Training using birds (pigeons)

Post by **Ayres** » Sun May 09, 2004 3:06 am

So I eventually want to train my dog using pigeons (as to not risk the chance of burning him on quail, since I hunt quail) and have heard a story about people living in the city being able to keep pigeons roosting nearby in order to train with.

I don't have room to build a pigeon palace, or whatever they're called, that houses 8 birds, or 8 pairs or something. I just need a reliable way to keep a couple birds roosting in the neighborhood somewhere, so that I can have birds available to train with at some point.

Any suggestions or stories of what you do would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Country-Side Breeders · Post by **Country-Side Breeders** » Sun May 09, 2004 7:57 am

Building a small pen for them will suffice. Make sure that you supply it with food at all times to keep them coming back. If you have the room, you could even turn a small rabbit cage into a pen for them. Put a trap door on it with the pigeon bobs and you're set.

snips · Post by **snips** » Sun May 09, 2004 2:34 pm

Some dogs do fine working on pigeons thruout, but we like to use them only for the initial steadying process. Once a dog is understanding completly what you want, we immediatly switch them from pigeons to quail and keep them there. Quail on most dogs will keep a higher level of intensity than pigeons. I think dogs will get more bored with pigeons over a long period of time. Just something to think about before going to the trouble of stocking a loft.

Post by **Ayres** » Sun May 09, 2004 3:18 pm

Yeah, I really don't want to have to mess with a loft. I live close to the "South Farms" on the south end of the University, so I'm sure I could find a few roosting near there if I needed... but I was just wondering if I could make some place more habitable to get the birds closer... like putting a box up in a tree or something. Generally not someting that would take too much effort.

birddog · Post by **birddog** » Sat Jan 22, 2005 10:26 am

I personnel feel pigeons are the best way to start a young dog for several reasons. The price is right, cheaper then game birds. Sometimes you can trap your own and that is a real savings to your pocket book. Second, if you make a mistake while training with pigeons all is not lost. You don't hunt them so weither the pup gets soft or is not that stylish does not matter. Bu using planted pigeons during training, we are trying to instill a behavior pattern such as, don't crowd the bird , point, don't flush, etc. How the dog looks on there birds at this stage should not be a concern. Once they have the basics and you change to game birds, that new scent will take your pup to a whole new level of staunchness and caution. If you start out training with game birds and you make a mistake, lets say by being to hard on the pup at the wrong time and he/she has a snoot full of Ouail, chances are they might not hunt that bird. As for keeping pigeons. If you could get some barn pigeons, they could be kept in a small crate of some kind. Even a shipping crate would work. The advantage of homers is they can be used over and over. Unless you pull the flight feathers on common pigeons you have a one time use. If you are one of the lucky ones and have access to wild birds, of course that is the best way to get your pup excited about birds. But when it comes time to put the polish on that pup, I use pigeons.

Janet