Post
by DonF » Sun Apr 28, 2019 12:18 pm
Thing about pigeon's. if your dizzying them, don't use homer's. To much of a hand full, use feral barn type pigeons. Much smaller and much easier to get your hand around. I've only done a couple springer's and they were years ago. Back then I hadn't a clue how to get one to "hup" to flush. Todays if I were doing it I'd just about the same method I use to get a pointer to stop to flush. The dog has to understand and obey sit very well, if not, work more on that. Then with the dog sitting and still, throw a bird to fly away. The dog will move early on, re-inforce sit! Bring the dog around on a check cord you have in hand and give the hup command. Dog sit's and give it a moment and toss a bird, re-inforce sit command. The timing of the sit command and release of the bird is important. As the dog improve's staying seated with the release of the bird move the command and release ever closer together until you simply drop the verbal command and the released bird make's the dog sit. That is how I do stop to flush and certain it will work on hup to flush. The use of wild birds has a flaw, wild birds won't co-operate with the handler! They also don't give the handler advance notice where they are. With pointing dog's I use remote traps from day one with pigeon's. I would not use them with a flushing dog, your timing with them will probably suck! Rather dizzy or put them to sleep and make the pup think it will catch every bird. I'd start with dizzy and try to stay with dizzy. early on don't give the bird enough time to really come out of it, you want the bird to try to get away. Catching the bird get's the pup charging the bird harder from the time's it doesn't catch the bird. Using the trap you can keep the pup from ever catching the bird but you also start it hesitating before the flush, called blinking. Pup's that blink bird's sometime's allow the bird to run out on you. With wild bird's I suspect shooting the bird's start's sooner, other wise the wild birds would teach the pup to hesitate I would think. To over come that I believe I'd simply shoot all them I could. You want the pup putting the bird in the air. A drawback of the remote trap is your timing is off and you hit the pup with the trap a time or two and YOU will teach the pup to either blink or simply leave the bird. You could use foot traps, non remote. I use them on pointing dogs but wouldn't with a flushing dog. I would rather see the pup catch a bird trying to get away than have the pup capture the bird, trap and all! In these case's feral pigeon's are my friend. They will home a good number of miles as well as homer's and birds that get away simply go home. Those that don't get away are expendable. When the pup is right on pigeon's the turn over to game bird's should be simple. keep in mind that your pup hasn't a clue in the beginning what the difference is in a pigeon and a game bird! Use that to your advantage. When I turn pup's over to game birds I like to use wild birds if available. reason for that is you turn a trained pointing dog over on pen raised bird's that may not fly well or like to run around and you start undoing everything you just finished doing. You make a pigeon act like a wild bird for a reason, the wild bird WILL act like a wild bird and just a time or three on a wild bird and the pup figure's one with the other. If you do a flushing pup with pigeon's and start shooting fairly soon, the pup learns it put's a bird in the air and you will shoot it. Also if it catch's the bird on the ground it encourage's the pup to go in harder thinking it actually can catch the bird. When it can't, you do shoot the bird and the pup get's the bird anyway! The idea it seem's to me is teach the pup how to get what it want's by your rule's! Keep the pup from catching the bird and the pup at some point will start to blink, trying to think it's way to the bird. Hit the pup with a remote trap a couple time's and you teach the pup if it goes in it will get punished. The pup doesn't know wild from pen raised. I wish I had a way to know where wild birds were all the time and had a way to control them for training purpose's but I don't. Then I'd see wild bird's as ideal!
I think the biggest problem in training any breed or type dog is the handler over thinking the situation. Guarantee the dog only want's the bird and the handler's job is to show it how to do that. KISS! There are some people on facebook raising field cocker's, English I think, and got to see a short video of one a few day's ago. It was really great watching the dog. Oh, one more thing, learn to read the pup. You do that and your gonna have a good idea of what's gonna happen before it does. Greatly improves your timing! When a flushing dog hit's scent you should recognize it right away.
I had the opertunity to watch two of the best flushing dog trainer's year's ago when I had Springer's. Dr's Chris Christensen and his wife Janet. Every month I'd go to fun days just to watch these two, increditable they were. if your into flushing dog's and can get to a field club fun days, go, it's an eye opener!
I pity the man that has never been loved by a dog!
. It works for some (people) who do it ,and If that is what you want .
