Finally, we had a morning that was cool. It wasn’t sweat shirt weather cool but it was cooler than it has been. I haven’t worked Sally and Tur Bo on anything for quite a while because of the heat until this morning.
Sally
Tur Bo
Tur Bo
I have been letting the puppies out of the kennel twice a day or more. They play and when they come near me I turn a pigeon out for them. I just tease the pups with it then let it fly away. It didn’t take them very long to become too aggressive for the pigeons when I put them to sleep.
I hid three pigeons, in release traps, on the training grounds. I put another three pigeons in a bird bag that I left on the 4-wheeler.
I put an e-collar around Sally’s neck and hooked a check cord to her collar after putting a half hitch around her flanks. I heeled her out close to the 4-wheeler and put her on whoa. I got on the 4-wheeler and released her to hunt.
There wasn’t much wind and when she got close to the first bird she got a little smell and started to go on then locked up. I took pictures. I decided that she didn’t need to be tied to the stake so I grabbed a pigeon from the bird bag. I walked in front of her, kicking the cover. I dropped a pigeon from my hand and shot the blank pistol. She didn’t move.
I continued to kick the cover, flushed the pigeon in the release trap and shot the blank pistol. She didn’t move. I heeled her a short distance and whoaed her. I held a frozen quail in front of her and told her to fetch. She took the quail and held it until I said, “give”. I placed the quail on the ground at her feet and told her to fetch. She reached down and picked up the quail. She held it until I said, “give”. I placed the frozen quail in front of her where she would have to take a step to grab the bird. I told her to fetch. She took a step, picked up the quail and held it until I said, “give”. I released her to hunt.
She crossed off the neighbor’s side onto my side and was really going when she hit the scent cone. The grass was wet and she slid to a point. I walked in front of her and dropped a pigeon from my hand. I shot the blank pistol. She didn’t move. I continued to kick the cover. I flushed the pigeon from the release trap and shot the blank pistol. She didn’t move. I heeled her away.
After a few yards I whoaed her and held the frozen quail in front of her nose. I said, “fetch”. She took the frozen quail and held it until I said, “give”. I tossed the quail a few feet and said, “fetch”. She ran to the bird but came back without the quail. I held the e-collar transmitter button down on medium 1 and said, “fetch”. She grabbed the quail and brought it back. I tossed it again and she picked it up and held it until I said, “give”. I released her to hunt.
We crossed back onto the neighbor’s side and were at the back when she went on point. I took pictures. I went around the clump of brush that the release trap was hidden in and dropped the pigeon from my hand. I shot the blank pistol. She didn’t move. I continued to kick the cover and flushed the pigeon in the release trap. She didn’t move even when I shot the blank pistol. I heeled her away.
Using their nose to find dog food in the grass.
I whoaed her and tossed the frozen quail. She ran to it but came back to me with out the bird. I held the e-collar down on medium 1. She went back and grabbed the quail and returned to me. I petted her for a few seconds while she held the bird. When I told her to give she dropped it in my hand. I tossed the quail again. She grabbed it and came back holding it until I said, “give”. I let her run before taking her back to the kennel.
I reloaded the bird bag and the release traps and turned Tur Bo out. He was pulling a check cord with a half hitch around his flanks and a e-collar around his neck and flanks. Tur Bo is really fast and he has caught a few pigeons so he thinks he can catch them all. When he points I tie him to a stake I push into the ground right behind him. He doesn’t always move but he does if the pigeon flutters or comes close to him, he will move.
I tried to stay up with Tur Bo on the 4-wheeler but when I saw him he was on point. I took pictures then pushed the stake into the ground and tied the check cord. I went in front of him kicking the cover, dropped a pigeon from my hand and shot the blank pistol. He didn’t move. I continued to kick the cover and flushed the pigeon that was in the release trap. He didn’t move even when I shot the blank pistol. I pulled the stake and heeled him away.
I whoaed him and threw the frozen quail about 15 yards. He grabbed the quail and came back. He circled me then sat down beside me holding the quail until I said, “give”. I threw the quail 3 times then released him to hunt.
I forgot that I had released the next bird when I hit the wrong button, on the first bird, on the release trap. When he got close he smelled the hot spot but knew the bird was gone. He was going to go on and I whoaed him. He was right and I was wrong but he whoaed. I walked in front of him, dropped a pigeon from my hand and shot the blank pistol. He didn’t move. I heeled him away.
Babe pointing her brother.
I whoaed him and threw the frozen quail about 15 yards, three times. He retrieved it each time. He always circles me, then sits, holding the bird until I say, “give”. I throw each time in a different direction and one of my throws went into the brush and he went right after it, bringing it to me. I released him to hunt.
He checked out the neighbors side and crossed to my side. He was running down the side, hit the scent cone and slid to a stop. One of my pigeons had escaped so I didn’t have one to drop. I pushed the stake into the ground and tied the check cord. I walked in front of him and flushed the pigeon. It flew straight toward Tur Bo and was only about 5 feet high. As it came over his head he leaped for the bird and the check cord stopped him. He hit the ground on his back with a thump. I set him back. I pulled the stake and heeled him away.
I threw the frozen quail for him three times and he retrieved each time. I released him to run on the way back to the kennel.
I don’t know if another dog’s slobber on the bird bothers the dogs but I use two frozen quail and I’ve marked the bags so the same dog gets the same bird each time. I’m hoping that if I get the dogs expecting to retrieve when they point they will retrieve the birds I shoot.
I had brought one of the release traps back on the 4-wheeler. I had let the puppies out to play and decided to walk them back to get the other two release traps. We went to the back first and got that trap. We were back near the front where the other one was when Man went into the grass, smelled the bird that had been in the trap and pointed. He moved up a step and went back on point. Babe saw him and stopped. She looked good, too. I’m not saying she was honoring but she stopped. Then Man pounced on the release trap and she came to help. After they got bored with the trap we went back to the kennel.
Not a great picture of Man.
With the puppies I’m not trying to get them to point, although they do sometimes when I hold a pigeon in my hand and when they see them on the ground near the coop. I just want them to like birds and be puppies. In a few weeks or less I’ll try to get them to point by scent.
I like working the older dogs but I really like watching puppies learn. I let them play and I turn pigeons out. I want the pups to like birds. If they don’t like birds they will never make a bird dog.
I will keep letting the pups play no matter how hot it gets but I won’t work the older dogs. The puppies need to be out but it’s too hard on the older dogs. After we get through this heat I will have more to put on the blog, I hope.
Sally
Tur Bo
Sally