Help with pointing dogs

G

Gremmy

New member
Hi, I'm from New Zealand and looking for advice on training my dogs on pheasants. I'm relatively new to game bird shooting, I have 2 German wire haired pointers and both are currently on their first shooting season.
They have been going very well on the quail , finding, pointing, retrieving and have been very happy with the progress. However I just recently had the dogs out on their first proper pheasant hunt, me and a friend were just doing walk up shooting with the 2 dogs , they located and pointed us many pheasants , the problem is every time one flushed , 1 dog in particular just started chasing the pheasant making a quick shot difficult out of fear of shooting my dog, they don't chase the quail but for some reason that's all they want to do after flushing pheasant .
So looking for help on how to get my dog to hold point and not chase the bird, I have read a lot but there seems to be a lot I different ways. So hoping to find someone with experience to steer me in the right direction .

Thanks very much
Joe
 
They need to learn that the same rules apply to all birds. They are young and pheasants are big and exciting, so this is not really a big surprise.

Here is a suggestion. Hunt the dog by itself with a helper. I would let the dog drag a check cord, you don't carry a gun, let your helper do the shooting. When the dog goes on point, you get to the check cord so that if the dog moves you and stop it and put it back in place. Let the helper go in, flush and shoot the bird. You can stop the dog if it breaks at the flush. Get control with the dog standing, then send it for the retrieve if needed. I will bet that after the dog sees what is expected, the problem will be solved.
 
also try to circle around and come in from the side or ideally the front of the point , the dog will be less likely to chase and you will have better shooting options
 
Sounds like you have the plan in hand.

Pheasants are exciting to bird dog puppies; try to be understanding with their enthusiasm.

The advice given is great. I didn't have a lot of access to birds, so I got one live bird from a preserve, kept it in a large cage, tied a length of twine to a stick and to one leg, hid the bird and got the pup. Then I let her "hunt" it, and as we approached and she went in stalk mode, I tightened up the tension and once she pointed, I quietly repeated "whoa, whoa, whoa." The bird would flush, the dog would rear, and I would pull her back down with a stern "whoa."

Took a while, but last (her first) season, once we got hunting, she held point very well, unless we bumped a bird. I would not shoot it and called her back immediately.

It's early days yet for my pup, but we have time, as it seems, you do.

It's going to be fine.

:thumbsup:
 
Kismet said:
Sounds like you have the plan in hand.

Pheasants are exciting to bird dog puppies; try to be understanding with their enthusiasm.

The advice given is great. I didn't have a lot of access to birds, so I got one live bird from a preserve, kept it in a large cage, tied a length of twine to a stick and to one leg, hid the bird and got the pup. Then I let her "hunt" it, and as we approached and she went in stalk mode, I tightened up the tension and once she pointed, I quietly repeated "whoa, whoa, whoa." The bird would flush, the dog would rear, and I would pull her back down with a stern "whoa."

Took a while, but last (her first) season, once we got hunting, she held point very well, unless we bumped a bird. I would not shoot it and called her back immediately.

It's early days yet for my pup, but we have time, as it seems, you do.

It's going to be fine.

:thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Kismet:

If the pheasant flushed does it fly very far and how easy was it to retrieve your pheasant.

Thanks
 
Thanks for the advice , I'm definitely only shooting the birds they don't chase , been working with them individually and am slowly getting results , I don't have very good access to live wild birds , so I've bought and bred a few and have been using those in areas I have access too , dizzying them and planting them , trying to train them that way as I don't have a lot of options
 
Kismet:

If the pheasant flushed does it fly very far and how easy was it to retrieve your pheasant.
Click to expand...

As I said, I tied a line from one of the bird's legs and the other end to a broken small tree branch...the line was maybe 15 feet long. Bird flushed, got some air, and was held back by the line. So...no retrieving at all in this stage of training.

It was exciting for the dog...which was maybe 15 months old at the time.

Tinker is a GWP also, so I understand the OP's dogs' enthusiasm. Last year was her first year hunting. I shot 15 birds over her with good results, and one or two "brag" points. :) Hardest part of last year's hunting was leaving Mick, the Field Springer, at home. He and I only brought home about 8 birds because the GWP needed the experience.

(Limit is 2 a day in Wisconsin, possession limit 4, including your freezer.)
 
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