I have been working the older English setters on retrieving, most days. Luke at nine years old isn’t that interested. I can make him pick up the dummies but at his age neither of us really care. Tur Bo and Sally really like chasing after the dummies and they bring it back. They seem to like it better each time.
Mann on point.
Babe pointing a pigeon.
Sally bringing me a frozen quail in the yard.
The older dogs don’t seem to like the real big retrieving dummies. I worked all three of them in the morning and decided I needed a heavier, slim dummy. I went by Bass Pro and found just what I needed with a throwing rope. While I was there I saw the Dokken quail. I have a chukar but the quail is a little smaller, so I got one of those, also.
I put nine retrieving dummies in a line and brought Tur Bo out. About 10 yards from the first retrieving dummy I whoaed him. I put my hand in front of his eyes, waved it in the direction of the line of dummies and said, “fetch”. Tur Bo doesn’t do anything slow. He bounds out, picks up the dummy, comes back and circles me. He sits and holds the dummy but he has played this game before plus he saw some more on the ground. If I will hurry and take this one he will get me another. I take the dummy.
He bounds out for another. Sometimes he skips one if he sees one a little way ahead that he likes better. He usually holds until I tell him to give then goes after another. The last two in the line are the new ones. I threw the long one as far as I could. When he’s went after it I tossed the fake quail about 15 yards to the side. He runs full tilt after the dummy, then full tilt back, circles me and sits. I never taught him to sit. He just does. I took the dummy and waved in the direction of the fake quail. He started in that direction and saw the quail. He scooped it up and came charging back. He held it until I said give.
I threw the quail as far as I could and tossed the slim dummy to the side. When he got back I took the quail and sent him for the other dummy. Right now I’m just tossing it to the side. I’m hoping that later I can send him for a blind retrieve of greater and greater distances.
I did the same things with Sally. She retrieves as well as Tur Bo but not near as fast. I haven’t been very successful with the trained retrieve. I think, possibly, it’s because I never made the dogs really like retrieving. Tur Bo and Sally seem to enjoy it, now. Later on I will get some pen reared quail to work them on. By that time I hope it’s a non-issue.
Now for the puppies. I have 6 release traps. I hid three on my side of the training grounds and three on my neighbors side. I put one in a clump of brush near the edge and the other two farther back. My idea is to let the pups point the closer one but flush the other two before flushing the one he’s pointing. I’m trying to get them to not chase when the bird flushes. I think, if more than one bird flushes, enough times, the dog will understand why he’s not to chase.
Sometimes, Mann barks and barks while I’m hiding the pigeons. When he does I usually work Babe first. Today he was quiet so I brought him out with the GPS collar and e-collar around his neck. He was dragging the long check cord. About 20 yards out of the kennel I whoaed him. I walked about 25 yards in front of him and held my hand up like a traffic cop. I dropped my hand and said, “here Mann”. He came in a run.
I did the whoa and here twice before we got to the retrieving bench. I had him jump onto the bench. I petted him in several spots on the bench. I have been trying to get them used to holding something in their mouth. I took one of the retrieving dummies that is small and canvas covered. I opened his mouth and placed the dummy behind the canines. He would spit it out if I didn’t keep my hand under his chin. I pet him telling him what a good boy he is. I do this at six different spots on the bench then set him on the ground.
Luke on point.
I heeled him away from the bench then whoaed him. I walked about 15 yards in front of him and turned toward him holding my hand up like a traffic cop. After a few seconds I called him to me. He came in a run. I whoaed him and took the piggin’ string and the check cord off. I tapped his head to release him.
He started down my side but crossed to the neighbor’s side. I followed him over. He was checking every spot I had ever hidden a bird for him. He circled the clump that the pigeons were hidden in. He was really moving when he hit the scent cone and slid to a point. I took some pictures then walked toward him. He was across the clump from me. I kicked the cover and flushed a pigeon. The bird came out of the trap and didn’t try to fly. He landed right beside the trap. Mann took one step.
When I could tell he was smelling the pigeon he had pointed I flushed another pigeon. This time he moved several steps, then stopped. I flushed the last pigeon and he didn’t move. I picked him up and carried him back to where he originally had been on point. There was still a pigeon on the ground. I heeled him away. I whoaed him and tapped his head to release him.
He crossed back to my side then went down the tree line. We had a strong wind out of the south and he had been on the south side of the first set of birds and he was inside the clump on the second set and on the south side when he pointed. I kicked the cover and flushed one of the pigeons that he wasn’t pointing. He didn’t move.
Three quail and my W.R. Pape side by side.
I continued to kick the cover and flushed another pigeon. He didn’t move. This second pigeon flew into a tree near him. He watched the pigeon for a few seconds then the smell of the pigeon he had pointed got his attention. He turned back to it and the pigeon in the tree flew away. He didn’t even turn his head. I flushed the pigeon he was pointing. He didn’t move. I fought my way through the clump of brush to tap him on the head. He went back to hunting. I took him back to the kennel.
After reloading the release traps and catching the young pigeon that was on the ground, I heeled Babe out with a GPS collar and e-collar on. I use the long check cord because of her. If I turn her loose she will go to the west and be gone for 30 minutes or longer. I have to work her into the birds I have hidden by holding the check cord. About 25 yards out of the kennel I whoaed her. I walked ahead of her about 30 yards and turned around holding my hand up like a traffic cop. I dropped my hand and called her to me. She came in a run.
I whoaed her and called her to me twice on the way to the retrieving bench. When she jumped onto the retrieving bench I walked her back and forth petting her. Dogs are funny. When I pet Mann he runs up and down the bench. When I pet Babe she goes to the next place where I usually pet her and waits. At the end of the bench is a post. When we get to the post I go around the bench. She lets me pet her on one side of the post then moves her head around the post for me to pet her on the other side.
Babe with a pigeon asleep in front of her.
After we get through with the petting I opened her mouth and placed a small canvas covered bumper in her mouth. She holds the bumper better than Mann does but it’s harder to get her mouth open. All dogs are different. I had her hold the dummy 6 times then set her on the ground.
I heeled her away then whoaed her. I walked about 25 yards in front of her and called her to me. She came in a run. When we first started doing this she wanted to come to me before I called her. I started holding my hand up and she figured this out real quick. A few days ago I wanted to film her, with my phone, coming to me. As long as I held the phone up she wouldn’t move.
We moved down the training grounds with me holding the check cord. When we got close to the first set of birds she went on point. I stroked her sides and walked in front of her. I flushed the pigeon farthest from her. She didn’t move. I continued to kick the cover and flushed another pigeon. She didn’t move. After each bird, I waited until she realized that the bird she was pointing was still there, before flushing the next pigeon. I flushed the bird she was pointing and she still didn’t move. I released her but held the check cord.
Sally on point.
She pointed the next set when she got close. I stroked her sides then walked in front of her. I flushed the farthest bird from her. It came out of the trap and didn’t even try to fly. It lit beside the trap. She didn’t move. I continued to kick the cover and flushed another pigeon. It flew away and she didn’t move. I continued to kick the cover and flushed the pigeon she was pointing. A lot of times if a pigeon is close when another flies away it will join them. The one on the ground didn’t.
I went back toward Babe to release her and the pigeon on the ground spooked and flew into a tree but only about 3 feet off the ground. Before I got to Babe she was after the pigeon. The pigeon dropped to the ground and tried to out run her. That didn’t work. She caught it. It got away and tried running again. She caught it. It got away and flew a short distance and she caught it again. It got away again. This time it flew away. We went back to the kennel.
Babe doesn’t even open her mouth on the pigeons. She wants to hold them and play with them for a while. The pigeons, that don’t fly away, are young pigeons. It’s hard to tell a grown pigeon from a young one when they are almost grown. I may start using leg bands to identify the young birds from the others.
It’s fun to go in the back yard and work with a bunch of dogs and see them making progress. Putting more than one bird in a set makes the dogs more solid on their points, I think. At the game farm a few days ago, Mann held his point while we shot another dog’s bird first. He did that twice. Pretty good for a dog less than a year old. We must be doing something right.
Mann on point.
Tur Bo doing his job.
Tur Bo with a frozen quail.