Time to say good-by advice!!

[LABS4ME]

That is what it's all about! Dog guys helping dog guys! Great job!!!

S.D.A., you can post up your trainers name and where they are from... just not their websites or other info unless they are a sponsor.

Good Luck!

Ken

[jasonmichalski]

My brit know all the commands and was flat out doing what she pleased in the woods. I hold off on the collar at ttwo she never pointed. I got a collar gave her a little jolt in the yard andthe next time out she pointed. She has been great since then, people don't think its the same dog.

grouse by jasonmichalski, on Flickr

In the picture she is pointing as I hold her up. She loves birds and in now 5 years old before I got the collar I was on the same road as you, going what did I get in to.

[Kyhl]

Nice to place faces with names, even if in hindsight. You must have been the new guy that showed up tonight. Nice looking dog. I was the other guy talking to Mike until Mark showed up. Grabbed my birds and skidatled .

Listen to Mike and Mark they know a thing or two. Sounds like you have some work to do. Don't worry, we were all first time pointer owners. The club used to have some training dvd's. Ask Mark about them. They were kept in the trailer a few years ago.

Look for a book on pointer training. I can't recommend one but maybe someone else could. There is a learning curve for the trainer as well as the dog.

Don't sweat it. Get the basics down then go from there. The hard part for you will probably be to break bad habits that the dog has been allowed to form.

[MuleShack]

Hey Kyhl,

Was that you in the brown ford in the back?

This is my first year in the club and made it to about 6 of these so far.

The first thing I noticed is that it is a lot of individual activity. Granted sometimes I like to do things alone, but training with the live birds would be easier working with a small group. I guess this id what I expected when I went out there, but did not see it. It would be easier for one to set birds while another is prepping the dog(s) for the set etc, offering advice, asking questions and having fun.

I guess I'm asking if you wanted to get together next week and work as a group with Chasineyes? I normally get my birds and head out to the back field also and dont stick around the trailer very long. I probably met you before, but just didn't put the name to a face!

Eric, Good to meet you and now that you got your feet wet, next week we can help you set up some launchers and see what Lacy has in her.

[chasineyes]

Mule, last night was great! I got alot of information and heard some stories about people who were in my situation!! Lacey worked great and I can tell she was trained. I do kind of like the flexibility of being able to come and go as needed.

We will definitely be out there next week so we could plan to hook up. Now I have a stupid question...when you go out into the field you were at, do you have to shoot the birds? What I mean is all my guns are up at the parents cabin and it's been about 10 years since I've shot. If it's possible can we just "walk the field" with you guys while lacey works for the birds and I get little more understanding of how things work?

Thanks again.

[Kyhl]

Yes that was me. I like that little triangle of grass for training. The wind usually work nice down there. the first field that you see on the left when you drive it is tough. It's in a hole and the wind either shoots over your head leaving no breeze down there, or it swirls around messing with the scent cone. Plus you have to walk up hill back to the truck every run.

I've been in the club for five years. Spent the first year working pigeons and fixing bad habbits in my first dog because I didn't know what I was doing.

Yesterday was my first outing of the year. Fishing, weather, and house projects have been getting in the way and the dogs have been letting me know that they aren't happy about it.

Working alone is tough but it goes much faster. Alone you have 4-6 birds. With a group you can be planting 8-16 birds easy.

It looked like you had a launcher. It is a blessing and a curse when working alone. It lets you hold the bird until you are ready so you can work the dog a bit. It also puts the birds high enough for a clear shot. But, you have to hit the remote, drop it then swing the gun up. I know this all too well.

Having an extra body can be very helpful in that situation.

I usually work with three other guys and we tend to come out later in the summer. The other guys haven't been out yet. Working as a team of two or three is best. That way the handler can pay attention to the dog(s) and let a shooter or two worry about the birds. It really frees up the handler to work with the dog.

I'll look for you next time I'm out. I'll be out next week depending on the weather. I don't like running my dogs when it gets 90+ degrees.

[Kyhl]

when you go out into the field you were at, do you have to shoot the birds? What I mean is all my guns are up at the parents cabin and it's been about 10 years since I've shot. If it's possible can we just "walk the field" with you guys while lacey works for the birds and I get little more understanding of how things work?

Thanks again.

I wouldn't recommend that. Getting the bird, or for one of my dogs, rolling in the bird, is a big part of the reward for finding and holding point.

If they find the bird and point it for you only to watch you let it go, they may decide to get the bird themselves by breaking the point.

That said, I think it is good practice to let one go every now and then. They also need to know that sometimes one gets away, or when you let the hen fly that they know that they have to let it go too and not give chase.

"No bird" is an important command. You don't want to be yelling at your dog three fields away.

In your situation I would try to hook up with someone. I don't know if it's really condoned but I've known people to invite an extra shooter with them to training. If you know someone else that could shoot, invite them to come with.

[MuleShack]

We will definitely be out there next week so we could plan to hook up. Now I have a stupid question...when you go out into the field you were at, do you have to shoot the birds? What I mean is all my guns are up at the parents cabin and it's been about 10 years since I've shot. If it's possible can we just "walk the field" with you guys while lacey works for the birds and I get little more understanding of how things work?

Thanks again.

You dont have to do any shooting, you dont even have to buy birds, you can just go out back in an open area and run the dog if you want. There is always opportunity to work on the heal, and whoa and here while your out there.

Quite a few times I have left the gun in the back of the truck and just planted birds and worked on making sure the dog stays steady while on point rather than focusing on shooting.

The key to a pointer is 1.) finding the bird, 2.) locating it before they are standing on top of it which means the dog should be working into the wind, 3.) going to point, 4.) holding point until you flush bird, or 5.) holding point while "whoa" command is given, then finally the retrieve or recall ("Here" or "No Bird" etc)

Lots of small things to work on in the big picture.

The second part of your question i would say yes, plant a few birds and see what and how she does and we can determine what to work on after that. If the point doesn't come natural, the "whoa" command needs to be used and she needs to honor that. I use that on my dogs around the house all the time so they are constantly reminded of it. They get the whoa before they come out of the kennel, before coming into the house and at various times out in the yard (either on the leash or while they have the ecoller on to reinforce if they dont listen) because you dont want to give a command that you cant reinforce if they are not fully trained.

[MuleShack]

It looked like you had a launcher. It is a blessing and a curse when working alone. It lets you hold the bird until you are ready so you can work the dog a bit. It also puts the birds high enough for a clear shot. But, you have to hit the remote, drop it then swing the gun up. I know this all too well.

Having an extra body can be very helpful in that situation.

[MuleShack]

It looked like you had a launcher. It is a blessing and a curse when working alone. It also puts the birds high enough for a clear shot.

That is my only problem with those dam (baby) quail...they dont get over 5' off the ground if planted straight and the dogs were picking them off right out of the air. So since using the launcher, i can bust the bird out if they break and it also kicks the bird up 15' and they get good momentum and out of reach.

[Kyhl]

Eric and Steve,

You have a PM.