Steady or Not.

bobeyerite

bobeyerite

New member
Now that the season is over, how many guys are still happy with their Pointing Type dogs being; "Steady" to both wing and shot. Then does the retrieve on command? Honestly how many birds did your dog lose this season?

As you can tell, I am of the school that wants my dog on that downed bird as quickly as possible. So I allow my dog to leave on the shot, without command. I wish I could say my dog didn't lose a bird, only shooting just (1) one bird for it to retrieve all season is not a true test. Yes, he got that one fine it was a dead.

Which way do you prefer your dog steady or "go get"um"....................Bob
 
Bob,

That's a question that I'm sure you'll get replies on both sides of the fence. Your average hunter who just wants his dog to hold point till he approaches will care less if the dog holds to shot or through the shot. On the other hand, if you have a person who is striving to attain a Master hunt test title then he may want his dog steady, whether training or hunting.

Myself, I am of the belief that I would rather the dog be on the bird sooner rather than later. That does not mean however that I want them leaping at the bird upon flushing. If the dog leaves at the shot that is more than enough for me. Even if I would decide to try and put a Master title on him, my younger dog has been trained steady through shot and fall and it wouldn't be all that much work to get them back to that for testing. They are smart and they know when it's training and when it's hunting. I allow them to go at the shot. Sometimes they will even cheat at that..:eek:
 
I've never required mine to be steady to wing & shot. I want them on the bird ASAP. I feel I will lose fewer of the runners if the dog gets there sooner. However, I'm going to be running my 1 year old Brittany in some NSTRA trials this spring so I need to work on steadiness. Being steady to wing and shot is not a requirement in NSTRA, but the dog must remain steady on point until the bird flushes. In other words I must flush the bird while the dog remains on point. The dog loses points for each step it takes toward the bird prior to the flush.

I would guess that anyone that has strictly a hunting dog and not running any trials could care less if the dog is steady to wing & shot.
 
I agree with you hunters. As you know Tony is 10 years old. I have come to the believe that all I have to do is put the bird on the ground. He will do the rest dead or cripple makes no difference. Which has caused me to get a little sloppy with my shooting at times. I do feel after watching him through the years. He would rather have a cripple to chase down than a dead and a simple pickup............Bob
 
I agree with you guys on the pheasants, but I would like to achieve steady to wing for the quail. They seem to fly low more often, and I have had to pass more shots because the dog was right behind them. Is there a good book or do you guys have a training tip on how to make your dog steady to wing?
 
Ken, Get One............Bob:D
 
I'd rather my dogs not be steady for especially pheasants and a lesser extent ruffed grouse. For the reasons you guys have stated I want that dog on that bird fast. I lose very few birds and would like to keep it that way. Some guys claim its good for safety reason but I prefer to be the safety net and not only hunt around other safe hunters and to use common sense. I wouldn't trust a dog around unsafe hunters no matter how "steady" the dog was. Just not trusting enough of any dogs training level.
 
BleuBijou said:
I agree with you guys on the pheasants, but I would like to achieve steady to wing for the quail. They seem to fly low more often, and I have had to pass more shots because the dog was right behind them. Is there a good book or do you guys have a training tip on how to make your dog steady to wing?
Click to expand...

Not a book, but an excellent training video series. Perfect/Start Perfect/finish by Perfection Kennels. : http://www.gundogsupply.com/pestpefisetd1.html

Expensive yes, but invaluable. You'll be hard pressed to find a more complete step by step approach to train your pointing dog to a finished dog.

The easiest way to steady up a dog once their whoa broke is with pigeons and launchers. It can be done without launchers, but will take you longer. Multiple launchers even better.
 
Ken,

If you get one of them there pooointing dogs and train him to be steady to wing shot/fall, you could then use him to locate, then send in the springers to roust the bird up. Seen it done with labs, no reason why it wouldn't work with them springer things too. :D
 
I had mine steady to wing/shot/fall last summer during training, but that fell apart on wild birds. She is still steady to flush, and like birdshooter said she knows the difference between wild and planted birds. I took her out midseason on planted birds and was steady to WSF again. I would like her steady to shot at least on wild birds and will be working on that this training season.
 
Always make sure, when you are training to throw steady drills in once and a while, even if it is going well, rock steady. Thats the time when you need to do it, when it is going good. Always hold the dog for longer periods some, mix it up. If you send at a couple seconds every time the dog will time it and go. Don't shoot the bird ever if they break. If you do, stop them if you can and go pick the dog up and put them back where they took off from firmly and go pick up the bird your self, never a reward if you can help it. YELLING NO! and get after em. Also tell your friends you hunt with not to shoot if the dog takes off for a bit, and no yelling Hen Rooster and all that, the dog will likely break. It does help if you set them up on yelling those different things, then the name to go. But I don't like it when people are yelling out in the field anyway. Getting a dog Line steady on boards is alott more stable then the old fasioned way, you do that first in the yard and the whole steady process goes faster and smoother. Allot less yelling and chasing the dog, almost none.
 
Ken. you raise a good point there. I always dual train voice and whistle. If my dogs breaks for some reason. I just blow "Whoa" on the whistle and he stops dead right now. That is why I insist on instant obedience from my dog. He is so intent on his point, he only looks up on the flush and runs on the shot. But there times when it is a hen mostly. He will take a few steps and then stop and give me that. "why didn't you shoot it" look............Bob
 
I think you would call my dog a "meat" dog.:D Her job is to find the meat while it's alive and fetch it up after it's been shot. Maybe if I was a better shot I would hold her to higher standards of steadiness, but until I can drop 'em all every time, I think I will forgive her transgressions.;) Truth be told, we're not too bad of a team but I don't think we'll be making the cover of PDJ or Gray's any time soon.:laugh:
 
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