Planted birds

[V-John]

I do not say anything to my dog when he is in point. I expect him to hold point till I get to him without saying whoa and allow me to flush the bird. I feel if you train your dog this way from the start it avoids issues down the road. The more you keep your mouth closed the better off you are. Talking to your dog when he is on point disrupts their concentration.

Pen raised birds have a totally different smell than wild birds, they eat different food than wild birds and a wild birds feathers have more oil on them to repell moisture to mention just a couple things.Planted quail do not act like wild birds nor are they planted most times where you usually would find wild birds.

Good post. And, penraised birds usually stand around and live in their own shit, so... That probably makes them smell different too.

I see a lot of people do it that way.

I tend not to say anything (if I can keep my mouth shut). If its in training with a launcher I launch the bird as soon as they move, and put them back without saying anything. Then work on making them stand still before moving to another launcher.

Good post.

Don't get in a huge hurry to flush the birds. You don't want the dog to feel like it's a race to get the bird up in the air. She might start trying to flush them on her own...

But yeah, there's no need to fart around once the dog goes on point.

Another good post. Start off with shorter time that the dog has to stand before flushing and work your way to a longer times, if that makes sense. It's not good grammar I can tell you that!

I've seen dogs that aren't that tight when they are on pigeons and penraised, but look fantastic when on wild birds.

Riley, my oldest, knows the training game all too well, especially on pigeons. He'll point them, but with a lackadasical attitude. But get him in a trial or hunting situation and he tightens up real nice.
Pretty common. Or if you train in the same spots, using the same scenerios...

 

[maximus1]

You are right V-John, some dogs just do not care about planted birds.

 

[Thrasher]

Took Molly out again this morning. The wind did not help, and the heat actually hurt. We found 3 of the 4 birds set. I saw a few leftover birds, flushed by the wind I think, fly towards me. When we got to where they landed, we found nothing. I think that it was just to hot out (75 by the time I called it a morning). She did pretty well finding the birds in the swirling wind. She would sort of focus on an area and I would flush the bird. She did pinpoint on one bird during a lull in the wind and had a decent point. When I went to flush, she wanted to follow me.

 

[SetterNut]

Trying to follow you to the flush is pretty normal for a young dog. Just part of the learning process.

The heat and wind does make it harder for the dogs to find birds.
What type birds were you planting?

 

[fsentkilr]

After my dogs have been in wild birds they won't hardly hunt tame birds at all. They will try to jump the bird and then when it flies they run along behind it waiting for it to land. I think they do this because they think the bird is wounded as planted birds fly nothing like wild ones. Often times they are visible on the ground to the dogs which also makes them think they are wounded. I don't really even like starting pups on tame birds but I do sometimes. Also I think the dogs can still smell the scent of the person who planted the birds on the bird and also where they walked in to plant the bird. This further confuses the dog. I realize that sometimes that is the only way to get dogs on birds, but I still wonder how much it really gains them after they are started. Actually I think it can create bad habits such as jumping in after the bird, ect.

 

[Thrasher]

After my dogs have been in wild birds they won't hardly hunt tame birds at all. They will try to jump the bird and then when it flies they run along behind it waiting for it to land. I think they do this because they think the bird is wounded as planted birds fly nothing like wild ones. Often times they are visible on the ground to the dogs which also makes them think they are wounded. I don't really even like starting pups on tame birds but I do sometimes. Also I think the dogs can still smell the scent of the person who planted the birds on the bird and also where they walked in to plant the bird. This further confuses the dog. I realize that sometimes that is the only way to get dogs on birds, but I still wonder how much it really gains them after they are started. Actually I think it can create bad habits such as jumping in after the bird, ect.

I was just thinking the same thing Saturday evening, and wondering if it was worth it. She acts like a totally different dog when hunting pen raised birds. I think that she got a little out of finding these birds, but not as much as I had hoped. I am looking forward to the season starting again!!



The planted birds are pheasant.

 

[Toad]

I use the bird farms from time to time, as you know, and I think it's a useful tool. The main thing is just to have a goal or purpose in mind when you go there.

Sometimes I just use the bird farm to get the dog into birds if we have been hunting a lot and not finding much. It's a nice reward for the dog to find and retrieve some birds when the local hunting for wild birds is difficult.

Usually I have a goal in mind when I go there though, so I feel like I am getting my money's worth and doing some training. For instance, when I wanted my dog to hunt heavy cover better, I made sure to plant all my birds in the thickest cover on the place.

I think they are useful and helpful for your dog if you use them the right way. There aren't enough wild pheasants around Manhattan to make a really great pheasant dog, but if you hunt the prairie chickens and quail and the rare pheasant around here and supplement that with a couple trips to the pheasant farm, I think your dog will be ready to kick some ass when you take her out West. It works for me, anyway.