Excited for training!!!!

[Da Biggin]

Ok. So Major (my GSP) is coming along in awesome fashion and I am afraid that I will push him too hard too fast. So I am once again calling on the great minds of HSO hunters. I want to know when would be a proper time to start him on an E-Collar. His first birthday is this coming November and I would LOVE to celebrate it with him in the field but I don't know if he'll be ready. I'm not expecting an award winning performance by any means but I do want to hunt him this fall. Is this attainable? How hard should I push him as the snow melts to make this happen and could he get there without the E-Collar?

[Mearnsquail]

The main thing is (and this is especially true with pointing breeds) is get the dog excited about BIRDS. Usually the first year in a bird dogs life is about fun and birds. I think if your dog is around 3-4 months right now that may be a little young for the collar but it also depends on the dog. Some dogs are more mature, or mature faster. I put my GSP on the collar right around 4 1/2 months and had no problems. BUT...it is very important to condition the dog to the collar first, ie: the dog must know the commands first. George Hickox has the best DVD on collar conditioning a dog. That was this fall and she hunted grouse and woodcock in Mn and did real well on pheasants, sharptail and prairie chickens in S. Dakota.

Another bit of advise that I HIGHLY reccommend is to get A Dvd called Perfect Start by Perfection Kennels. It is a great DVD showing how to intro your dog to birds, the field, guns, etc. George Hicox makes another good DVD as well.

Another good thing to do is go to a training seminar and get some hands on training from experts. I did last spring even before I got my pup and it was one of the best things I ever did.

The last and probably the biggest commitment is this: Pigeons.

I never thought I would be raising a flock of homing pigeons, but it has made all the difference in the world to have birds available for training. I was told that "you can't make a bird dog without birds" and this is certainly true.

This may seem like a lot but your going to have this dog for hopefully the next decade so it will be well worth it.

Good Luck and let us know how it's going.

Mearns

[gspman]

Your dog will be just fine for hunting season. It will be a pup and will make mistakes and probably plenty off them. Just work him on birds in the spring and summer. Don't worry too much about the collar until summer. The dvd's mearns suggested are good ones. Keep your expectations in check and let that pup be a pup and you'll be just fine. Don't pressure him. Keep your mouth shut and let him figure it out.

[Da Biggin]

Im all for getting him on birds ASAP. I have pheasant tails that he's absolutely crazy for but when it comes to live birds I'm in the dark. As I'm in the Twinc Cities I know I can't just take him to a park and let him go on a flock of pigeons or geese so where do I get the live birds from and where would be a good place to work them? What kind of birds is also? My full intention was to take him to game farms and work him with my friend's pointer. Any further tip and advice would be great. Thanks

[rundrave]

see if you can trap pigeons somewhere, buy yourself a bird launcher and start planting some birds.

Let the dog discover them first, or try to lead him into them. Try to make it as realistic as possible. This way you can see how steady your dogs is etc, or if he is prone to bumping birds.

If you need to make correction use a check cord, and NOT an ecollar.

The more birds you introduce the better, but keep it short and simple.

[Mearnsquail]

What Rundrave said above. A remote bird launcher is great. Absolutly avoid using the E-Collar arouund birds at this age. You don't want any negativity associated with birds.

As far as birds go, I have 7 homing pigeons that I use over and over. You could just get regular barn pigeons and keep them in a cage and use them as needed though.

Here is a link to a pretty good video showing into to birds and using a remote bird launcher.

[Da Biggin]

I don't think the loving citizens of Minneapolis would really care for me trapping pigeons all willy nilly. Are there any places that sell live birds that I can purchase? I really dont want to pay my full arm or leg but I dont mind paying for something that in the long run will get out of my pointer what I want of him. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks

[Mearnsquail]

Check on online ads. Always birds for sale.

[St_Croix_Banks]

Consider joining MN Chapter of NAVHDA (North American Versatile Hunting Dog Assoc). Great group of people. They get together weekly to train with each other. Small investment and you can usually purchase birds from a chapter member.