New owner

[crosseyed]

Picked up a year old springer from the vet. Any tips on getting started with him for pheasants. I have been out only once myself. I'd like to get into it so I can teach my boy someday.

[fishnhooks]

I am not an expert and I have been waiting for a response for you, because I think that your intensions are great. I do not know what your dog already knows, but I would read some of the other threads on here, Labs4me as well as others have given alot of great advice. What I think is get the basics down first. I think that if you read some of the other threads on here, you will get the information that you are wanting. It is a great feeling training your dog and seeing it work out in the field! Sorry that I am not that much help, but I have been able to learn alot reading the threads of others.

Good Luck and I see that you are new to this site, so I also want to say WELCOME TO F.M.

"hooks"

[LABS4ME]

sorry for the delay in a response... was gone fishin'! Fishin hooks has it right, start slow, really work on your basics (sit, stay, here, heel) then work in some retrieving, then introduction to guns, then begin on bird work (controlled game farm stuff or pigeons). A lot of this will be covered in books. Get a couple that deal with spaniels and read them. The only one I know of is the one Richard Wolters wrote, "Game Dog". This one is more geared to spaniels and upland hunting than his other books. I'm sure some of the spaniel guys on here will be able to direct you to a couple.

Really use the next 6 months to work on getting him ready for this fall. Dedicate a portion of each day to work on him. Make sure to work through any problems that develop before moving on to another portion of training. And most of all have fun with him!

Good Luck!

Ken

[CFRay]

I have a six year old field springer. When she was a pup I bought a book by Kenneth Roebuck titled "Gun Dog Training, Spaniels and Retrievers". I liked the book and was able to use some parts of it to make my dog a good hunting companion. Hope this may be of some help to you. Good Luck.

[lawdog]

Labs4me has got great advice and he's answered quite a few things I've had questions on in this site. I think he's dead on here too, get the basics down.

The only thing I'll add that was THE BIGGEST thing I had to work on with my first dog was ME. I had to learn to be MUCH MORE PATIENT than normal. Its a slow process!!! Repetition is the key!!!

[Ray Esboldt]

crosseyed,

First welcome to FishingMinnesota.com. We're glad to have you here.

I am anything but a dog training expert. However, the only other dog I have training experience with other than my current lab, is a Springer. I do know that they do not respond very well to the heavy hand. In fact, they will fight back and become even more stubborn when put under pressure. They're pretty independent dogs with a ton of hunting instinct. I would say patience and repition are your best training allies.

Work on sit, stay, come, and heel first. Get them down perfect before introducing the dog to hunting situations. And, when you do introduce them to scent, use dead birds or wings first.

They are probably my favorite dog to hunt behind because they just seem to know what to do right out of the box. They don't usually to bolt way out ahead and quartering is almost natural.

Finally, listen to Labs4Me and Setterguy. These two guys are qualified to write books on training in my opinion.