Traveling Pointing Dogs

With the cooler mornings I am working with all 4 dogs most days. Usually I don’t work them or hunt them on Sunday but working them the other days is good for me as well as them. Also, this week I gave all 4 dogs a hair cut. This sounds easy but they all fight the hair cut a little but I had to put a muzzle on Sally so I could cut the hair on her ears. Even with the muzzle she tried to nip me when I cut close to her ears or high on her neck. I still didn’t get it as good as I should have but her ears are a little cleaner than before.

Boss pointing a pigeon.

Abby pointing a pigeon.

Abby pointing a pigeon.

I’m still cutting a hot dog into about 20 pieces and working the dogs on retrieving. When they do everything correctly they get a piece of hot dog. All except Boss. He won’t take a piece as long as we’re training. Once training is over and he’s standing on his house he will accept a chunk of hot dog.

Mann and Sally are almost always perfect on their retrieves. Most times I throw the Dokken quail for them 4 times each. Sometimes I take the dummy as soon as they get to me and sometimes I have them hold for a few seconds. Either way they hold until I touch the dummy. I take the dummy with one hand and give them a chunk of hot dog with the other. Sally is a chow hound and loves the hot dog. Mann wouldn’t take the hot dog for a long while. He just wanted to be petted. Now he knows he can get both so he takes the hot dog.

I worked Boss first this morning. I heel him close to the stump, take the Wonder lead off and toss the tennis ball a short distance. Boss doesn’t race out to get the tennis ball but he at least trots out and back. Most of the time he jumps onto the tree stump still holding the tennis ball. Usually, his head is down and I raise it before taking the tennis ball. This morning he retrieved the ball 4 times correctly. I didn’t try to feed him any hot dog but I did pet him and tell him what a good boy he is.

After the fourth retrieve I whoaed him as he stood on the tree stump. A few days ago before I got to the 4-wheeler he jumped off the stump but stood beside it. I went back, picked him up and dropped him on the stump. He hasn’t come off again until I say, “okay”, forcefully. Boss loves to run so we make a couple of laps around the training grounds.

When we get back to the kennel I sit on the stump and Boss crawls into my lap to be petted. Even at this time he will not take any hot dog. He just wants to be petted. If I try to put him up too soon he uses his head to keep me seated. We both enjoy this time. After a few minutes I say, “Okay” and he hops down and goes to his kennel.

Boss pointing a pigeon.

This morning Abby was next. I heeled her out and whoaed her beside the stump. I can throw the tennis ball for her quite a ways and she goes after it. She can hardly wait for me to throw it. When my hand goes back she will spin in a circle. Her ball is about the color of the grass so it makes it hard to see. If she loses it she keeps looking until she finds it. Most of my dogs quit easily when they lose the dummy or ball but not Abby.

Abby is fast retrieving and I have to have the hot dog ready when she gets back. She jumps onto the stump and I pet her for a second then take the ball and give her some hot dog, all the while telling her what a good girl she is. For her and Boss both I make a big deal out of them retrieving. I clap my hands and talk to them as they come toward me. I’m excited so they get excited also. After 4 good retrieves I whoa her on the stump and get on the 4-wheeler. She, too, has jumped off the stump but it’s been a while. I get on the 4-wheeler, make sure they are still on the stump, start the 4-wheeler, put it in gear and say, “Okay”. They run toward the back.

Abby pointing a pigeon.

After couple of laps around the training grounds I sit on the stump and give her another 3 or 4 chunks of hot dog while I pet her. When I say, “okay” she heads to her kennel.

The last couple of weeks I have been heeling the dogs around the yard and putting a pigeon to sleep in front of them after I whoa them. A few times I have hidden a pigeon in a release trap close to where I put a pigeon to sleep. The dogs will be pointing the pigeon that is asleep in front of them and I flush the bird in the release traps. Most of the time Boss raises his head but doesn’t move his feet. Abby seldom even moves her head. She’s locked on the one that is asleep in front of her and doesn’t pay any attention to the bird flying away.

This morning I hid 2 pigeons, in release traps, on the training grounds and had 2 more pigeons in a bird bag. I heeled Abby toward my front yard, whoaing her a couple of times. I whoaed her and put a pigeon to sleep right in front of her. When I straighten up from placing the bird in front of her she is rigid but her tail is down. When I first started doing this exercise her tail would almost wrap around my hand as I stroked it up. Now it just comes on up.

Boss pointing a pigeon.

I walked around Abby and the pigeon kicking the grass. I had another pigeon in the bag and I eased it out and threw it in front of Abby. She flinched but didn’t move. I stroked her belly and sides then rolled the pigeon that was asleep in front of her over. It flew away. Again Abby didn’t move. I heeled her to near the 4-wheeler.

I whoaed her, got on the 4-wheeler, started it and put it in gear. I said, “okay” and she was off. They run pretty good but when they know there is birds on the training grounds they really run. We had a pretty good wind but it was swirling as it usually does on these grounds. Abby missed the first bird on the way through the field and we went to the back. When we got close to the bird she hit the scent cone and locked up. She was looking the wrong way to start but by the time I got a picture and got off the 4-wheeler she knew where the bird was. She didn’t turn around. She kept her feet in place and turned her head and neck as far as possible to look behind her.

I stroked her sides and went all around her kicking the cover. She wasn’t moving. I flushed the bird and it flew to a low limb just a little way from us. As Abby started toward it, the bird flew real low to the ground, right in front of her. She chased it all the way back to the pigeon coop.

Vince’s short hair Ally pointing a pigeon.

When she came back we went onto the neighbor’s side. When she hit the scent cone on this bird she pointed then took a step. I flushed the pigeon and said, “whoa”. She stopped and watched the pigeon light in a close tree but up high. I went to her and set her back where she should have stayed when she pointed. I stroked her up then tapped her head and said, “okay”. She ran back to the kennel.

I reloaded the release traps and put a couple of birds in the bird bag and heeled Boss out. We went to the front yard. I had whoaed him a couple of times before we got to the front. I whoaed him then put a pigeon to sleep right in front of him. I stroked his sides, walked around him and the pigeon in front of him. I took a pigeon from the bird bag and threw it in front of him. It wasn’t real close to the pigeon that was asleep but it woke anyway. They both flew at the same time. Boss didn’t move. I stroked his sides and heeled him away.

Boss with a dowel dummy.

When we got close to the 4-wheeler I whoaed him until I got on and was ready to follow. At my okay he was off. By the time I got to the back he was on point on the first bird. I took some pictures then walked around kicking the cover. I flushed the pigeon and it had a little trouble flying out of the brush but Boss didn’t move. I stoked his sides then tapped his head. He went back to hunting.

When I got close to the next bird I saw Boss trying to point but he wasn’t getting much of the scent. I tapped his head to send him on and he moved up where he got more scent and went on a more rigid point. He was looking the wrong way but he had the scent. I stroked his sides and walked around him. When I flushed the bird behind him he just barely looked at it. He didn’t move. I stroked his sides and tapped his head but he didn’t move. He was still pointing into a clump where I hadn’t put a bird.

Abby with a dowel dummy.

I tried to get him to move and he took a step or two into the clump and went back on point. I looked around in front of him and saw where something had caught one of my pigeons. There were feathers everywhere. Probably a hawk had caught one of the pigeons I had used earlier and the scent was still strong. He didn’t want to leave the area but I didn’t want him in a fight with a hawk so we went back to the kennel.

Prairie chicken season opens today in Kansas but the weather is too warm for my dogs and the next few days will be hotter. Maybe next week late it will cool off enough to get the dogs out. We are ready.

Most of last week I was sick with Covid-19. Luckily, it wasn’t severe as it can be but it was bad enough. I never felt terrible but I had absolutely no energy. I had this same stuff in January. I really don’t want this every 8 months or so. But to shorten a long story I’m back to training my young dogs this week. That makes my days much more enjoyable.

Abby pointing a pigeon.

Boss pointing a pigeon.

Boss on whoa with a pigeon asleep in front of him.

This morning I threw the Dokken quail dummy for Mann and Sally. They seldom make a mistake because they know if they spit the dummy out too early or anything else the don’t get a treat or any petting. This keeps them pretty honest. I throw the quail for them usually about 4 times then let them run for a few minutes. I follow on the 4-wheeler.

After Mann and Sally I work the young dogs on retrieving. I had gone to the Dokken quail for them but their retrieving fell off. They don’t seem to like the larger dummies as well as they like the tennis ball. Actually, they both were doing so bad I almost gave up. Then I decided to just go back a step and try the tennis ball and make them jump on the tree stump before I took the ball from them.

It seemed to really help. They both were excited to retrieve again. I had quit requiring them to get on the stump to deliver the dummy but I went back to that, too.

It’s been my experience with the setters when they lose the dummy for some reason they are quick to quit and return to me. Not so with Abby. The first time I noticed her staying in the area and persistently looking, I threw a bumper that bounced into some brush and caught on a limb for a few seconds before it dropped. Abby was almost to it when it bounced into the bush but never noticed it catching in the bush. She looked all around the bush. Finally coming back to the front side where the dummy had dropped. She found it and scooped it up.

The next time was with the tennis ball. I threw the ball and it went under some bushes and into some heavy cover. She was out of my sight for a few minutes searching and didn’t return until she had found the ball. Sally might work this hard for a dummy but I know Boss won’t and Mann might not either.

Abby with a pigeon asleep in front of her.

Yesterday, after the retrieving drills with Abby and Boss I put 1 pigeon in a release trap on the training grounds. I kept 2 pigeons in the bird bag and heeled Abby out of the kennel area. I heeled her toward the front of my house, whoaing her occasionally. I crossed the yard and started toward the back. I whoaed Abby and put a pigeon to sleep right in front of her. I walked around the pigeon, went to her and stroked her sides. After a few seconds I flushed the pigeon.

Abby rushed to catch the pigeon. I have worked her in the past on this exercise and thought she would be steady. The pigeon got away cleanly and I whoaed Abby. It took her about 20 yards to finally stop. I led her back and whoaed her in the exact spot she had been in. I styled her up and petted her before heeling her away.

We went about 50 yards and I whoaed her again. I placed another pigeon in front of her, asleep. I stroked her sides and told her what a good girl she is. I walked around the pigeon. I stroked her some more then holding the Wonder lead I rolled the pigeon over with my foot. The pigeon flew away and Abby didn’t move. I stroked her some more then heeled her away.

When we got close to the 4-wheeler I whoaed her. I got on the 4-wheeler, started it, put it in gear then said, “okay”. Abby was gone like a shot. They all know when there is a bird on the training grounds and it really speeds them up.

The picture of Boss that I put on Facebook.

So the dogs will hunt really hard I always ride both sides of the training grounds. That helps keep them from just following the 4-wheeler tracks. Abby didn’t waste much time on my side but cut across to the neighbor’s side. When I caught up she knew there was a bird close but she kept going over the same area to the north of the bird. After a few passes on the wrong side she hit the scent cone and locked up.

When Vince and I shot some of the pigeons over them Abby moved a couple of times on her birds. Putting the birds to sleep in front of her and working her on the birds in release traps should stop this. On this bird she didn’t move. I stroked her sides then flushed the pigeon. She was steady until the bird was in the air which is all that I require on my hunting dogs. But since I’m making her stand with the pigeon asleep in front of her I will make her stay on pointed birds until I tap her head from here out. I let her run back to the kennel.

I reloaded the bird bag and the one release trap. I heeled Boss toward the front yard. Abby really wants to catch a pigeon or any bird but Boss just wants to point them. Even after not having done this exercise for at least 6 months Boss was steady on his first bird. He may have taken a small step but he didn’t really try to chase. I stroked his sides then heeled him away.

Abby pointing a pigeon.

On his second bird he was more steady. When I awoke it, it flew into a tree just a few feet away. Boss just stood taller and watched the bird. After a few seconds I heeled him away. When we got near the 4-wheeler I whoaed him. He stood for me to get on the 4-wheeler, start it and put it in gear. When I said, “okay” he was gone.

He too, after just a short search on my side went to the neighbor’s side. He was on the north side when we got to the back and as he rimmed the end of the field he hit the scent cone and locked up. He was well off this bird. I took a picture then went to him and stroked his sides. He looked really good and I put this picture of him on Facebook. I flushed the pigeon and he stood for a few seconds before he chased a little way. We will work on them being steady after the flush.

Boss, stretched out, pointing a pigeon.

I will work these two on the pigeons over the next few weeks on being steady to wing and then I will bring the blank pistol. It shouldn’t take long to get them steady to wing and shot on pigeons. In fact they will be steady to wing and shot here but not on wild birds. Or at least that’s how it’s worked for the other dogs that I’ve trained steady to wing and shot.

Austin Farley and I have been working with his pointing Labrador retriever. Max has been with a pro trainer for a couple of months or less and wasn’t doing as well as Austin and the pro thought he should. Max is staying in my kennel but I only work with him when Austin comes over. Max retrieves pretty well. His “give” on live birds is a little rough but he drops when Austin blows a strong puff of air into his ear.

The set up on the retrieving bench.

Boss with a dowel dummy.

Abby, also not happy, but holding the dowel.

When Austin picked Max up from the trainer he showed Austin how Max was on planted birds. He had the bird in a tip up trap instead of a release trap. Austin said Max was really tentative when he went in on the bird.

To see what he would do, we, Austin and I, took him for walk in my back yard. I had a few pigeons in a bird bag. Max and Austin got a little way ahead and I would put a pigeon to sleep and hide it in the grass. When Max got right over the top of the bird he would reach down, pick it up and race to Austin. The first time we did this he had to be right over the top of the bird to react to it.

The first few times we only used 4 birds. Each time we worked with him he got a little more aggressive when he went in. And a few times he would point for a second or two. After several times of just putting birds to sleep we decided to try release traps. He was being aggressive when he jumped in and was aggressively chasing the pigeon when it flew away. When he caught the pigeon he would retrieve straight to Austin and he would let the pigeon fly away with Max right behind.

I hid 3 pigeons, in release traps, in the weeds on the training grounds. I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep up with Max because he was really getting to like the pigeons. I gave Austin the transmitter to turn the pigeons loose. By the time I got close Austin had flushed the first pigeon and Max was close to the second. Max was still a few yards away when Austin flushed the bird. Max half heartedly chased the pigeon.

Max got close to the third bird and Austin flushed it. This bird came out low and Max chased for a long distance. We decided that since he chased we would put more birds in the same places hoping that when he anticipated a bird being in a spot he would point. I reloaded the traps.

This time I parked the 4-wheeler closer to where the birds were hidden. When we got close to the first bird Max missed it just a little but went on to the back. He was close enough to smell the bird but the wind often swirls around on these grounds.

Abby pointing a pigeon.

We kept going on toward the back where there was another hidden bird. Max passed close enough to be able to catch the scent on the bird. He passed and went on farther to the back. Austin and I passed the bird but waited on Max to come back closer. In just a few seconds he was back and I saw him react to the scent. But he circled the trap. My first thought was the pigeon had already been released but on looking the bird was still in the trap. Then Max circled the trap and Austin flushed the pigeon.

Max half heartedly chased then came back. He still didn’t get near the trap. He circled around it a few yards away. I looked at Austin and said, “he blinked that bird”. Austin said, “he did. He absolutely did”.

Austin flushed the other pigeons. There was no reason to stress Max more with the other birds. We now had to back up and make a new game plan. Max was trap shy and we didn’t want to move him into bird shy too.

Boss pointing a pigeon.

After thinking about Max’s problem I wondered about the sound of guns. My release traps are the quietest I’ve had but if it was the sound of them scaring Max a gunshot would be really bad. But Austin said the trainer had shot a blank pistol when he was chasing birds and so had Austin. There was no problem with guns.

Yesterday I put 3 pigeons to sleep and hid them in the tall grass. I put one on my side and two on the neighbor’s side. Max was right over the first bird when he smelled it, reached down and grabbed it. He took it to Austin and chased when Austin released the bird.

He checked out the rest of my side and we crossed to the neighbor’s side. We were barely onto the neighbor’s side when Max came to Austin with a pigeon. We don’t know how far away he smelled it but he had it in his mouth and made a good retrieve. We went on toward the next one.

Abby pointing a pigeon.

When he got close to the next pigeon it must have been awake. As he lunged for it the pigeon flew away with Max right behind. With the pigeons not being in traps, just being asleep, in the weeds, he isn’t showing any reluctance to go for the bird.

We wanted to build on this. I got 4 more pigeons and hid 2 on my side and 2 on the neighbor’s side. Max was ready to go by the time I got back from hiding the birds. He likes this game.

The first bird he smelled from several feet away and turned and went right to it. He grabbed it and brought it to Austin. When Austin released the bird and Max chased.

He smelled the next bird but when he reached for it it got away. He grabbed it by a wing as it flapped and some feathers came out. The bird got away another couple of times but with the missing feathers on one wing it couldn’t fly. When Austin took it from Max and released it, it took off for the woods. Austin sent Max after it again. He brought it back and I took it so I could return it to the coop.

Sally racing back with a retrieve. She gets a treat when she does it correctly.

I didn’t have my bird bag with me so I carried the pigeon to the 4-wheeler while Austin and Max went to the neighbor’s side. By the time I got back with them Max had already retrieved one pigeon and was working on the second. Austin said he had smelled the next bird from a good distance and went straight to it.

On the last bird he was 10 yards from it when he wheeled and went straight to it. He grabbed it and raced to Austin. Max chased it when Austin released it.

Sally pointing a pigeon.

I think Max just needs a lot of birds with no release traps. He may point or it may be a while before he does. But the one thing he doesn’t need is a lot of pressure or stress around birds. But that’s okay. He’s young and we have lots of pigeons.

I haven’t taken any pictures of Max when we’re working with him so I only have pictures of my dogs. But in the near future I will get some of Max. I promise.

Finally, the weather is cooling down a little. It’s really hard to work dogs when the temperature is 80 degrees at 6:00 am. This last week we have mornings in the sixties. A lot better for the dogs but fifties would be better but we’ll take what we can get.

Abby with a dowel dummy.

Abby with a plastic bumper.

Abby with a plastic dummy.

I moved the dogs off the bench several weeks ago. They have been doing their retrieves on the ground and I usually use a tennis ball. I have a stump near the kennels that I have them jump on after they chase the tennis ball down. Abby really enjoys this exercise, in fact she is way ahead of Boss on retrieving.

At first on the bench, Boss was doing better than Abby. Then it all changed. Abby started going down the bench pretty fast to get the dummies. Boss slowed to a crawl. I’m not sure what caused the change. On the bench, near the end of the time they worked on the bench, they would retrieve 6 or 7 dummies then I would do the same on the ground right beside the bench. Abby went pretty fast and seldom dropped the dummy once she picked it up.

Boss slowed even more. I think a turtle would have passed him in route to the dummy. But he would hold until I told him to give. And as long as he was making an effort I let him move at his on pace. If he didn’t start when I said, “fetch” stimulation came on. But at a real low level. But I had to walk out with him, usually.

When I moved them to the stump near the kennels I noticed that Boss would never go in front of me to make a retrieve. I had to walk out with him. So I started heeling him out and throwing the tennis ball to his side. Just a few feet. He got used to going away from me to make the retrieve and I started throwing to the side and a little in front. After several days I was throwing the ball straight in front of him and he was going for it.

Abby liked the tennis ball from the get go. She would run out scoop it up and return. Just before she got to me I said, “up” and she would jump onto the stump. When she held the dummy until I said, “give”. I would feed her a slice of hot dog. Earlier I used dog treats that I bought at various pet stores. Slicing a hot dog into 18 or 20 pieces seemed to work better for me. And Abby will do almost anything if she thinks she will get a treat.

Boss with a plastic dummy.

When I offered Boss a treat either on the bench or the stump he might lick it but he wouldn’t eat it. I kept trying to get him interested in the treats. One time at the vet’s office I asked Dr. Becker to check to see if there was anything wrong with his teeth or his bite or whatever. When he did take a treat it took a while for him to chew it up. Dr. Becker found nothing wrong.

Most mornings I work Mann and Sally on retrieving and give them a treat when they retrieve and hold until I say, “give”. And then Abby earns treats. Whatever is left at the end of the training session I divide between the dogs. I open their gates and feed them their share as they stand on their house. Boss would take a treat then but he still didn’t just scarf it down.

When Sally and Mann retrieve I use a Dokken quail dummy. This morning, because Abby has been doing real well on the tennis ball, I decided to see what she would do with the quail dummy. It made no difference to her. She ran out out scooped it up and jumped onto the stump. I said, “give” and took the dummy and threw it again. She’s doing real well so I only threw it 4 times before letting run for a few minutes.

Boss with a dowel dummy.

After she’s made a couple of laps around the yard I sit on the stump and pet her. I give her a few treats while I tell her what a good girl she is. Then I put her back in the kennel.

This morning with Boss, I tossed the tennis ball when I heeled him out near the stump. He acted like he didn’t see it so the stimulation came on. He thought, “oh, I remember. That tennis ball is right there”. He slowly walked to it, picked it up and came back to the stump. He didn’t get on right away. I had to say, “up”, forcefully, before he jumped onto the stump. The next 4 or 5 retrieves he trotted out, slowly picked the ball up and trotted back to the stump. Some of the time he would jump on without me saying anything and sometimes he waited for me to say, “up”. I offered a treat but he just turned his head.

Because he’s so slow and hard headed he has to do more retrieves than Abby. Then I follow him with the 4-wheeler as he makes a couple of rounds, extremely fast, around the yard. After a couple of laps around the yard I sit on the stump and pet him. He doesn’t just stand in front as the other dogs do he wants in my lap. And I let him.

Boss, not happy, but holding the dowel.

This morning as I petted him I offered him a slice of hot dog and he scarfed it down. That is the first time he has taken a treat when he wasn’t in his kennel. I gave him another and it disappeared instantly.

If I can get him to liking the treats maybe he will retrieve for a treat. It works on the others. Sally and Mann know if they don’t wait until I reach for the dummy, if they drop the dummy, they don’t get a treat. Sally is learning the same lesson. Boss, in my opinion, likes the treats but he isn’t selling out that cheap.

Sally waiting for me to take the dummy and give her a treat.

But after this morning, and him taking the treats by the stump, he may start trading a bumper for a treat. Abby, Sally and Mann have learned to enjoy retrieving by me using the treats. Although Mann just started accepting the treats a few weeks ago. He would occasionally accept one but he was more interested in being petted. Whatever works.

Abby and Boss are half brother and sister. They are out of Sally but Abby’s dad is a son of Tekoa Mountain Sunrise and Mann is Boss’s dad. But even dogs from the same litter are very different, sometimes, in what it takes to train them. I could put a lot of pressure on Boss but I might take something out of him. Or I might completely ruin him. June said I shouldn’t have named him Boss. He actually thinks he’s the boss. Maybe so.