With all of the rain we have been getting, it’s hard to find time to work with Annie, other than just taking her for walks and throwing dog food in the grass. But these work well to get her used to going with me and the dog food in the grass makes her use her nose a lot. Some of the time I put a short check cord on her and when I call her name I draw her to me. I don’t expect her to come each time but with the check cord I can enforce the recall.
Annie waking a pigeon to fly away.
Annie pointing a pigeon asleep in the tall grass.
Annie searching for the pigeon.
A few days ago, as we walked by the retrieving bench I placed Annie on it. I have a chain and pulley system hooked to a cable that runs the length of the bench. I start getting them used to the bench early in their life. I hooked the chain to her collar and walked down the bench. She followed along for a little while then decided to jump off. The chain stopped her, but she was struggling to get back on the bench. I helped her. We walked up and down the bench and she never tried to get off again. A lot of times the dogs try a second time, but I don’t think I’ve ever had one try three times.
When the dogs are on the bench they can smell my breath. They enjoy smelling your breath when you are happy but they don’t enjoy smelling it when you are mad. I put her on the ground to run.
Several times I have put pigeons to sleep in the tall grass so she can find them. Now I’ve done it enough that she really watches me to see where I’m hiding one. In fact, on the way to my tall grass strips Annie was trying to attack the bird bag that I had the pigeons in. She is about ready for the pigeons to be placed in release traps.
To put a pigeon to sleep, I place his head under a wing and straighten the legs out. I don’t pull hard on the legs just straighten them until the pigeon relaxes then lay it on the side that has the head under the wing. The pigeon will stay for several minutes unless something wakes it. Sometimes on really windy days, with everything shaking, they won’t stay asleep very long.
When Annie got a little way ahead of me, this morning, I hid a pigeon in the tall grass. We had a pretty strong breeze, and she smelled the bird right away and pounced on it. While she was mouthing that pigeon, I put another to sleep a little farther down the strip. The pigeon she was mouthing got away and flew close to the ground for a long way with her right behind. She doesn’t always chase but she ran this one about 50 yards.
Annie finding dog food.
She came back just in time to find another bird real close to where she had found the other. She pounced on it. She tried to pick it up but she isn’t big enough yet. This bird got away and flew into a tree just above where it was hidden. Annie stood in her tracks and watched this one sitting in the tree.
Annie has already figured out that if she is going to find a bird it’s going to be in the tall grass strips. But she also knows who controls the birds. She doesn’t get very far from me. I snuck another bird into the tall grass. It’s hard to tell if she has a good nose or not. Just about the time I place the bird she pounces on it. When this bird got away it flew low and slow. Annie chased for 40 or 50 yards.
I had one more pigeon, but Annie was sticking to me. Finally, I got an opportunity to hide the bird. She pounced on it, immediately. It got away and flew to a low limb on a nearby tree. Annie stood and watched it. We went back to the kennel area.
When I put the bird bag in the shed, I got some adult dog food and tossed it in the grass near where I had a chair. In my opinion a lot of dog training is sitting close to the pups letting them get used to me. Along with her smelling the birds and the dog food, Annie was rewarded for using her nose over 20 times.
Annie finding dog food in the grass.
Annie is 78 days old and has been exposed to a lot of pigeons. I started her at about 8 weeks old with lock wing birds. After she got too aggressive with them, I started putting them to sleep so they could escape her, but she could still think she was going to catch them. She’s now bird crazy. That’s what I wanted.
Now a little on Bodie. I had to have a toe removed from his right front paw. I think sometime when he jumped onto his house he had got the toe hung in the chain link fence. The toe stuck straight up. All during the season last year it would be bloody at the end of the day. I thought during the off season it should be removed.
The vet removed it and I kept him in the basement, in a small cage, for several days then moved him to a raised pen. After the stitches were out, I returned him to his kennel. In a couple of days, he was limping on his good front leg. I think when he jumped off his house he was not using the sore foot. All of his weight on the good leg made it sore. I put him back in the raised pen. In a couple of days he was fine. I turned him out to run a couple of times a day. No limping.
Bodie pointing a pigeon.
After about 10 days I put him back in his kennel. In 2 days, he was limping again. So last night I did what I should have done in the first place. I fixed his house where he can’t jump onto it. I like having the houses where the dogs can jump onto them. I don’t have to bend to put collars on or when I medicate them but it’s going to be a long time before Bodie will be ready for this.