QCBirddogs and Snips Need some advice !!!!!!!!!!

J.D. · Post by **J.D.** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 7:41 pm

Hello all, I having been following this board for sometime now and it is one of the nicest boards I have ever read. Thanks Grant.

I have a little problem. I have an 11 month old Shorthair that I have been working with. She has tons of drive and lots of natural instincts. Problem I have is when she she hits her birds from a pretty good distance say 30 feet or more. She will slam into point but then flags.

She doesn't want to move though. What can I do to get her to jam her birds and not to flag. I have tried hitting the whistle to relocate her but she doesn't want to move. Haven't wanted to go to her and relocate her because she will depend on me to do this. If I work her on a checkcord she hits her birds hard from about 10 to 12 feet away and don't flag. What am I doing wrong here. This dog is doing everything right except for the flagging.Handles Great loves to retrieve. What should I do? QCBirddogs and Snips I follow your posts quit a bit and admire you and your dogs do you have any ideas as what I can do to fix this problem.

Thanks
J.D.

snips · Post by **snips** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 8:24 pm

Hi JD. At the age your dog is I think I would put it as a stage and give it time. I don`t like breaking a dog out til they are somewhat older because of potential problems like this may arise.I don`t know what you have done training wise at this point, but I would be inclined to back off for awhile.

J.D. · Post by **J.D.** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 9:00 pm

Snips,
Are you sugesting that I not work her for a while . Is this what you mean by laying off. Is there anything that you recommend that I could do at this point or do you recommend nothing at this point. What do you feel is causing this? Why will the dog jam her birds at 10 or 12 feet on a check cord and won't jam them at 30 feet when she smells them.

J.D.

snips · Post by **snips** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 10:12 pm

Well, obviously the dog has much more scent the closer she is to the bird, thats the reason she is tighter. I don`t know how you are training your dog, are you using an E-collar, have you stopped the dog on scent or is she stopping on her own, are you saying anything? There can be many factors to the dogs flagging. I had a female go thru a spell of ticking after her training, she did not have any pressure. I think they may just take awhile to get their confidence in what they are doing and what you expect of them. With this dog I just ignored it and it went away, as she was nice and tight before her training. I don`t like saying much when they are pointing, and I don`t like touching them. Sometimes just growing up fixes alot...

J.D. · Post by **J.D.** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 10:33 pm

Snips,
I have used Pigeons and launchers. I worked her cross wind on check cord. When she took a step I put the bird up without saying anything.No E-collar. Would you recommend working her cross wind on a check cord at 10 or 12 feet away where she is jamming her birds and gradually move her back. She wants to please so bad but just don't understand the flagging. Seems like to is more solid on her birds on a check cord and flags when she is running free. She had a bird the other day about 8 feet away off the check cord and was tight on everything but was flagging. If I walk to her and get in front of her she tightens up as if she is saying I know he is coming and tighens up. Should I walk to her on point and ignore the flagging or should I stop walking to her when this happens. She won't take the bird out. Should I work her more on the check cord instead of letting her run on her own. Would you even work her at this point or lay her off birds for a while.

J.D.

larue · Post by **larue** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 7:07 am

I have watched a number of gsp's who will point exactly as you
describe,,a slightly happy tail,,until you get ready to flush the bird,,
then they tighten up,as they anticipate the flush..
In most cases these dogs will vary there flagging from bird to bird,,
with larger bird getting less flagging,,,and wild birds getting none..
In some dogs this is a heritory factor,,I see it most in navhda type dogs,where coop,,ect takes precident over pointing style..
In other dogs,,pressure has created it...
I would give the dog fewer birds,,but kill every bird it finds,,use strong birds in a trap,,...if it is heritory,,you can help a little
but it will always be there..,,,

snips · Post by **snips** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 7:30 am

I prefer not to steady dogs until after a year old. I have a 10 mo old now thats running Jrs this weekend. He knows nothing, except how to hunt birds. I would pull this pup off birds for a bit. She won`t forget. Take her for birdless walks for awhile, thats so she does not get in bad habits at this age. I agree with Larue on some lines it is genetic, I`m not sure why people title and breed these dogs, but thats another issue....Many dogs can get bored with pigeons and launchers, thats why I only keep a dog on them no longer than 4-6 weeks, then move to quail. Dogs will mostly lighten up once on quail.