Help pointing

Let's see, Bill West, Maurice Lindley, Bill Gibbons, Dave Walker--just a few well known pro names who don't use whoa much if at all.

But if you do use it, it's important to understand how, and I have yet to see anyone explain it right here based on what every trainer I know says who uses it.

You want your pup to find birds, decide to point--and either hold it's point or move in and bust the bird--BEFORE you say whoa. Then yes whoa--IF it's well understood by the dog--can be used.

The dog has the nose, you don't. The dog needs to learn how close it can get to birds without flushing. The dog needs to learn if it pushes too close, the bird flys off and they don't get to have it. When you start messing around with a command on a young pup that is trying to sort all that out, you can not only delay the learnign process but with some of the more uncertain or timid dogs--get them thinking they did something wrong,or that their job is to stop only when you tell them to. And you can take the style out of the dog along the way too.

Bird train dogs, we need to just provide the opportunity and steer them a bit.
 
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When I used to have english setters 30 years ago, we never did the wing on the fishin pole. Always live birds. C.A. Johnson always said that putting a young pup on a wing with a pole could encourage creeping.

If you are going to train a bird dog you need live birds.
 
Also you can still get a copy of C.A.'s book "here whoa dead bird" just do a search. In the book he tells how to use a half hitch on a check cord when introducing young puppies to birds. You might find it helpful.

Anyone who understands the history of the english setter knows who C.A. is.
 
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