Just recently registered after checking in on the forum for awhile
now. I wanted to ask Grant how long did it take you to train
Belle to be steady to wing and shot? I saw her in one of your
videos and couldn'y help but admire her steadiness. Did you
steady her up from day one, or did you teach her after a
certain age?
question for grant?
-
grant
- GDF Junkie
- Posts: 2098
- Joined: Sat Apr 10, 2004 4:06 pm
- Location: Rome, Georgia
Hi g-bo,
I wish I could take credit for the dog Bell is. She’s just one heck of a dog =)
To answer your question, Bell had lots of bird action real early. She dropped out of her mom being a steady dog. At about 5mo. old, you could hunt over her…. And enjoy it. She’d just break at the flush. By then she knew whoa. After lots of birds had been shot over her I’d flush a bird and watch her. If she took a step, I’d whoa and collar. If she stayed steady, I’d shoot the bird. Again, after the bird falls she’d chase. In return, I’d whoa and collar, and set her back a foot. After a few times she got the picture and got to retrieve the bird if she was STW&S. She was STW&S at about 6-7mo., but only about 50% of the time was without correction. By her first year she was about 100% until we started doing NSTRA. That set us back a bit, but she was back up to speed last year.
Anyway, after Bell I thought I was one awesome trainer. Wrong! She’s just a good dog and I’m a lucky trainer. =) I made lots of mistakes; mainly, not having enough patience. I did one other dog the same way I did Bell and it too worked. However, that method failed with another dog. I think I just rushed the dog into being steady after the flush before the dog had lots of birds shot over him.
Anyway, Bell was one of those dogs that was really mature at 7mo. and although I was learning, I was consistent with my training. She was my only dog at the time and I put lots of time into her (Just ask Lindsay, my wife), and I worked her to be steady at an early age. Probably too early?
Grant
I wish I could take credit for the dog Bell is. She’s just one heck of a dog =)
To answer your question, Bell had lots of bird action real early. She dropped out of her mom being a steady dog. At about 5mo. old, you could hunt over her…. And enjoy it. She’d just break at the flush. By then she knew whoa. After lots of birds had been shot over her I’d flush a bird and watch her. If she took a step, I’d whoa and collar. If she stayed steady, I’d shoot the bird. Again, after the bird falls she’d chase. In return, I’d whoa and collar, and set her back a foot. After a few times she got the picture and got to retrieve the bird if she was STW&S. She was STW&S at about 6-7mo., but only about 50% of the time was without correction. By her first year she was about 100% until we started doing NSTRA. That set us back a bit, but she was back up to speed last year.
Anyway, after Bell I thought I was one awesome trainer. Wrong! She’s just a good dog and I’m a lucky trainer. =) I made lots of mistakes; mainly, not having enough patience. I did one other dog the same way I did Bell and it too worked. However, that method failed with another dog. I think I just rushed the dog into being steady after the flush before the dog had lots of birds shot over him.
Anyway, Bell was one of those dogs that was really mature at 7mo. and although I was learning, I was consistent with my training. She was my only dog at the time and I put lots of time into her (Just ask Lindsay, my wife), and I worked her to be steady at an early age. Probably too early?
Grant
-
grant
- GDF Junkie
- Posts: 2098
- Joined: Sat Apr 10, 2004 4:06 pm
- Location: Rome, Georgia
Ok, I just watched the video. I think this one is the one your talking about:
http://www.gundogforum.com/temp/bell.wmv
I guess for my dogs, I don't want them to move after they establish point. Either I relocate them or they're released to fetch. That’s just what I prefer....
http://www.gundogforum.com/temp/bell.wmv
I guess for my dogs, I don't want them to move after they establish point. Either I relocate them or they're released to fetch. That’s just what I prefer....
-
g-bo
Thanks