Training Question - chasing

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bbasil

New member
My English Setter is 1.5 years old and we just completed our first hunting season on grouse, woodcock and released pheasants. We had a blast but I have a have a few questions. When the birds hold and are hidden his points are great and he doesn't move until I walk up and flush. If he sees the bird or it's moving he chases. Unfortunately, he did catch some preserve birds and he also ran down and retrieved some cripples for me. When we go on walks he chases everything, robins, ducks and geese. Do I need to stop this as well? He is a bold dog and his prey drive is very strong. Is this something I can work on myself with the ecollar or should I utilize a pro trainer. (This is my first pointing dog)
 
The first thing you have to decide is to what level of training do you want to maintain you dog to.

At a minimum for me I expect my hunting dogs to stand on point as long as it takes me to get to them and walk out front and flush the bird. But this is also a level that many if not most hunter try to keep their dogs to.

There is a book "Training with Mo" that is a very straight forward effective system for dog training. I think it would be a big help to you. It will explain everything you will need to know to reach what ever level you want to maintain your dog to.

Good luck, and have fun.
 
Keeping a dog "in range" seems to be a life-long task, at least it's been my experience with five dogs as well as hunting with friends animals - both pointers and flushers.

I have a strong prey-drive dog and control his enthusiasm with the e-collar. I try and keep the dog fairly close, including walks and around the yard.

If your dog is on point and you use a command "stay"; reinforce the stay if he creeps or chases. I use this command with my dog; he's not allowed to proceed to the dummy or bird until I give him an OK.

At 1.5 years, your dog is still learning and immature. However, continue to reinforce your commands. As he matures he'll start to understand what's expected of him...

Good Luck and have fun!
 
I hate to agree with John, but I guess I will have to:D. Whether the dog is a pointer or a flusher obedience is worked on throughout the year not just at hunting time. A dog with a strong prey drive is a good thing. I don't let mine chase rabbits, squirrels, robins or anything else for that matter. A dog needs to know absolutely that no means no, shock collar or no shock collar. For a pointer chasing running pheasants is not going to produce the desired result most of the time.
 
This a past the point of return, for this. The first item is it is easier to stop in the beginning than to cure later. All pups chase, period. It's a remedial problem now. I would not hunt the dog with other dogs, or people, until it's rectified. Some dogs will adjust on their own. The sequence would be keep running him into birds he can see, AND NOT CATCH! Eventually, because you have restraint and DO NOT KILL bumped birds, dogs fault or not, he will come to believe if it goes out wild, and does not get bagged, it's a poor result, for him and for you. This is the long way, unfortunately, there is not good way, other way is to reinforce whoa command, now. This is a little bit dangerous, go to far, at this point, might cow the dog down, destroy him confidence. A better way would do that in a chain gang situation, it helps to have other dogs who are dead on, reliable, who exhibit the right procedure, this is a learn and do exercise, easier done with a professional. In the future, all information you can instill in a pup, and I mean weeks old, including scent pointing, site pointing, and being tractable, are a whole lot easier. Here is why, a pup can only see a certain distance, because the sight cones in his eyes a developing. Because he relies on you, for guidance in a new surrounding, he stays with you. I use a mowed pasture, plant the quail, in vision. The dog or scents the bird, he then sees the bird, most all will point. I re-enforce point religiously, I walk around the pup, stroking and say Whoa, Steady, when satisfied I pick up the bird, with the dog still steady, then realize the pup, he will go to where the bird was, use his nose, only to discover it's gone! We do this repeatedly sometimes many times a day. Eventually, I flush the bird, dog remains steady, I release the dog, remember the sight issue, he can only see and judge distance a finite area. He will use his nose, most point again, an air washed bird. Some will pick them up, at that time it's a retrieving exercise, he has it, it's a big deal, little encouragement will crouch down and whistle, make a BIG deal. He saw a bird, pointed, pointed again, or retrieve a live bird. A little blank fire after he is released I this manner will put you a long way. He goes with you because you know where the birds are! He associates birds and you being equal in the process. Again this is a future event. Now you will need quit a bit of time to fix it now. Some will overcome this with repeated daily contact with birds. We have all heard the story that "that dog trained itself", it could be true, but what we can hope for is good genetics and some guidance. My experience is with English pointers, English setters, GSP's. Male setters are a little slower on uptake than female setters, in either case once they have the theory, they are ready to go. English pointers can take the training, then in the off season decide they have a better idea! A little training camp might be necessary. The GSP's seem to develop at the same speed. A male setter at that age can still be processing life! and can certainly be guided to a satisfactory conclusion. If you do it, it's satisfying, better for you and your hunting partner in the long haul, but you might be better off to hire a pro who has expertise, other dogs, equipment, and time!
 
bbasil, if you have the time, and access to birds or pigeons and a place to train, doing it yourself is a lot of fun. But it takes time and birds, and a fair amount of both.

But there are a number of good trainers out there, that can do it for you if you want.
 
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