Good bird dog?

W

Wisco_Outdoors

New member
My wife recently brought home a black lab/hound mix from the humane society. He is about 6 or 7 months old and I just started bird hunting, just went for the first time last weekend. My friend and I hunted grouse and wood**** and I was wondering if he would be a good bird dog or not. He doesn't really like to play fetch and it seems like he looses interest pretty quickly. He is a very quiet dog too, he never really barks. I'd like to try pheasant hunting some time but have no idea what I would be doing. Also any tips on how to train him would be very appreciated. I've been reading quite a bit since last weekend about what to do for him, and I'm still not sure when your dog is supposed to point or flush. I really don't know many people around here that go bird hunting to answer all my questions haha.
 
I'm no training pro, but I've hunted behind a lot of dogs. I've actually hunted pheasants behind a bassett hound before. Your lab will most likely be a natural flusher w/o much training at all. Birds tend to excite dogs so they'll naturally want to make them fly. Just work on obedience with the dog. If it stays close, I don't think you'll mind whether it points or flushes. A decent e-collar will help you keep him close (I just bought my first one and find the dogs to be quite responsive). Retrieving....good luck on that one. There is a method I've heard of called force fetch. I've never used it and I hope I never have to. Get the dog interested in birds by exposing him. I think you have a good chance of making a good hunting buddy out of him!

Best of luck Sir!
 
birds birds and more birds..... like a previous post said he will probably be a fine flusher and if he retrieves it's a bonus. If he stays in range he will cover a lot more ground than you can by yourself and you will still have a decent shot at the birds. Also, if you hunt with others you may want to lower their expectations about what your dog will do but no matter what it is fun to watch a dog in the field! Good luck and keep us posted on how it goes.
 
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