Quartering

[Big R]

How have you guys started off teaching your dogs to quarter in the field. I am have a really hard time getting my lab to quarter.

[Surface Tension]

That is going to be hard to answer without writing a chapter.

If your Dr. Do-Little and can talk to your dog to get the message across that you want him to hunt and quarter, then don't read.

If you want a huge head start then it starts from the day you bring the pup home.

Whether, crated, kenneled, or in the home it is under your control either directly or indirectly.

When the dog is allowed to do what a dog does, it is because you allowed him to. Ultimately that will be what it was breed to do.

When you let the dog outside to do its thing, give the dog a command. The association of that free time by a command and eventually hunting is what your looking for. It takes time and time you'll have with the pup so use all that repetition to your benefit by starting early.

That free time is over till the command come, sit, stay.

Right about now you might think I'm cold and I've probably lost half of the readers here at this point.

So lets assume you haven't done any of the above and we just move on.

Dog has to know what he should be out there quartering for.

Your retriever was breed to retrieve. Your dog has a nose too.

Strengthen both retrieving and nose.

As the dummy training progresses, the dog is starting to use his nose to aid in finding that dummy. We toss the dummy, the dog marks it and does a perfect retrieve. Later comes advanced retriever training and thats fine and dandy but it is not teaching him to hunt.

Have you thrown a dummy and the dog took a while to find it? It is the gusto a dog shows and the stick to it-ness when looking for a lost dummy that I gauge a dog by. Chances are that dog will be a good upland dog as well as a good retriever. After a retrieving session but when he is still hot to go, with dog out of sight, lay a scent trail by dragging the dummy around the yard then leave it. Bring the dog into the scene, give him the command you have designated to hunt(or free time). Remember repetition and making that trail harder as time goes on.

Introduction to birds. Here is where you don't want failure. When its a retriever I look at using his strongest attributes for that introduction which is retrieving. I've found starting with a wing(something strange) tied to his dummy(something familiar) most successful. Start a session with his dummy then switch to a winged dummy. Then go onto a session with a scent trail. Give that a week but be sure to freeze the wing between uses.

Go onto dead stiff birds then to fresh dead birds. I've found you are a lot less likely to get a feather picker by introducing feathers that way. Now its time for planted live bird.

Quartering, I had the same worry many years ago and never found an answer that satisfied that. If you did the above you've laid the ground work, eventually you and the dog will work together setting the pace.

Till then keep the pace slow so as to give the dog time to work. When he gets too far ahead call him back but your looking to always keep him close without having to call him back. His eagerness to go but knowing he has a limited range will make him cover the ground available to him within that range if you give him time. Once your there the dog will respond to the slightest cue. That could be a stall or a sound from you to let the dog know to either change direction or to look back at you for a direction. If at first you might have to move in the direction you want the dog to go, as the dog moves off then change your coarse back to the direction you plan to head. Don't expect instant results because it will be a work in progress but once they catch on you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.

A dog at your heels is a dog that is just wore out, or a dog that doesn't know what it should be doing. STAY OFF TRAILS with a young dog.

As I said its hard to respond without going into great detail but you have the idea. One thing I didn't mention was obedience training. I'm a stickler there, plain and simple the dog has to obey a command.

[HawgMan]

I started out with a chack cord of about 50 feet. Started out with only 10-20 feet, the rest coiled up around my arm. Cast the dog out & would run to the right, give a tug & say Hup! & through arm to the right. Then tug the lead, yell Hup! & run to the left.Do this over & over up & down the field you are working.

After awhile (with my dogs anyway) they get the idea & soon you can let out more rope & eventualy just let the rope drop,& let 'em drag it for awhile until you're confident, then just unhook the check cord & let them do there work.

I've also added a short double whistle blow when I want her to change directions, it's working good for me.

All this depends on what kind of a temprament your dog has. I've only worked with Brittanys,& all of them have done a great job on learning this.

By now when I'm out my Britt she usually looks back quite a bit & all I have to do is point my arm to the direction I want her to go & she does.

Hope this helps, it's just the way it worked for me, might not be by the "book" but, I don't read alot when I'm out in the field!!!

[Tinkhamtown]

Try to away work-hunt your dog into the wind. Then get two pigeons put taped on primeary feathers on one wing and have two training helpers. Have each helper walk 20 to 30 yards to each side of you, calling the dog and teasing the dog by showing the bird. When the dog gets to a helper have them put the bird out of sight, you blow two sharp toots on a whistle, then have the helper on the opposite side of you call the dog to their side. About every third time the dog goes to a helper let the dog see them throw the pigeon to the front and outside for a retrieve. Only let the dog retrieve 5 or 6 times then end the training.

After the dog really starts liking this training game change it a little by having a helper roll the pigeon in front of them. The dog must not see helper put in the bird! With the helper still calling the dog back and forth and if you are still working into the wind when the dog gets to the helper it should smell the rolled in bird and go find it and retrieve it. After a few training sessions the dog should start to expect to find birds in front of helpers and quarter more naturally.

When hunting work into the wind and zig zag your walking pattern each time you change directions two sharp toots on the whistle and use your arm to tell the dog the new direction.

Hide the pigeon in some cover off to the side of where you are going to walk with the dog. When you get next to where you hide the bird blow two sharp toots and point to the cover. You may have to do this several times before the dog goes into the cover and finds the bird. Eventually when you are hunting and there is a good-looking piece of cover you can’t walk you will be able to blow two toots and direct the dog into the good-looking cover. You will be amazed at the number of times your dog will find birds where you directed him to hunt, thus being rewarded for doing what you ask him to do.

Tink

PS: That will be two cents?

[SapperACE]

Experience, experience, experience... My opinion is that a dog will naturally learn to quarter with time and experience. Get it out with an experienced dog that has learned to quarter and help it learn that way.

Some people seem to think that you have to teach a dog to do every little thing. In my opinion, a good dog is a natural hunter, and if you are master to that dog, it will do what ever it can to please you. With time and EXPERIENCE, that dog will learn what it needs to do for you to put birds in your vest.

I guess what I'm trying to say is to get that dog out and hunt! It will make mistakes, and you will have some frustrating moments, but if you get out and put it on some birds regularly, you'll be amazed at the natural results. You can teach a dog to do tricks, but you can not teach it to hunt!

[Snag]

If your dog hunts out in front just turn another direction and give it two toots. When it gets in front of you again, turn the other way again and give two toots.

[Tinkhamtown]

Here Here, The hunting with an experienced dog is a good idea, just not too much. Most people do not get enough hunting time with their dog to let the dog train naturally. First year dogs are a pain until they learn what they are hunting for and where-how they are supposed to hunt. Hunting seasons are short, Hence training! Training is fun and it helps especially if you use birds.

Tink

[Big R]

Some good advice here. Hopefully I can get this underway and my dog progresses quickly. Being laid off now I have no shortage of hunting opportunities. Last week I spent 4 1/2 days afield and and 4 days the week before that - this week should be 3 or 4 days as well.

For a first year lab she has done pretty good so far. It will be interesting to see how much progress she shows by the end of the season.

[JConrad]

Tink, you are right on! I started my dog doing this at 8 weeks old and she was hunting her first season at 6 months old and quartered wonderfully. This method is the one that is used by the pro's. It also helped her gain a prize I at her NAVHDA Natural Ability Test.

[lenny7]

I started out with a chack cord of about 50 feet. Started out with only 10-20 feet, the rest coiled up around my arm. Cast the dog out & would run to the right, give a tug & say Hup! & through arm to the right. Then tug the lead, yell Hup! & run to the left.Do this over & over up & down the field you are working.

After awhile (with my dogs anyway) they get the idea & soon you can let out more rope & eventualy just let the rope drop,& let 'em drag it for awhile until you're confident, then just unhook the check cord & let them do there work.

I've also added a short double whistle blow when I want her to change directions, it's working good for me.

This is very similar to what I did. On walks we'd go to a big field where I'd tell him, "Hunt 'em up!" and with the check cord I'd run back & forth, saying "Hunt 'em up", followed with a short jerk on the check cord when wanted him to change directions. Eventually I didnt' need to run so far to the left and right myself, and didn't need to jerk the cord.

I took that to the game farm, placing birds myself at the edges of the strip. I used a check cord to get him quartering while my friend carried the shotgun to shoot the birds (or try to anyway...).

Later on I'd place the birds in the small pockets of obvious heavy cover to teach him that these are spots you definitely want to hit.

[MinnesotaMongo]

I like getting a gunner on each side of me - and have them wave their hats or a dead bird, then hide it when it runs to them - then have the guy on the other side do the same thing.

Well - that's how we do it with my Trial buddies....