Tur Bo
Tur Bo
I went back to the county park this morning with Blaze, Tur Bo and Luke. We have one more cool morning before the warm weather comes back. When I hid the pigeons this morning, I went farther down the field trying to find shorter cover to hide the birds in. Didn’t work but I got a better work out.
I heeled Tur Bo to the edge of the bird field and whoaed him. He has been moving, the last several mornings, when I whoa him but he didn’t move this morning. I walked a circle around him then tapped his head to release him. He went back and forth in front of me then veered off and went onto a hillside that was to the east of the bird field. I think that some turkeys had moved down the hillside. Tur Bo didn’t want to leave the hillside. Finally, he got back in front and started hunting. He pointed the first pigeon and I took some pictures. I walked in front of him then came back to hold his collar. I flushed the pigeon and he flinched but didn’t move his feet. I stroked his sides then tapped him on the head. He went back to hunting.
Blaze has been barking on the stake out chain, while I’m working the other dogs, and this morning I put one of the D.T. e-collars around her neck. As I work Tur Bo, I hold the button down on the e-collar until she quits barking. I’m still learning about the D.T. collars and each time she barks I move the level up a notch. She got a lot quieter when I got to level 6.
Tur Bo pointed the second pigeon and I walked in front of him, kicking the grass. I walked to him, held his collar and flushed the pigeon. He didn’t move. I walked back in front and he took a step. I picked him up and put him back. I walked back in front, kicking the cover and he stayed on point. I tapped him on the head and he hunted back to the stake out area.
Luke
I heeled Luke to the edge of the bird field and put him on whoa. I walked a circle around him then tapped his head to release him. He hunted back and forth in front of me but when he didn’t find a bird, quickly, he started trying to point where I had hid pigeons in the past. I moved him on when he started slinking along. He pointed the first pigeon and he was so far away I thought he might be just pointing where a bird had been before but when I tapped his head he wouldn’t move. I took pictures then kicked the cover and flushed the pigeon. He never moved even when I shot the blank pistol. I kicked the cover some more then tapped his head to release him.
He went back to hunting but the grass is so tall I have to watch for moving grass, to know where he’s at. He pointed the second pigeon and I took more pictures. I’ve been doing this for a long time but I never get tired of seeing a dog, looking good, on point. I kicked the cover in front and to the side then flushed the pigeon. I waited about 10 seconds then shot the blank pistol and he never moved. I kicked the cover then tapped him on the head. He hunted back to the stake out area.
Blaze
Blaze
When I put the pigeons out for Blaze one of the traps released the bird and it flew away. I was lucky this time. Sometimes when it releases the bird before I’m ready, I’m bent over the trap and it throws the bird into my face. This time it just flew away.
I heeled Blaze out to the edge of the bird field and put her on whoa. I walked a circle around her then tapped her head to release her. She always does a good job of staying in front of me. She hunted back and forth in front of me and went on point. She’s so small she’s hard to see in the tall grass. I was watching the grass move where she went on point then had to walk closer to see her. I took pictures then went in front kicking the grass. I flushed the bird and shot the blank pistol. She took one step. I picked her up and put her back then went back in front, kicking the cover. I went to her and released her.
When the trap released the pigeon I took it back to the truck but I worked Blaze into the area where it had been to see if she would point it. When she got close, she stopped then went to the spot and moved on. That was what she should have done. A dog with a good nose will figure out when a bird has been there but isn’t there now. They should act birdy but move on. She hunted back to the truck.
Some of my friends bring their dogs over to work them on my pigeons. I enjoy seeing their dogs on point just as much as I do my own. I had a couple of men stop by to see some puppies I had and I asked if they wanted to see the sire and dam on birds. They did, so I worked Dolly and Lucky on a couple of birds each and one of the men said, “you really enjoy this, don’t you.” That pretty well sums me up.
Train well, and God bless you.