Annie, ever since she has been with me, has been very hard headed. At least she hasn’t wanted to come to me when I called her because she thinks she will be put back in her kennel. I think being hard headed is a good attribute for a bird dog but they are a little harder to train, sometimes.
Annie pointing a pigeon asleep in the tall grass.
Annie waking a pigeon to fly away.
Annie as she catches the scent.
Annie, when we go for a walk, will stay with me but just out of my reach. Sometimes she gets out quite a way but never would come to me. This worked okay until time to put her up. I started running her with a short, about 10 or 12 feet long, check cord. Most of the time when I needed to catch her she would come close enough for me to grab the check cord.
I have had good luck using hot dogs to teach retrieving. I cut each hot dog into about 20 pieces. I have been going into Annie’s kennel and pulling her into my lap and petting her when I attach the check cord. The first morning with the hot dog pieces, I picked her up as I sat on her dog house, petted her for a few seconds. She would sit real still while in my lap as I petted her. I held a piece of hot dog in front of her nose. She smelled it, then licked it. It took a few seconds for her to eat the chunk of hot dog. She was a little quicker with the second piece and the third one disappeared in a hurry.
I let her out of the kennel, and we went for a walk with her bouncing off my heels or jumping on me from the front. After a little while she went to checking other stuff. I threw some adult dog food in the grass in front of a metal chair. I sat in the chair as she hunted for the dog food. I held a piece of the hot dog in my hand and said, “here”. She came to me in a hurry.
We went for a walk to the very back of my place. A couple of times I called her to me and gave her a piece of hot dog. I only gave her a couple of pieces while we were on our walk. I want her to get away from me and hunt. When we came back by the retrieving bench I called her to me and fed her a chunk of hot dog. I placed her on the bench, hooked the chain to her collar and walked to the other end of the bench. She came running. I gave her 4 or 5 pieces while she was on the bench, calling her to me each time.
After the second day with the hot dog, she had “here” figured out. No matter how far away she was, I could kneel down, hold my hand out with a chunk of hot dog in it, and she would come as fast as possible. I will continue with the hot dogs for a while.
Annie finding dog food.
I have started working Bodie on being steady to wing and shot, so I put both dogs on the chain gang. I work Bodie first. The first morning I put two pigeons in release traps close to my place boards. I worked him to the place boards, whoaing him a couple of times before getting to the place boards. I whoaed him on the place board, put a pigeon to sleep in front of him and walked around. I hadn’t brought the controller for the release traps with me. I whoaed him again and walked back to the side by side for the controller, about 45 yards away. Bodie stayed on the board.
When I got back to him, I released the bird in the closer release trap. He watched it fly away and went back on point on the pigeon asleep in front of him. I rolled the pigeon over with my foot and Bodie came off the board and almost caught the pigeon. I picked him up and put him back on the place board. I walked around him, kicking the grass. I had a collar around his neck and around his flanks. Both were set to stimulate, on a low setting, with one push of the button. When I went close to his side he would come off the board. He was expecting me to heel him away. I stimulated him and set him back on the board. He came off the board 3 times.
Bodie with a pigeon asleep in front of him.
When he let me walk close to him without moving, I heeled him to the next place board. I whoaed him before we got to the next board then whoaed him on the board. I put a pigeon to sleep in front of him. I walked around in front of him for a few seconds then flushed a pigeon from the release trap. He watched it fly away without moving. I walked around in front of him and woke up the pigeon I had put to sleep. I held the Wonder Lead without putting any pressure on him. When the pigeon flew, he moved on the board but didn’t come off.
This morning I worked him a little different. I still used the place boards. I whoaed him on the place board, put a pigeon to sleep, and placed it in front of him. I walked around in front of him, took a pigeon from the bird bag and tossed it in front of him. He watched it fly away without moving. When I rolled the pigeon over with my foot to wake it, he moved on the board but didn’t come off. I stroked his sides then heeled him to the next place board.
I whoaed him once before we got to the board then again after he was on the board. I placed another pigeon to sleep in front of him. After walking around him for a few seconds I tossed a pigeon from the bird bag in front of him. He watched the bird fly away without coming off the board. I woke the pigeon and he didn’t come off the board as it flew away. He’s learning what I want him to do. I will continue to work him this way for a while before working him on hidden birds.
Bodie pointing a pigeon.
I let him run for a while then put him up. Annie had been on the chain gang waiting, mostly patiently. I hid two pigeons in the tall grass strips. I had 3 more pigeons in the bird bag when I turned Annie loose. I had given her a chunk of hot dog before turning her loose and she wanted to stay right under my feet as we walked away from the chain gang.
As we got close to the training grounds she went to hunting. She wasn’t sure where the first bird was but she knew she was close. She pointed and moved and pointed again. I took a bird from the bird bag and tossed it in front of her. I released the bird from the trap. She got really excited with two birds coming up together. She started to chase one of the birds and the other one flew close. That confused her. Can’t chase both, so she stood and watched them fly away.
The next release trap was about 75 yards away. She hunted hard as we continued down the field. With a strong south wind she smelled the next trap from about 20 yards. She pointed then moved up and pointed again. I tossed a pigeon from the bird bag in front of her and flushed the bird in the release trap. She chased one a short distance and when she turned back I tossed another pigeon in front of her. She really got excited with 3 birds in the air.
Bodie pointing a pigeon.
On the way back I put her on the retrieving bench. I fed her about 5 or 6 chunks of the hot dog while she was running up and down the bench. So far, she has only jumped off one time. With the hot dog chunks she is happy to be on the bench. We went back to the kennel. I have a stump outside the kennels that I sat on, held her in my lap and fed her a couple of hot dog chunks. After petting her for a while I put her in her kennel.
I will continue to work both of these young dogs, Annie is 13 weeks old and Bodie will be 3 years old the 30th of June, because that’s what I do. I enjoy working the dogs and I may start the other dogs on being steady to wing and shot, too.