Sadie at my quail pen. Her tail is down.
Now her tail is up a little higher.
Now she is really feeling good about herself.
I’m still working Sadie trying to get her to quit lying down on point. I do want to say that I’m not sure why she is lying down on point but it could be a latent gene or some little thing that was done to her. Sometimes the dog responds to something different than what we think they will. Whatever the reason, when your dog does something the wrong way, you must train them to do it the right way.
Sadie would lie down some of the time when she was on point. We noticed that when we circled around and came into the front of her, she didn’t lie down, she only went down when we went in, to flush, by walking by her side.
The last two or three days I have been whoa breaking her. I heeled her with the piggin’ string and would stop every few feet. She only tried to sit or lie down a few times and when she did I heeled her away before she could do anything more than start down. I have heeled her at least a half mile the last 3 mornings. The first day I didn’t say whoa or heel. I just stepped off and she came with me. She threw 4 or 5 fits the first morning but I popped the piggin’ string until the fit was over then acted like nothing happened. I walked then stopped. When I stopped she stopped.
The second morning after we heeled and whoaed with out me saying a command, I started saying “whoa” and “heel” after about of 100 yards of being silent. I also, started walking circles around her when she was on “whoa”. The first few times that I said “whoa” and walked around her she wanted to move with me. I was holding the piggin’ string high above her when I started around her. When she moved i tightened the piggin’ string and said “whoa” again.
When Sadie lies down on point, usually, it’s when we walk close to her sides. Walking close to her when she is on “whoa” and not letting her lie down should get her used to having someone by her side. In the half mile walk I have her “whoa” probably more than 50 times.
The third morning, after walking her for a short distance, heeling and whoaing her, I started dropping the piggin’ string and walking bigger circles around her when she was on “whoa”. Several times she tried to come to me but I said “whoa” and put her back in the original spot. When I finished with this exercise, this morning, she was allowing me to walk up to 20 yards in front, to the back and both sides. Each time she did it perfectly I petted her and told her what a good her girl she is.
After we finished heeling and whoaing, each morning, I put her on a 2×6 “whoa” board that is about 3 feet off the ground. I have a drop chain from a cable that snaps into her collar. I hook her up to this and tell her “whoa” then walk away. One morning I sat on a trailer that was parked close. This morning I went to the shed and got a chair. She has come off a couple of times and her rear feet touch the ground. I also keep an eye on her so if she comes off she isn’t hurt. I leave her on this, every morning, for between 5 and 10 minutes. I walk close to her sides, pet her and walk away, several times.
When I take her off the whoa board I heel her to the retrieving bench. When she gets ready to jump onto the bench I tell her “up”. This morning was the sixth morning and when I said “up” she jumped onto the bench. I walk her up and down the bench petting her and I give her pieces of hot dog. I usually hook her to a drop chain from a cable running the length of the bench. Yesterday morning, I decided she liked the hot dogs well enough to not need to hook her to the chain. She took several pieces of hot dog then when I turned my back she jumped off the bench and went to the quail pen. I let her chase the quail but the next morning I hooked her to the cable.
I have some quail in a flight pen that is 25 feet by 5 feet. After working her as I describe above I let her run around the outside of the pen. When the quail run she chases. When they stop she points. Each day she gets a little bolder. I stand by the pen and if she points close to me I pet her and whisper “what a good dog you are”. She has not tried to lie down on point. Nothing bad will happen to her around birds.
Letting her chase the birds in the pen may make her move when she points in the field but we can get that back. What she needs now is the confidence that when she goes on point she is doing the right thing. Chasing the birds in the pen has raised her tail from down to twelve o’clock.
I will continue to work her this way then next week add some pigeons in release traps. By walking close to her when she is standing on “whoa” I think she will stand on point. If she starts down when she’s on point I will flush the bird. If she stands for the birds in release traps I will need to get her owner over to let him walk around her. I will have him heel and whoa her before we hide pigeons in release traps to get her used to him walking close to her.
Sadie is a nice dog and I have enjoyed working with her on this. The bottom line is if she still lies down on point she is still a dog that finds lots of wild birds.
Pointing the quail pen.
Looking good.
Those eyes are intense.