I have pretty well settled on the name of Stormy for the new puppy. With Stormy Daniels in the news I almost backed out on the name. But I had the name picked out before she, Stormy Daniels, showed up in the news. Stormy’s registered name will be Windypoint’s Black Storm. To lighten my load of training I sent Bodie to Nebraska/South Dakota with Justin Crook for his summer program. Bodie did really well last season on wild birds, but this should give him a lot more experience. The outlook for the area where Justin trains is for a good hatch of wild birds.
Stormy on the retrieving bench.
Bodie pointing a pigeon.
Bodie pointing a pigeon.
Since Bodie is gone I have been working the puppies most mornings on some pigeons. I have a chain gang set up near the whoa barrel. I clean pens and then let the two puppies out and we walk to the chain gang. One morning, before Bodie left, Annie wouldn’t go near the chain gang. In fact, she went back to her pen. I put her in the kennel and worked Bodie and Stormy in front of her. I made sure Annie could hear me praising them. The next time I turned her loose she went to the chain gang.
When I first started working Annie on the pigeons in release traps, she would take a step or two back when the bird was flushed. And sometimes, it looked like she was almost blinking the bird. She would circle the release trap but only some of the time. Sometimes it didn’t seem to bother her. I had introduced her to the trap the way I do most of the pups.
I started flushing the pigeons as soon as I could see her react in the slightest way to scenting the pigeon. If she just turned her head toward the hidden pigeon as she ran by, I flushed the bird. Most of the time she was quite aways from the bird. Now after several weeks of birds, she doesn’t seem affected at all. But as with all dog training, we must be vigilant and read our dogs. Fix things as they happen instead of letting them accumulate.
Now to what we have been doing, lately. I put both puppies on the chain gang and go get 5 or 6 pigeons. I hide 3 birds, fairly close together, on the training grounds. I put a pigeon in a release trap, with a string tied to it’s feet, in front of the whoa barrel and another on a string on a short PVC pipe. Some of the time while I’m getting these birds ready, I put a pigeon to sleep right in front of the puppies.
Annie pointing a pigeon.
Then I put a short check cord on Annie and lead her to the whoa barrel. She has been on the barrel enough that she jumps on with a little help from me. I have a couple of ropes dropped down from the beam at the top that I snap to her collar and one around her flanks. I style her up telling her whoa over and over. I walk out front and all around her telling her whoa in a calm manner. Some of the time I use a clicker and give her a chunk of hotdog.
I whoa her and flush the pigeon from the release trap. Until she got over her fear or whatever it was of the release trap I put the trap right in front of the whoa barrel. I flushed the bird from the release trap several times. With the neck and flank straps she couldn’t step back. This may have helped get her past her problem with the release traps. I flew the bird tied to the PVC pole right in front of her. After a few times with both birds I took the strings off and let the pigeons fly away from right in front of her. I think all of this builds desire.
Boss loves the retrieving bench. He jumped on it so I would pet him there.
When I set her on the ground I whoaed her. I style her up just as I did on the barrel. I tap her head and we go hunting the birds hidden in the bird field. It’s hard to get pictures of Annie on point because most days she doesn’t point for very long. Although I want pictures, it’s more important that I keep an eye on her to flush the pigeons when they need to be released. Annie is really hardheaded, which is not a bad trait for a bird dog. Some days, as I closely watch, she will just turn toward the bird when she smells it. I flush the bird. Other days she will point just as soon as she hits the scent cone. She looks great, with a high head and straight tail. But she seldom points for very long. This is not a big problem. She will learn to hold for longer periods of time.
On the way back to the chain gang we pass the retrieving bench. I help her up on it and pet her. Most times, I click the clicker and give her a chunk of hotdog. Then I whoa her and style her up. When she stands for just a second, I click and give her a piece of hotdog. I walk to different spots on the retrieving bench and style her up. After 5 or 6 times I put her back on the chain gang.
Bodie pointing a pigeon.
Then it’s Stormy’s time. After I reload the release traps, I put a couple of pigeons in a bird bag. She’s young enough to be right under my feet until we start to the bird field. There is no reason for a check cord. I put her on the whoa barrel. I style her up but she is still learning and still wants to move. She has fallen off the barrel, but it didn’t make much of an impression. I do style her up and walk around her telling her to whoa.
Getting her to stand still is a challenge. But she’s young. She will come around. I turn a pigeon loose from the bird bag right in front of her. I style her up after she quits watching the pigeon as it flies away. Even at this young age she watches the birds fly off with all of her attention. I let another bird fly from my hand. I set her on the ground and whoa her. I tap her head and we start to the bird field.
Bodie again.
I walk these pups, usually, twice a day. There is a distinct difference when there are birds hidden and when we just go for a walk. There is about 10 weeks difference in these two pups, but Stormy is more aggressive with the pigeons, when she catches one, than Annie. Stormy also holds her point for a longer period than Annie. Just difference in puppies. Doesn’t necessarily make one better than the other.
Stormy is just over 10 weeks old and she already checks each place that I have hidden a bird for her in the past as we go through the bird field. But she is using her nose. She doesn’t point the spots but just slows down and uses her nose. I run the side by side on both sides so there is a lot of tracks. I don’t want them to learn to follow the side by side to find the birds.
After she finds the 3 birds that are hidden in the bushes we go back by the retrieving bench. I set her on the bench and style her up, saying whoa over and over. Usually, 5 different places on the bench. Annie was much easier to get to stand still than Stormy. Stormy is pretty hyper but she’s learning that she has to be still to get some hotdog. It’s amazing how hard all of the dogs work for just a little sliver of hotdog.
Annie pointing a pigeon asleep in the tall grass.
It’s going to be really hot even early in the morning for the next couple of days so I may not work them on birds but I will still walk them a couple times a day. Not only is this good for them it’s also good for me.