GSP Pup Pheasant Hunting Question

[Hammertime]

My 9 month old GSP pup is hunting with me this fall. I have a couple of questions. I had her professionally trained for 2 months (bird and gun intro and general yard work) and I had her out on wild birds for the first time last weekend out is Starbuck. As the day wore on, she seemed to get it more and more. When I picked her up at the trainer a few weeks ago he set some quail and pigeons out in the field and she scent pointed every one of them at about 15 to 20 yards. When she gets on a wild pheasant, she gets really birdy and a couple of times the roosters were running and flushed about 100 yds out. She was still within 25 yards of me when they flushed but she was birdy. A couple of times she was birdy for about 200 yards and than she would finally point and I did flush a couple of birds off of her point. My question is, is this normal for her to be birdy and follow a scent until she gets a realy solid scent. I think the birds are running and she is not getting a close scent in those cases where they flushed. this is my first pointing breed so I am not sure what to expect or what to do different. I dont want to whoa here when she is birdy unless she is creeping from a point. Let me know what you think. I am guessing that not every bird is pointed by pointing breeds and that some may flush before the dog points them? I have hunted behind flushers my whole life up to this point.

[CaptainMusky]

Hammertime,

I have owned GSP's for over 25 years. I dont think (in my experience) your dog is doing anything wrong. The birds the last 10 years have become more of a running bird and they can really drive young dogs nuts. What I believe will happen is that as she gets more experienced she will learn to pin them down. Ranging out beyond 25 yards is not a bad thing for a pointing dog and they may help keep them from busting early. As long as she will hold a solid point for you, ranging out beyond gun range is not a problem. Guys who are used to hunting with flushers will be like [PoorWordUsage] are you doing, but it works and works really well. You can cover some serious ground.

Just do your best to work into the wind when possible. It is possible that the wind was at your back making it harder for her to pick up the scent and the birds ran like gangbusters because they could hear you.

Try to work areas to typical cover breaks, etc. This will force the birds to hold for a bit and then flush especially if you can work things toward an open field or something.

Whenever my dog is on point I always come in from the side, not behind. This way, the dog may get an interruption in the scent and then make a slight movement to better position and those crafty birds are always trying to run around behind the dog too.

By the end of this season I have a feeling she is going to be performing really well for you.

[Hammertime]

Thanks CaptainMusky! That is good to hear. I am heading back out to the fields tomorrow to get her more work!

[CaptainMusky]

Just curious, but do you have a "skidplate" chest protector for her? If not, I think it would be a wise investment. GSP's coats are real thin and my dogs would always have some issues with their underside after a hard day.

You could call it her "dress" LOL.

Good luck and enjoy your dog.

[Hammertime]

I do!

[kerryd15]

My GSP will still point a sparrow some days. Get it on as many birds as possible this first yr. The amount of moisture in the air and on the ground will make a big difference on how far the bird is when they lock up. On dry days my dog will usually bust the first bird of the day, then adapt and slow down on a weak scent.

[gspman]

Quote:

is this normal for her to be birdy and follow a scent until she gets a realy solid scent.

Yes.

Quote:

I am guessing that not every bird is pointed by pointing breeds and that some may flush before the dog points them?

Correct. We are talking wild game birds. They do what they want when the want to. Pointers are not magic. And for pheasants they do not always sit for a point. Some days they run like mad and some days they sit super tight. Expect a lot of moving points on pheasants.

[reddog]

Just curious, but do you have a "skidplate" chest protector for her? If not, I think it would be a wise investment. GSP's coats are real thin and my dogs would always have some issues with their underside after a hard day.

You could call it her "dress" LOL.

Good luck and enjoy your dog.

I have a skid plate for my GSP, but opted not to put it on her today. My rationale was that I was going to hunt short smooth brome field. 2 birds later, Im home in Iowa awaiting a trip to the vet for what wouldve been an easily preventable injury. So much for my ten days in SD.

To the OP, it sounds like your doing is doing just fine, you just need to keep it on birds and itll figure it out.

[Hammertime]

I run her in fields around my house, unfortunatley we dont ever find birds. I do this just to exercise her during the week. She works so hard but never finds birds. I will be heading west more on the weekends after deer hunting and I am getting a membership @ pheasant ridge for the winter and spring so that should help. Im assuming that its still a good idea to run her in the fields by my house for exercise even though there are no pheasants or quail (at least yet).

[LightningBG]

Sounds like she's doing pretty good for a pup.

[rundrave]

Im assuming that its still a good idea to run her in the fields by my house for exercise even though there are no pheasants or quail (at least yet).

Yes that wont hurt a thing. Lord knows how crazy my 2 GSP's get with no exercise.

The other benefit is it will toughen up the dogs belly and other areas of skin that get raw after being in the field. Many handlers will opt to use a skit plate instead but I never have good luck with those and they often do more harm than good. Condition your dog and get the skin used to those elements and their skin wont get as raw.

[CaptainMusky]

Many handlers will opt to use a skit plate instead but I never have good luck with those and they often do more harm than good. Condition your dog and get the skin used to those elements and their skin wont get as raw.

True, but not all dog vests are created equal. When I say skid plate, I mean the brand skid plate. There are many others out there and they are not nearly the quality the skidplate is. I have never had any issues with mine. Takes a couple minutes to get adjusted properly the first time, but after that its just 3 buckles and off you go.

Now if only there was something to protect the balls. Man, I can imagine what that feels like.