Gun Dog Forum

I have a setter that is bad for false pointing . I would like any suggestion of how to try to correct this.

How old is the dog? Doing it while hunting, in training situations, or both? Are you using the same field repeatedly? Working with planted birds or wild birds? Have you done a lot of whoa or standing work recently? Unproductive points out of the blue, or sticking and creeping?

There are a lot of things that can contribute to a dog getting sticky. More information and context will result in better advice. Less pressure, change in venue (new training field), some trips to the field without bird contacts mixed in with trips with bird contacts (preferably wild), building drive, and most importantly experience/age are the answers to most issues that arise with bird dogs. Especially this one.

Garrison

Yeah, lots of missing information on this one. Garrison pretty much covered it all.

Are the real and false points of the same intensity? When my setter is ON a bird, he's a darned statue. Other times he stops but doesn't freeze solid.

This dog may have a way better than average nose. When you release the dog what happens?

Lots of young dogs false point, especially if they are naturally steady to flush. When we do a lot of training without much chasing and flushing, they seem to get the idea that if they point the handler finds a bird. It is very common in hunt test dogs that are pressured hard to be steady to WSF.
They seem to generally get over that with hunting experience. Planting birds in different areas and changing training grounds help. Also being careful on the pressure when you train for steadiness. Be careful with setting them back for every little thing. It is alright for a dog turn or take a step to mark a bird. In fact preferable...........Cj

Moved the new thread together with this one so the topic stays the same:

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post by flatwoods man :
The setter is about 4 years old.when she false points she has the same intensity as when she is on a bird; she does have a good nose.
She does it while hunting.She does every thing good except her false pointing.I thank everyone for their input..

Re: false pointing
Post by gonehuntin' » Feb 3rd, '23, 18:15

How do you know it's a false point? How do you know the bird hasn't run out on her?

Not all unproductive points are false. Sometimes the bird has left the area before the dog gets there or runs off after the point. Most dogs figure it out. Strange with a dog that is 4 years old. But a lot we don't know about the dog.
I think if it was my dog, I would send him in to flush if I thought he was false pointing. Sometimes poor flying planted quail can be really difficult to find. Which is another Hunt Test issue. ........Cj

Thanks for filling out the unknowns about your dog. It helps to paint the picture.

Some dogs are pretty careful and will opt to point at the first whiff of scent. I think that scenario is far more common than the dog coming in hard and fast...freezing the bird. Over time and with more experience, the dog may learn that hitting a bird hard is a successful tactic...but in the learning process there will be busted birds, especially with wild birds.

You may want to do some drills to "encourage" the dog to refrain from pointing old scent.

I would set something up by planting a bird in cover, stirring it around, pulling a few feathers, etc., and then removing the bird. If the dog comes in and points the spot, you can release the dog and get it to search the area and kinda "get the message" that there ain't nothin' there and they should move on without establishing. If you transmit the attitude that the dog is wasting time, the dog should I would suggest using the gamebirds you normally hunt for this kind of 'proofing". You might want to start with pigeons, just to see what is going to happen, but since it happens while hunting, you want to simulate that as closely as possible. After a couple of "empty hotspot" drills, having a planted bird for the dog to find and point might help to teach the difference.

You have all spring and summer to work on this, so no reason to hurry.

Lastly, it ain't the worst thing in the world to have a "careful" dog. It beats watching birds fly off.

RayG