Training with chucker

L

Little Brit

New member
I got a 13 week old GSP. I bought a few young chuckers for her to chase around the yard. I clipped the wings so they didn`t fly. After some chasing she gave me a few points. The bird was young so it was easy for her to catch it not that I let her grab it though, I had her on a check cord while doing this. Next time I fill let the bird go where there is more cover.

Is this a good thing for the dog to be doing(chasing and wanting to grab the bird) or should I hold off a bit more with live birds.

I only plan on doing thhis maybe once a week not every day.
 
I did the exact same thing with chukars and pigeons when my dog was younger. However my dog is a flushing dog so I was just trying to get her bird drive up more than it already was. The only thing with your dog being a pointer is it may learn to go right in on the bird instead of staying a bit back on point. I could also be completely wrong on that haha. Just my $0.02
 
Have not trained a pointer...but have trained my Golden to point, with a check cord and training dummy.

Would assume there may be some confusion for the dog when you command - "fetch" and not allowed to retrieve, he may be reluctant to pick up a bird.

There are several good training books on this subject and I assume video's, that would be valuable for the dog's training...and yours!
 
Well as my experince with my brittany is never let the dog catch the bird. This creates a problem where the pointer will just want to bust the birds. I would personally plant them in the grass somewhere and walk him bye it and he should smell it..
 
Really no expert and I'm on my first Britt myself but i wouldn't let the pup catch the bird until you introduce the gun and that should not be for a while. It can be something that will be hard to break the pup from.
 
At 13 weeks I wouldn't worry if the pup was catching the bird. You are not doing any formal training and at this point you want the pup to be bird crazy. He can't do anything wrong. If he catches and you have him on a check cord, call him and reel him in. let him hold the bird. Helps with retrieving and he is happy.

As he gets older then I would say no to catching, but it is not the end of the world. Also, as he gets older use birds that he cannot catch. Chasing at this age increase his desire and prey drive. Chances are if he can't catch he will start to point more.
 
Next time out I will find a place with more cover and maybe a bit older birds. I will only clip one wing so the bird can pop up but not go far (I think)
 
Im sorry i missed the part of your dog being only 13 weeks old.. Yeah let it have fun for right now, but i used the wing everyday for about 5 minutes and put it away.. And used a bumper to play fetch in the hallway. As of this season it was his first, and our first hunt got 6 guys 7 birds, in about 4 hours... So i must of done that part right lol..
 
sepointer said:
At 13 weeks I wouldn't worry if the pup was catching the bird. You are not doing any formal training and at this point you want the pup to be bird crazy. He can't do anything wrong. If he catches and you have him on a check cord, call him and reel him in. let him hold the bird. Helps with retrieving and he is happy.

As he gets older then I would say no to catching, but it is not the end of the world. Also, as he gets older use birds that he cannot catch. Chasing at this age increase his desire and prey drive. Chances are if he can't catch he will start to point more.
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Agreed. At 4-5 months I would hope and train the pup to be steady. We let pups chase starting at about 6 weeks. Set the whole pack on em and see who gets there first. That dog goes to the buyer looking for strong prey drive.
 
Little Brit said:
Next time out I will find a place with more cover and maybe a bit older birds. I will only clip one wing so the bird can pop up but not go far (I think)
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some good advice here
i would add ,as you progress,dont clip the wings,"fly the birds in"

take them to your training/ shooting ground and just toss em let em fly and work the dog up to where they landed.my experience pen raised chukar(chukar or chukars:) )are good for this.they hunker down pretty good where they land and you can actually bring the dog back on them again when they've been previously flushed. this requires a fairly large training area and as you can imagine your going to have to replace birds.they're consumables
you going to go through quite a few .your doing right,keep the dog around birds.down the road you're actually doing your own bird farm hunts on a paid reserve but this is kinda necessary to be able to put the dog in a successful environment.many dont live in areas where they can bring the dog along on wild birds alone

if this is your first hunting dog project, i envy you ,you've chosen a glorious world to step into.:thumbsup:
 
This is not my first dog but it has been awhile since I did any trianing so I'm trying to refresh my memory. This is the first dog although that I will be training with the acess to using live birds and have the room to do it. So I'm excited for some nice weather. I build a pen today to hold a few birds and I made a whoa board today too. Should I start on the whoa training or just get her familiar with the board and going over it for now. I have it in my garage now so I plan on doing it everyday.













pointshoot said:
some good advice here
i would add ,as you progress,dont clip the wings,"fly the birds in"

take them to your training/ shooting ground and just toss em let em fly and work the dog up to where they landed.my experience pen raised chukar(chukar or chukars:) )are good for this.they hunker down pretty good where they land and you can actually bring the dog back on them again when they've been previously flushed. this requires a fairly large training area and as you can imagine your going to have to replace birds.they're consumables
you going to go through quite a few .your doing right,keep the dog around birds.down the road you're actually doing your own bird farm hunts on a paid reserve but this is kinda necessary to be able to put the dog in a successful environment.many dont live in areas where they can bring the dog along on wild birds alone

if this is your first hunting dog project, i envy you ,you've chosen a glorious world to step into.:thumbsup:
Click to expand...
 
different people will have different ideas as to the timeline you'd move along with as you make progress.
i think the dog is less than 6 mos old
i dont have any experience with gsp puppies and as such i can't tell you how fast they mature mentally.brittanies ,for instance, in my experience, are a softer dog and move along a litte slower.all training is kept as fun.
from memory ,i thought the first 6 months were mostly thought to be "play training",that's what i've done.every thing is play time,bonding,basic obedience.come when called,follow along on the training/exercise ground.

"every thing i do with DAD is fun"
in the last 25 yrs there's always been another older dog around so the puppy learned it basics by association.come when called,housebreaking etc
i know there are other folks on this forum that probably start at least a couple of puppies every year and maybe they'll jump in with suggestions for books,dvd's that will help.
my opinion ,to anwer your question is the whoa board for a young dog should be associated with fun at this point ,no pressure
maybe i'm wrong ,i'm not a professional dog trainer,mostly just taught the family pet to help me find and retrieve birds,good luck
 
I'd use chukars because they are such good eating - among other reasons. :p
 
at that young I would just work on prey drive and getting the pup as excited about birds as much as possible. it is true you do not want to develop bad habits but IMO if there is ever a bad habit to have - having the dog really birdy - would be the least of my concerns. You can train steadiness and pointing as the pup grows. It is very hard to get a dog really birdy as it gets older.
 
There seems to be a delicate balance between "strong prey drive" and "slowing to the point." If the dog understands that it's OK to chase...chase he will.

Dogs love to chase. Look at an open field (chase), dog after a cripple! My Golden has a very strong prey drive and it's a continual struggle to keep him range and slowing him when he's on a runner.

A habit of running after a bird will be hard to break...

Just my take.
 
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