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Pointer in the off season

Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2017 2:32 pm
by JTS
I am new to having a bird dog. I bought a GSP puppy last July and raised him until December when I sent him to a trainer to get started with hunting. When he was a pup I crate trained him and took him to the farm with me and let him run, sniff stuff and lean basic commands like sit and come. After he returned from the trainer in late January he would point quail so I hunted him for the rest of the season. He did really well and we killed birds. When we were hunting I was strict and didn't let him chase rabbits or mice etc.

Now that hunting season is over I try and take him out to the farm which is (15 minutes away) to let him get some exercise where I follow him in the Ranger. I make him ride in the bed of the pickup when I am feeding cows and let him wonder around when I am fixing fences etc. I am just treating him like any other dog that I have had in the past.

I have an acquaintance that is a quail guide and has quite a few dogs. He said that he keeps his dogs in their kennel basically until next season and when he pulls them out they are ready to hunt.

Is taking my dog with me to do other things besides point quail going to hurt his hunting ability in the future?

Re: Pointer in the off season

Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2017 8:38 pm
by bobman
heck no you're doing the very best thing you could be doing the more time and exposure you give your dog the better he will be at everything

your buddy the quail guide is leaving a lot on the table

Re: Pointer in the off season

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 8:22 am
by Trekmoor
Outside of the shooting season I take my dogs to where game is either very scarce or non-existent to give them a run. I also do quite a lot of retrieve training using dummies (bumpers) during the close season. The one thing I do not do is to just kennel them up and let them stew all spring and summer. Things like water work are things a dog and it's owner can really enjoy outside the shooting season and your dog may need that practice next shooting season.

Bill T.

Re: Pointer in the off season

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 11:01 am
by bustingcover
Get out with your dog and enjoy each other's company. Its not going to take anything away from him next season. Hunting dogs want to hunt thats the easy part.

Re: Pointer in the off season

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 2:11 pm
by JTS
Thanks for the replies. I was hoping that I wasn't going to ruin a good hunting dog by hauling him around with me and having fun.

Re: Pointer in the off season

Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2017 5:44 am
by bonasa
I take my dogs (pointers) everywhere with me, fishing, job sites, trapline and gatherings. The wife takes them to her friends house during the day, errand running and to the park with the kids. I still road them several times a week and work on handling/bird work only a few times a month with no issues in performance. The biggest thing is keeping them conditioned, a lot of times bird work turns out for the better when done in moderation.

Re: Pointer in the off season

Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2017 2:47 pm
by setterpoint
the more time you can spend with your dog the better when you let him run change direction your teaching the dog to hunt with you work on hand signals teach dog to come when called but its great the more time spent togather