Training English Setters, Again 5/14/19

Finally, it quit raining long enough for me to get my English setters out and train. I don’t know when the last time I had the dogs out but it seems like months. I decided to get them all out. It’s still really wet on the training grounds and I can’t use the neighbor’s side, right now. I haven’t been able to get my lawn mower across to mow the back half of the neighbor’s side this whole year. Some of my side hasn’t been mowed, either.

I got Sally out first. Sally’s normally kind of chunky. She’s a little over 6 weeks pregnant and she’s really chunky now. I put a GPS collar and e-collar on her and she was dragging a long check cord. I haven’t worked the older dogs for a while and I wasn’t sure how she would act. I heeled her toward the back with the piggin’ string. When we got close to the training grounds I whoaed her and tapped her to release her.

She checked the neighbor’s side and I guess there wasn’t much scent over there so she came back to my side and went toward the back. I don’t know how the dogs figure out that there is no birds on the other side but they know. I had ridden the 4-wheeler to the back on the neighbor’s side but I hadn’t hidden any birds over there. I held the GPS so I could feel the vibration when she pointed. I was still 135 yards from her when it signaled a point.

I walked to the south edge so I could see her on point. She didn’t try to move as I walked to her. I stroked her sides then walked in front of her. I kicked the ground and the cover. I flushed the pigeon and she didn’t move. I went to her, stroked her sides and told her what a good girl she is. I slipped the piggin’ string around her neck and heeled her away.

I had a frozen quail in my training vest. I threw the quail and said, “fetch”. She ran to it, picked it up and came straight back. I let her hold it for a few seconds then, holding my under her chin said, “give”. She dropped it in my hand. I threw it again. She retrieved it again. I released her to hunt.

When I started the wind had been out of the north west. I had hidden a pigeon on the north fence line but now the wind had changed to the south west. Sally pointed the pigeon but she was right on top of it. I set her back. I took some pictures then flushed the pigeon. She didn’t move. I heeled her away.

I tossed the frozen quail and she ran out, picked it up and came right back. I tossed it again. She ran out but when she got close she smelled something on the ground. I had seen a turkey earlier. She was more interested in the new smell than the frozen quail. I held the transmitter button down on 2 medium and she remembered the quail. She grabbed it and came to me. I petted her for a few seconds then said, “give”. She dropped it in my hand. I took her back to the kennel.

I heeled Tur Bo out next with the GPS collar and e-collars around his neck. On the way to the back I whoaed him and walked about 50 feet ahead of him. I turned and called him to me. It’s kind of scary. He came straight at me at top speed. I was squatting down and he put on the brakes just before he hit me. I petted him then went on toward the back. I whoaed him and tapped his head to release him to hunt.

With my hand on the GPS I followed him toward the back. It vibrated and showed him to be on point 155 yards from me. He was in the shade and I couldn’t see him until I was about 50 yards from him. I took some pictures then stroked his sides. I went in front of him kicking the cover. I flushed the pigeon and he took one step but didn’t try to chase. I heeled him away with the piggin’ string.

After I whoaed him I threw the frozen quail for him. He charged after it, scooped it up and charged back. He doesn’t do anything slow. I petted him for a few seconds then said, “give”. He dropped it in my hand. I threw it again. He charged after it, grabbed it and ran back. He circled me then stopped in front and dropped the frozen quail in my hand. I released him to hunt.

I had moved the pigeon off the north fence line and I think he could still smell something and it confused him. There wasn’t enough to point but he kept running the fence line. I called him to me and as he came he hit the scent cone on the pigeon I had hidden. He slid to a point. I stroked his sides then walked in front of him kicking the cover. I flushed the pigeon and he moved one step. I heeled him away.

I threw the frozen quail and he dashed out, grabbed it and ran back. He circled me then stopped in front. I said, “give” and he dropped it in my hand. I threw the pigeon again. He ran out, scooped it up and came back. This time he sat in front of me but looking away. I think he wanted to see where I threw the quail the next time. I took the quail from him and released him. We went back to the kennel.

Luke was next. At nine years old I don’t expect him to retrieve because he’s never retrieved before. He will hunt dead but when he finds it he rolls it around a little then goes back to hunting. Some people say that a dog will soon sour on pigeons. I’ve never had one quit wanting to point pigeons. Luke has pointed hundreds, maybe thousands, of pigeons and still loves it.

I heeled him toward the back with the e-collar and GPS collars around his neck. When we got close I whoaed him then tapped his head. He went to hunting. There’s something about these older dogs that is different. I expect all of my dogs to point these pigeons but with the older dogs you never know when it will be their last point. As we went down the training grounds, along the edge, I saw him hit the scent cone. He was moving pretty fast and his front feet stopped and his hind legs slid to a stop. He was crouched a little but straightened up to his full height. It was pretty. I took some pictures, kicked the cover and flushed the pigeon. He didn’t move. I tapped his head and he went back to hunting.

He was on the other side of a clump of brush when he pointed his next pigeon. I didn’t see him go on point but as I came around the clump he was standing, with a high head and a straight tail. I walked in front of him, kicking the cover. I flushed the pigeon and he didn’t move. I tapped his head and we went back to the kennel.

Mann was pretty quiet in the kennel so I brought him out next. I had the GPS and e-collar around his neck. I heeled him a short distance, whoaed him and walked 50 feet in front of him. Then I walked back to him and all around. I heeled him farther and whoaed him again. I walked 50 feet in front and called him to me. He came in a run. I don’t want them to get where they think every time I go in front I’m going to call them to me. Sometimes they just whoa.

I had him jump on the retrieving bench where I petted him in several different places. After I get through petting him he starts looking for a place to jump off the bench. He doesn’t jump because he’s tried that before and the chain just barely lets his feet touch the ground. But he still looks. I placed the canvas covered retrieving dummy in his mouth in 6 different places on the bench. I have him hold until I say, “give”. They learn “give” quicker than “hold”, for sure.

I set him on the ground, heeled him toward the training grounds, whoaed him and tapped his head. He was ready. These pups know there are birds hidden on the grounds and they tolerate me for a little while but they really want to go find a bird. I held the GPS waiting for the vibration. Well before I could see where he was, he was on point. I went to him and stroked his sides after taking some pictures. I walked in front of him kicking the cover. I flushed the pigeon and it flew right over his head. He turned to watch t fly away. I stroked his sides then tapped his head.

There was still some scent left along the north fence line where I had placed a bird earlier but moved it. I waited on him to work it out and in just a few seconds he came by me and went on point standing beside a honeysuckle bush that was in bloom. Made a neat picture. After a few pictures I walked in front of him and flushed the pigeon. It flew into a tree right above him and he just turned his head to watch it. The pigeon flew back toward the coop and he didn’t move. We went back to the kennel.

Babe was next. Babe is a special case. She has all of the tools to be a great dog but she has some issues that we need to work through. When she first started pointing she would point then move to the side point and move again. She wanted to circle the bird. She never tried to flush the bird she just thought there was more to pointing than just stopping. I think now she will just stop but she wants to wag her tail. Not just a little tick. I could live with that. She is so happy, that she’s on point, she wags the whole tail, rapidly.

This morning I have a new wrinkle. I set up a barrel and I’ll try to teach whoa from the barrel. If she wags I will shake the barrel. I put the GPS collar and e-collar on her along with the long check cord and heeled her from the kennel. I whoaed her, walked in front about 50 feet, then walked back and around her. I heeled her a short distance and walked in front and called her to me. She came in a run.

We were close to the whoa barrel and I put her on it. She wanted to sit but I kept raising her up. After I finally styled her up I took a pigeon from the bird bag, let it flap for a few seconds then turned it loose. She watched it fly away then thought we were through. She came off the barrel but the chain caught her. She came off with a lot of strength and the chain whirled her around and her hind feet were just touching the ground. I put her back.

I styled her up. Now there is no movement from the tail. I took another pigeon from the bird bag, held it by the feet and let it fly away. She turned her head to watch it but didn’t come off the barrel. Between birds I styled her, stroked her sides, told her what a good dog she is and kept repeating the whoa command. I used 6 birds from the bird bag. Some were young birds that when I turned them loose walked around on the ground for a few seconds before flying away. It was all good. I took her to the retrieving bench.

After walking her back and forth petting her I had her hold the canvas covered retrieving dummy. She holds it really well. She’s a little harder to get to open her mouth than Mann is but she holds it better. I set her on the ground and released her to hunt.

I held the check cord because she will go a long way to the west if I don’t control her with the cord. As soon as she hit the scent cone she locked up. She was wagging a little but not quite as bad as before and when I walked in front of her she quit wagging. I kicked the cover and flushed the pigeon. She didn’t move. I stroked her sides, styled her up and tapped her to release her.

We went toward the next bird. As soon as she hit the scent cone she pointed. Her tail was moving but not rapidly. I stroked her sides, styled her up and walked in front of her. Her tail stopped moving when I went in front. I kicked the cover for a minute or two before flushing the pigeon. She just moved her head to watch it fly away. We went back to the kennel.

We used to train by just taking a dog hunting and there were enough birds that they learned. Now I rotate my dogs and in a days hunt some dogs are not on the ground when we see birds. If I didn’t have pigeons I wouldn’t have bird dogs. I would have English setters for pets.