when I got to her. I walked in front kicking the cover then tapped her on the head to release her. On the way back to the truck she tried to point in an area I hadn’t put any birds. I don’t know if she was being cautious or she was saying “I’ll be good, Boss.” I’m going to flush her birds for a few more trips then we will see.

Tur Bo

Tur Bo

I always work Tur Bo last to make him have some patience and it is working. When I came back to get him he was lying on the ground waiting. I heeled him out to the field, whoaed him, took the piggin’ string off, put the piggin’ string around my shoulders, stroked his sides then tapped him on the head. He is learning to stand, on whoa, for my routine. He slammed into a point on the first bird. When I got to him, he was about 20 yards from his bird. Finally a dog stopping on the edge of the scent cone. I took pictures then hooked my hand in his collar and flushed the pigeon. He tried to chase but I held him. When he went back on point I stroked his sides then tapped him on the head.

He pointed his second bird and I stroked his sides. I made him stay on point for a longer period of time on this bird. I stroked his sides, hooked my hand in his collar and released the bird. He tried to chase and I held him until the bird flew out of the field. He went back on point and I stroked his sides then tapped him on the head.

Flushing the birds before the dogs point are not as much fun for me either but it’s necessary to let these young dogs know that they can’t get too close. A few more trips like this then we will see what they do.

I started a little earlier this morning but it was already hot by the time I got to the county park. Instead of tying the dogs to the fence I found a shady spot and tied each of them to a branch or small tree. Whitey never pulls much so I wasn’t worried about what I tied her to. I put the birds out and put the e-collars on Blaze. While I was fastening the collars on Blaze, Whitey came to me pulling the small tree I had tied her to.

Blaze

Blaze

I heeled Blaze out to the field, whoaed her then tapped her on the head to release her. I figured out yesterday, she isn’t stopping the instant she smells the bird. She wants to stand right over the release trap, so today, I flushed the bird when she showed any sign that she smelled it. On the first bird she was going real fast and when she smelled the pigeon her tail started going 90 miles per hour. I flushed the bird and said whoa. She stopped and I let her stand until the pigeon flew out of the field. I tapped her on the head.

On her second bird, she slowed down but her tail sped up and I flushed the bird. She stopped without me saying anything. I kicked the cover some and made sure the pigeon had flown out of the field before I tapped her on the head to release her. She hunted back to the truck. She didn’t get to moving up on her birds in a day and I’m not going to break her in a day. I will probably flush her birds for 4 or 5 days then try her to see if that fixes her.

Whitey

Whitey

I heeled Whitey to the field, whoaed her then tapped her on the head to release her. She worked back and forth across the field in front of me until she hit the scent cone. She whirled into a point. I walked in front of her and flushed the pigeon. She never moved. I continued to kick the cover, then tapped her on the head to release her.

She went to weaving back and forth across the field. When she pointed the second bird she was about 20 yards from it with her head up high. I walked in front of her kicking the tall grass and flushed the bird. She never moved. I continued to kick the cover then tapped her on the head.

When I ran Blaze I never tried the blank pistol because I flushed the birds before she pointed but I was going to shoot for Whitey and I had forgotten to reload. Me being forgetful doesn’t bother Whitey.

Tur Bo

I have been flushing two birds from one point for Tur Bo the last few times but today I left the pigeons separated by about 50 yards to get 2 points from him. He is always fired up because he’s had to wait on the other two. He goes all out then slams into a point. Today was no exception. He was about 30 yards from the pigeon when he pointed. I walked to his side after taking some pictures. I stroked his side then hooked my hand in his collar and flushed the bird. He tried to chase but I held him. He went back on point and I tapped him on the head. He was gone in a flash.

He pointed his second bird and I stroked his sides. I hooked my hand in his collar and flushed the pigeon. He tried to chase but it was half hearted. I stood him back in the original spot and he went back on point. I made sure the pigeon had flown out of the field before I released him.

There are a lot of side effects of working these dogs almost every day. They jump on the tail gate without any help from me then all I have to do is open a dog box and they walk in. When I’m through in the field I just walk back to the truck and they follow and load up. No matter where I am in the field they get in front of me and cover the field. They handle.

After training the young dogs this morning it dawned on me what Blaze is doing to me now. She is extremely smart and I have stopped her from chasing the birds. She loves to chase but if she can’t do that she will not point until she is right on top of the birds. I was watching her when she hit the scent cone on her second bird and she didn’t even slow down. She moved right to the pigeon then stopped. Now that I know what she’s doing I can stop it. The next few times I work her I flush her birds as soon as I know she can smell them. This will get her back to pointing at the edge of the scent cone. If I flush the birds before she points and I don’t let her chase she doesn’t have any fun.

Sometimes really smart dogs are harder to train than some of the others. Blaze came by this naturally, her grandmother, Allie, was the hardest dog I’ve ever worked with. Allie always wanted to be in charge, Blaze just wants to do it her way. Once Allie was trained she made a real good dog. Blaze will, too.

Whitey

Whitey

It was real warm when we started this morning so I staked the dogs out in the shade of the fence row. After hiding the birds in the tall grass I came back and put Whitey on the tail gate of the truck. I put the e-collars on her then put her on the ground. I heeled her to the field, whoaed her then tapped her on the head to release her. Whitey and Blaze are litter mates. Whitey is okay with doing it my way and is easy to train. Whitey ran until she hit the scent cone and slammed on the brakes. I walked in front of her, shot the blank pistol and continued to kick the cover. I flushed the pigeon, shot the blank pistol and said whoa. She never moved. I continued to kick the cover, fired the blank pistol and said whoa, again. She never moved. I tapped her on the head.

Whitey pointed her second bird at about 15 yards and I walked in front of her kicking the cover. I shot the pistol and said whoa. I continued to kick the cover, flushed the bird, shot the pistol and said whoa. She never moved. I continued to kick the cover, shot the pistol and said whoa. She never moved. I tapped her on the head to release her.

Blaze

Blaze

I brought Blaze out, with the e-collars on, to the edge of the field then released her to hunt. She was close to her first bird when she pointed. I walked in front of her kicking the cover, shot the pistol and said whoa. She never moved. I continued to kick the cover, flushed the bird, shot the pistol and said whoa. She never moved. I continued to kick the cover, shot the pistol and said whoa. She never moved. I tapped her on the head to release her.

On her second bird I saw her hit the scent cone and move all the way to the release trap before she stopped. I picked her up and carried her back about 10 yards. I walked in front of her kicking the cover, shot the blank pistol and said whoa. She didn’t move. I continued to kick the cover, flushed the bird, shot the pistol and said whoa. She never moved. I continued to kick the cover, shot the blank pistol and said whoa. She never moved. I tapped her on the head to release her.

Tur Bo

Tur Bo

When I replaced the pigeons for Tur Bo I put the birds about 10 yards apart. After putting the e-collars on him, I heeled him to the field, said whoa, then tapped him on the head. The wind was blowing pretty hard and he stopped on the edge of the scent cone. His rear end was low when he first pointed but it came up while I watched. I walked to his side and said whoa. I stroked his side and let him stand on point. I hooked my hand in his collar and flushed the farther of the 2 birds. He tried to chase but not real hard. He’s getting used to me holding him. He could still smell the pigeon he had pointed and he got rigid again. I stroked his side and told him what a good boy he is. Then I flushed the closer bird. I was still holding his collar. I stroked his sides and he went on point again. I let the pigeon fly out of the field before I turned him loose.

I enjoy trying to out figure these dogs. This is not the only thing that Blaze will try to beat me with. Actually it may not be the only thing she’s doing right now to beat me. It’s the only thing I’ve figured out so far. Time will tell.

I didn’t get out as early as I should have this morning. By the time I had the pigeons, Blaze, Whitey and Tur Bo in the truck it was already getting pretty warm but we made our trek to the county park. The wind was out of the south at about 30 miles per hour. I hid 2 pigeons, in release traps, in the tall grass separated by about 50 yards.

Whitey

Whitey

Whitey stood on the tail gate, calmly, while I put the e-collars on her. When I train at home I have the dogs stand on their house while I put the e-collars on them. When we train away from home or go hunting I put the e-collars on with them standing on the tail gate. They learn to stand, without moving, until I get their collars on them. Then I lift them to the ground, I don’t let them jump.

I heeled Whitey to the field, whoaed her, then tapped her on the head to release her to hunt. She worked into the wind and pointed the first bird from about 25 yards. I took some pictures, then walked in front, kicking the tall grass. I shot the blank pistol and said whoa. She never moved. I continued to kick the cover, then flushed the pigeon, shot the blank pistol and said whoa. She turned her head to watch the bird fly away without moving her feet. I kicked the ground some more then tapped her on the head to release her.

She pointed her second bird and she was almost hid in the tall grass. I walked in front after taking some pictures. I made her stand for a good while as I walked back and forth in front of her. Then I shot the blank pistol and said whoa. She never moved. I continued to kick the cover, flushed the pigeon, shot the blank pistol and said whoa. I continued to kick the cover then tapped her on the head to release her.

Blaze

Blaze

I heeled Blaze out to the field, whoaed her then tapped her on the head to release her. Blaze is really fast and is fun to watch. She slammed into a point on her first bird. I walked in front kicking the cover then shot the blank pistol and said whoa. Her head twitched but her feet never moved. I continued to kick the cover, flushed the pigeon, shot the blank pistol and said whoa. She never moved. I continued to kick the cover, then shot the blank pistol and said whoa. She never moved. I tapped her on the head to release her.

She was within 10 yards of her second bird when she pointed. I took some pictures, then walked in front of her kicking the cover. I shot the blank pistol and said whoa. I’m shooting the blank pistol then saying whoa so the dogs will anticipate me saying whoa after they hear the shot. They will get to the point where they will stop when they here the gun shot. (I hope.) She never moved. I continued to kick the cover, flushed the bird, shot the blank pistol and said whoa. She turned her head to watch the pigeon fly away but she didn’t move her feet. I continued to kick the cover, shot the blank pistol and said whoa. She took one step the stopped. I set her back then tapped her on the head to release her.

Tur Bo

Tur Bo

Tur Bo has even learned to stand calmly while I put the e-collars on, on the tail gate. I heeled him out to the field. When I hid his birds, I put them pretty close together. He could smell the place where I had hid the bird for the other dogs but had moved it. He got birdy but didn’t point. He has already figured out that sometime there are hot spots but the birds aren’t there. He worked through the area a couple of times then went on. He slid into a point with his back end low and as I watched his head and tail came up. I hooked my hand in his collar and stroked his side after taking some pictures. I flushed the bird farther away. He wanted to chase but I held him. As I stroked his side he got the scent of the pigeon he had pointed and went back on point. I stroked his side while I told him what a good boy he was. I flushed the second bird still holding his collar. Again he wanted to chase but I held him. I stroked his sides until he went back on point then tapped him on the head to release him.

Working these dogs on the same thing day after day is still fun for me and for the dogs. It is probably boring to read almost the same things day after day but that’s what it takes to get them broke. For me, I was able to get 5 points this morning when most people are only thinking about their dogs. I can see these 3 dogs getting closer to where I want them to be. That makes it worth while for me.