Working with Cowboy

12 Volt Man · Post by **12 Volt Man** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 11:15 pm

I have some serious catching up to do with my younger dog Cowboy.

A few days ago, I took him out to a hunt club where I just joined. I had them plant 4 pheasants for me. Two roosters and two hens. He found all the birds great. Stopped and pointed too. He just couldn't resist the chance to try and catch them. After he pointed for a few moments, he would jump in and try to catch them. He did well on one bird, which I shot for him. He even retreived it to my hand.

I thought he was ready to work some birds without a check chord. Boy was I wrong. He is e-collar conditioned, but to top off my troubles the collar had ran out of batteries. It was hot, and there was no wind.

He is getting close. I wish he were further along. It won't take too much more work to get him completely broke.

Here is a picture of his first point.

I liked this one. Notice the escaping hen.

Casper · Post by **Casper** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 11:18 pm

is that the bird running out in front of him in the second pic?

nice looking pup hope to see him one day lighting up the feild.

12 Volt Man · Post by **12 Volt Man** » Thu Sep 29, 2005 11:20 pm

Yeah, the bird was running. He didn't hold that point much longer after the picture. He chased it and it flushed.

snips · Post by **snips** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 6:27 am

This time of yr is the hardest on young dogs holding it together. Just go back to the drawing board. Never hurts to see what you got to work on......

birddog · Post by **birddog** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 7:45 am

To this day I have a soft spot in my heart for those Pointers. That first picture sure is a beauty! The cover looks awfully sparse for planting pheasant. To see the bird run can unnerve most well trained dogs.

Janet

Kevin · Post by **Kevin** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 8:12 am

Nice looking dog there 12 Volt!

I am at a similar spot with my dog. Sometimes he holds point till I get there sometimes not. Whats the best way to overcome this, lanchers? wild birds? Alot of people suggest not to say anything while the dogs on point, but the whoa command AFTER the dog has established point is not that bad IMO.

I am familiar with the Perfection Kennel method of launchers and pigeons but I find it to be to artificial and costly(multiple launchers and hundreds of pigeons) I'd rather spend the money on gas and get into some wild birds.

What do you guys think? I'm not talking about steadying a dog, just getting him to hold point consistantly till you flush. Is anyone out there using pre-launcher techniques to accomplish this.

snips · Post by **snips** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 9:55 am

It is just baby steps Kevin. We use a good foundation of Whoa, then do the initial steady work with launchers, only until the dog is understanding the flush and standing on a flying bird. We then switch them to quail that will definetly test them more. But having the foundation there helps them handle the released quail. I keep the dog on a CC until reliable then I follow closely while they drag a CC I will then remove the CC and have a E-collar on their rear. If they make a mistake I will (depending on circumstances) nick them after the bird leaves the ground. Getting a dog reliable at a distance is just baby steps, and not jumping ahead of youself. They will tell you when you are moving too fast, as 12 V`s dog did. Dogs don`t always know what you want until they make a mistake.

12 Volt Man · Post by **12 Volt Man** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 10:05 am

birddog wrote:The cover looks awfully sparse for planting pheasant

We were working in better cover. We found that hen on the way back to the truck. It was an escapee from their pens. In fact it still had it's blinders on.

Kevin,
My plans from here include stepping back to the check chord, working with a partner to flush the bird. That way, I can controll the dog. It should only take a couple of times out to get the dog to realize what you want. Especially if the initial ground work is laid. For example like Snips said, the dog should know the whoa command well.

Kevin · Post by **Kevin** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 6:08 pm

Thats what I've been doing, trying to proof the whoa command. He will whoa from a distance by voice and whistle 100%, now I've started adding temptations ie; a frozen bird on the table then on the ground, started throwing the frozen bird and having him stand. Then I will go through the above steps with a live bird. Those are my plans anyhow.

crittercontrol · Post by **crittercontrol** » Fri Sep 30, 2005 10:14 pm

lookin good.

Hurt knee my arse.....you been busy!