Lab ranging to far.

[Mr. B]

Until this season my 3.5 year old lab Maggie worked in that 20 to 30 yard range while pheasant hunting. This season she has started working a lot farther out.

Due to the tall grass and thick cover we have been hunting I can not always see her, but usually hear her. But there have been times I find out where she is by a bird getting up way out of range. She is e-collar conditioned and for the most part all I have to do is hit the tone button and she will come right back to the proper range. But if she is hot on a bird she does not always respond to anything but a correction. But I am reluctant to correct her while she is after a bird (do not want her to think birds equal correction).

The only thing differant between this year and previous years is the amount of time we have spent hunting wild birds.

What can I do to get her back to the 20 to 40 yard range and any tips on seeing a black lab in thick cover?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Ole #1]

A beeper collar will tell you where the dog is in thick cover. If your dog isn't listening when you give the command come, even if on a bird, you should use the collar. Otherwise the dog will push the bird until the edge of what your working and the bird will flush out of range.

[gspman]

A cheaper alternative is a bell. Since a flusher is almost always moving you should be able to tell where it is with a bell pretty easily.

[CAJ]

If you don't give her a jolt or two now, the dog will keep on going farther out. Had 3 guys here in NE Montana from Minnesota with 2 Labs and a pointer, the one lab spoiled a lot of good hunting until I told him to collar her or put her in the Kennel. It is hard to shoot the Pheasants when they get up close, let alone 3 hundred yards ahaed. CAJ

[Mr. B]

I have been using the tone or correction if needed when she is to far out and not "birdy" and she comes right back no problems. It is just when she is on a bird that things get interesting. I will use the collar more and see how it works.

Thanks

[OUTDOORNUT]

Another option is to follow your dog when she get birdy. When roosters are running and the dog is hot on the trail you need to be moving to follow that dog, making your dog come back will result in a bird that will get away. When we are working with 3 or 4 dogs and they all start to get birdy you can bet we are off to the races with the first one that takes off in the oppisite direction, if you don't you'll get to watch bird flush and your dog left wondering why you didn't follow it. Had a few guys from Florida hunt pheasants a few years ago with us, after the day was over they asked if we could change the name to Pheasant Running, not Pheasant hunting! Poor Dove hunters had to move their feet once! ha ha

[HARPOON-OR-BUST]

I AGREE WITH NUT IS SOME INSTANCES. AT TIMES THOUGH THAT ISN'T ALWAYS THE BEST OPTION. FOR EXAMPLE ONCE WHEN HUNTING BIRDS IS SODAK A GUY THAT WAS WITH WOULD LET HIS DOG RUN AFTER PHEASANTS AND HE WOULD RUN WITH IT. WELL BIRDS WOULD BE FLUSHING TO THE RIGHT AND LEFT AND BEHIND HIM WHEN THIS WAS GOING ON AND THEN THE DOG WOULD GET TO THE EDGE OF THE PIECE AND THERE GOES THE HEN! SO IN SOME CASES LETS SAY YOUR NEARING THE END OF THE LAND I WILL LET MY DOG GO AND GO WITH HIM. BUT IF WE ARE IN THE BEGINING OR MIDDLE AND THE BIRD DESIDES IT IS GOING TO RUN, IT IS GOING TO RUN. (I GUESS SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO LET THEM GO) I AM CALLING MY DOG BACK AND WE ARE GOING WORK THE REST OF THE PIECE THE WAY WE SHOULD AND GET THE BIRDS THAT ARE GOING TO FLUSH CLOSER.

AS FAR AS NOT WANTING TO CORRECT YOUR DOG BECAUSE IT IS ON A BIRD. YOU ARE NOT SHOCKING THE DOG BECAUSE IT IS ON A BIRD IT IS BECAUSE YOU ARE CALLING HIM BACK (WHATEVER METHOD YOU USE, WHISTLE/COMMAND)HE IS HEARING YOU BUT DOING WHAT HE WANTS. THATS WHERE THE CORRECTION IS COMING FROM.

[Ole #1]

To me pheasant hunting isn't running through a field chasing your dog. I work the field slowly, taking my time. I can call my dog off a bird if she's running, that bird will go to the edge of the cover and usually hold until flushed. Running with a gun is never a good idea.

[OUTDOORNUT]

True that Harpoon! Also if your hunting grass that the birds can run, you could run through the whole piece b4 that bird flushes. Just trying to throw out an option, I watch to many people not follow a hot dog close enough, just to watch that rooster flush just out of shooting range. It happened two or three times this last weekend alone. In a perfect world I'd love to keep my Weim in the short to point and keep my Lab busting through the thickest cover. Who ever taught these Pheasants to run anyways?? ha ha Someone needs to tell them to sit tight and not flush until we are within 10 yards!! ha

I guess by running I mean picking up your pace to follow a hot dog. "Running" with a gun isn't a safe practice.

[HARPOON-OR-BUST]

I KNEW WHAT YOU MEANT FROM HUNTING WITH YOU, I KNOW THAT YOU DON'T LET THE DOG OUT TO FAR BUT DO MOVE WITH THE DOG WITH THE SITUATION PRESENTS ITSELF. I WAS JUST SHEADING LIGHT ON THE ORIGINAL POST

[YARDMAN]

H-O-B hit it right on the head. IE: ur dog is to be hunting for u not u hunting for ur dog. As H-O-B said try running after dog while hunting with 3 or 4 people and the odds of ruining a good hunt drasticly increase not to mention that now u have put urself in the line of fire of others. I have hunted behind setters all my life and if i hadn't taught them to hunt according to my commands (birdy or not) I most likely would have put away the gun a long time ago. In a nutshell..... ur the boss let the dog know it!

[grab the net]

I have a pointing lab that has the same problem at times, especially in real thin cover, sparse CRP is the worst or if the rooster gets on a trail of some type. Tough choice on when to zap him to stay close. When they are hot on a bird, they can get pretty single minded. By myself, I try to keep up, a straight away runner is almost always a rooster in my experience. With a group I try and keep him tight, 20-30 yds out.

[shinde]

Another suggestion would be to train your dog to sit to a whistle. You can train and reinforce this in the off season by having them "turn off" the (mild) stimulation by sitting, so that they get consistent with sitting to the whistle (do it on your walks).

After they're sitting to whistle consistently, start using it when you're hunting and they're getting too far ahead. It works great, they'll sit until you catch up, then you can release them and they can begin working the bird again.

Give it a try, it's worth the work. Much better than racing to keep up with the dog.

[LABS4ME]

shinde, this is how I've trained and hunt my dogs. One blast of the whistle, 10 seconds to catch up, begin hunting the bird again. It seems this helps to get the bird up too as opposed to running/flushing out of range.

Good Luck!

Ken