Steady or Not.

"Steady" Dogs not What My Team Likes

bobeyerite said:
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
Click to expand...

My hunting buddies and I make no effort to steady our dogs. We want them heading for the bird from the get go. Otherwise, too easy to lose birds.
 
Steady to Shot - depends...

Interesting question...I have a very aggressive Golden who' s off to the races at "any shot." And he misses very few cripples. However, there are times when shooting next to a roadway, gravel or paved, he's chased a runner across the road - not good! Doesn't happen often, but it has happened. That's when a strong shock and whistle works best to call him off.

AND, when anyone shoots, he's off for the chase. I try and call him off if I'm not the one shooting.

No one answer, I guess...

jon
 
When I had my GSP, he was locked on a bird. a slight movement of this bird he moves as much movements as the bird. when it is flushed and i shoot, he will keep his eye on the bird.. however he doesnt watch where hes going, example, a drop off or anything like that... so thats when the WHOA comes in and he quickly response to that and stops and with draw from retrieving.

I should've done a video on his training when i did this with him. i do have him staying a whoa/stay position with his toy.


knowing my farm land, theres no such danger for him to fall or get hurt while retrieving so hes locked, till i shoot and the bird goes down, he is good at finding 99% of the birds.
 
Iâ??m a flushing dog man but you can put me down in the steady category for the following reasons:

Safety:
  • Sometimes the best hunting cover is alongside a road. A breaking dog might chase a bird across and get hit. (This almost happened to a friend of mine and he became a member of the â??steadyâ?� group immediately)
  • While most pheasants donâ??t fly low at the flush, some do and even a tight choke occasionally throws a flyer.
Aesthetics:
  • When hunting w/ another dog, it annoys me to see multiple dogs trying to retrieve the same bird. Sometimes thereâ??s a fight, often the bird is damaged and finally there is no accountability. This year I was hunting w/ a group of unsteady dogs and 3 dogs raced to the area of the fall. At the other end of the line another shot was fired and the dogs ran off to that side. The bird was never found.
  • The primary measure of a hunting dog is how good his nose is. I train my dogs specifically to follow running birds and so I expect them to be able to follow a cripple and recover him. I enjoy watching a dog trail a bird successfully as much as any part of the sport.
  • A steady dog simply represents a higher level of training and therefore is a pleasing sight to me.

Efficiency:
  • I know I shoot better when there isnâ??t a dog running into the picture therefore I think I reduce the # of times I cripple a bird.
  • The argument that itâ??s a more efficient tactic on a cripple is debatable. Itâ??s generally accepted among the retriever community that a steady dog makes a more accurate mark, possibly getting him to the area of the fall quicker where he can pick up the trail. If itâ??s preferable to have a dog break on pheasants just in case itâ??s a cripple, why not on ducks. I cripple more ducks due to steel shot than I do roosters yet nobody wants a breaking duck dog.
  • If you have a steady dog and you cripple a bird, you can always send him while the bird is in the air. This way it only costs your dog a few seconds vs. a breaking dog.
 
Dakotazeb said:
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.
Click to expand...

In spite of what I said in my post above, my friends who run in NSTRA have a very good reason for having their dogs break. Since that game is usually run on pen raised quail that canâ??t fly very far, even if the handler misses the bird often goes down in the field. Most pointing dogs wouldnâ??t mark a 150+ yd retrieve but if theyâ??re chasing and they find the retrieve, it counts just as much as if the gunner had hit it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top