Looking for advice to get my pup ready for 2010-11 season

K

KS-GSP-HUNTER

New member
Hi all I'm new to the forum and was just looking for some advice on how to get my new GSP pup ready for the up coming season. She'll be 11 months old when pheasant season starts. We've been working on nothing but the basic commands such as come, whoa, stay, heel, fetch, also using whistle training, she also does sight pointing w/ a bird wing, but I've since quit doing that b/c I've seen mixed reviews about it. Also, I just started to use pheasant/quail scents on her throw dummies. She seems to be catching on pretty well so far.

This isn't my first hunting dog but i just wanted to make sure that i wasn't missing anything and that i'm prepairing my dog the best i can for what surely is going to be a great 2010-11 hunting season here in KS.

I appreciate any advice that you all are willing to part with.

Kyle
 
If you have access to any live birds be it pigeons or quail try her on some of those. She is too old to do the wing on a string, you are right there but try and introduce her to live birds. When doing this clip the wings of the first couple to allow her to develop a good prey drive and really get excited about what it is that you want her to do. You didn't mention anything about conditioning her to guns so make sure you do this as well. Once you have her conditioned to guns well enough let her point a bird and once it is flushed and she is giving chase(really into getting the bird as it takes off) shoot the bird, she shouldn't even notice the shot and run right to the bird. I was doing this with my last puppy at 9-10 weeks old. Repetition right now is your best friend so do what you are doing and what others will suggest and do it often. Also don't overlook her conditioning either because as a pup they don't have the same stamina as an older dog.
 
I agree with HUNTIN4FUN.....birds, birds, birds! Live birds will teach that pup more in a day than you can in a month. I wouldn't go into the first season with very high hopes and the knowledge that she will bust a few birds, but be patient and consistent with her and you will both end up training each other.
Where are you located, someone from the forum may let you tag along on a couple training runs and let you see how they do things and you can use that knowledge and tweek it a little if you have to and make it work for you and your dog.

Rut
 
dang corey your going to let that guy run his dog on pheas and he hasnt even been hunted yet not me quail is all he should see right now but whatever
 
pointer let them find out the hard way a phez will turn that dog in the other direction if he doesnt do it right especially if he just clips the wings and lets the pup at it
 
No Pointer by live bird I meant pigeons or quail instead of pheasant. I didn't mean to sound like I was saying to run her on pheasant. I was just saying that the bumper with scent on it is nothing lik the real thing. In my opinion if you can get the pup on some chukar you are doing even better in the beggining since they have a better scent cone then pigeons or quail and generally hold better that both of the afore mentioned. Either way I would not start the pup on pheasant but I would try to introduce a real live bird over countless hours training with a bumper that has some bird scent on it. A pheasant is something that even adult dogs struggle with so I would not recommend a pup be trained on them. Now come on Pointer I think you know me a little better than that and you have seen my dogs:) I also didn't mention it but someone else did and I totally agree with them as to not expect much from you dog this year and take it as a learning year for the both of you.
 
Welcome KS-GSP Hunter,

Completely agree on live birds. Trap pigeons if you have to. Check out Youtube or do a search for gundog training videos. Lots of good stuff readily available. Keep up with the whistle training. I don't leave home without mine. Repetition is the key. See if you can't get your hands on an e-collar. Try Craigslist or maybe a local trainer has one he'll loan you or sell at a reasonable price. The tone function is quite useful.

As far as what to expect, what can you put in? Young dogs learn fast. If he's got decent breeding and you have his trust you can go a long way. You have to put in the time tho. I find it helps it you establish a routine, go the same time every day. He'll be watching you head for the door soon and will waiting when you get there.

best of luck-
 
Thanks all for the good information I will defintley try to find a place to get some live birds. I live in the KC area. Anyone know where i can find some live birds for training??? And yes I do have a e-collar i just wasn't sure when to start using it on her???? I know not to expect much out of her this first year but I do want to see something that says in time she will be a hunter. She's an indoor dog do any of you have indoor dogs that are good hunters just curious??
 
Ks-gsp-hunter,

you might check out, kansasgamebirds.com ,for your live birds. they have chuker, quail, and pheasants. Sorry cant seem to get the link set up.:)
 
KS-GSP alot of people will tell you that an outside dog is a better hunter and alot of people will tell you otherwise. To me it doesn't matter as long as they are conditioned to the outdoors. Make sure pads are good and tough, make sure she is used to prolonged periods of time outside in any weather and so on. Both my dogs are indoor dogs that spend a good majority of the day out side running the yard, to me it makes no difference. I have hunted with plenty of outside only dogs and seen nothing that set them above my two indoor ladies. To me desire and natural ability are the two most important things and they don't come from where a dog stays. You can't teach desire or natural ability, all the rest can be taught over time. I think you two will do well this year and you will find alot of enjoyment out of every point. Nothing is more rewarding then watching a new pup work her first live wild bird and lock up on it.
 
Just my two cents. If you want to get your dog on some birds in a simulated hunting environment go to a hunting preserve. You get the benefit of live pheasant, but they don't tend to run anywhere near as much as wild birds. Also you can shoot over your dog and work on the retrieving aspect.

I start out every pheasant season the last weekend in October heading out to the hunting preserve just to get the dog back on live birds and get myself warmed up on shooting a few pheasant.

Since you live in the KC area I would check out Eckman Hunting Preserve in Baldwin City. It's just a few minutes west of Overland Park on 10 highway.
 
HUNTIN4FUN said:
No Pointer by live bird I meant pigeons or quail instead of pheasant. I didn't mean to sound like I was saying to run her on pheasant. I was just saying that the bumper with scent on it is nothing lik the real thing. In my opinion if you can get the pup on some chukar you are doing even better in the beggining since they have a better scent cone then pigeons or quail and generally hold better that both of the afore mentioned. Either way I would not start the pup on pheasant but I would try to introduce a real live bird over countless hours training with a bumper that has some bird scent on it. A pheasant is something that even adult dogs struggle with so I would not recommend a pup be trained on them. Now come on Pointer I think you know me a little better than that and you have seen my dogs:) I also didn't mention it but someone else did and I totally agree with them as to not expect much from you dog this year and take it as a learning year for the both of you.
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i know i thought you would have hit on that point is all i mean he is the one who said he was taking his dog pheas hunting
 
I will be trapping some doves here soon to get Gavin on live birds. Work on getting his drive on real flyers. Pup's in the past learn pretty quick on pheasant, if you have a veteran dog to work with even better for the pup.
 
Once again guys thanks for all the great info. I was definitely going to take her on a hunting preserve to get her on some live birds starting at the end of Sept. I guess we will see what she can do then. Happy hunting to all.
 
KS-GSP

If you have a quail breeder around you can purchase a dozen or so for around $50 (I have not gotten any in a while but I think that price is close). Any way what I have done in the past on pups is find a hay field that has been mowed recently or some other type of open ground. Place patches of loose hay in different clumps in the field at different distances from your start point and then place a quail under the hay. The bird should sit tight under the hay and not run for it will be in open ground. To make sure the bird does not leave spin it in a circle to get it dizzy. Place one quail at a time and work your dog toward the bird. Flush the bird and watch where it lands and then run your dog on it again. I do this about three times with each bird and then shoot and work on the retrieve. I hope this helps.
 
I'm not sure about Kansas but here you don't have to wait for the season to start to work your dog on live birds. If they are a non-game species just work him. If they are a game species you just have to mark them with a string around a leg or something like that.

As far as getting birds I saw some as cheap as 75 cents and $1 on Craigslist. These probably won't be the best flyers but it will certainly peak his interest.

I wouldn't recommend cutting a hole in the floorboard of your dad's truck and parking it over some seed you threw out at the local park, but I know it's been done before. ;)
 
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