Whats going on with my oldest pointer?

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duckn66

Well-known member
He is 6 years old going on 7. Got him last year from a trainer who was shutting down. He was going to be a guide dog on a game farm but it never came about and so in turn he was just trained and shot over both pigeons and quail. He handles like he is on a remote control.

Last year I hunted him for the first time. Got into a few birds and he pointed the few that we found.

First time I had him on birds this year he found a covey of quail in a brush pile. We could see them walking around and he never really pointed them before they flushed so I didn't shoot any of those from the covey.

Took him out west and he was busting hens pheasant (which would have held). Sorta maybe slowed down but never pointed, would just root them out. So I think OK, back to the launchers. So the next day I get a launcher out and some pigeons. He pointed once half heartedly and then went on. After that he would just walk right by the bird in the launcher.

Since I have had him he has had no bad experiences around birds. Earlier this year he was pointing pigeons just fine. Yesterday he wanted nothing to do with them.

Guesses on whats going on?
 
Kind of hard to tell just from what you've stated and without seeing the dog in person.

What ever happened seemed to have happened from the end of last year into this year. There is a gap there. Anything you can think of in that time frame (anything at all) that might give some clues? A bad experience etc.. Think hard, even it seemed like a little thing to you, it may not have for the dog.
 
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He hasn't been on many wild birds at all. In a sense he is still a pup but at an older age if you know what I mean.

Over the summer I never put him on any birds. I ran him some but most of my bird time was spent on my pups.

Can't think of anything. He's been out hunting about 3 times this year 2 out of three on birds.

Only thing I can think of is he doesnt' want the pigeons in a laucher anymore.
 
So I'm guessing the trainer before you never hunted this dog or put him on many wild birds either?

It is imperative in a dogs first year or two to be put on as many wild birds as possible if they are to become a good wild bird dog. If not, they kind of lose something that they may never get back. Wild birds teach so much that pen raised birds won't. After they have had a healthy dose of wild birds then you can mix in pen birds to supplement shear numbers.

As far as why your dog seems to have lost interest or reluctance to point, seems a mystery. I could make a case for shooting birds over the dog when birds are not properly handled, but from what I'm hearing from you, that is not the case.

At this point if repeated exposure to wild birds does not elicit a change then I would seek out a trainer for an evaluation. Pretty hard to diagnose these things over the internet.

Keep us posted though.
 
Yeah I know it's tough to answer without watching him. The first time he was ever on wild birds to my knowledge was with me last year.

He did point a rooster last year in a brush pile. So I know that he has pointed at least one pheasant. Perhaps these hens were running and I just couldn't tell. I have heard that pheasants can be a handful with young and or inexperienced pointing dogs.

I think I will try some pen raised quail this weekend and shoot some singles over him. Maybe check cord him into them?

It's pretty tough to find enough wild quail these days for a dog to learn to handle wild birds on their own. The last English Pointer I had was back in the 80's. The only thing I did with her was break her to the gun. I let the wild birds teach her and it worked well. Granted she wasn't steady to flush but she would hold a point until I got there.

I'm sure we can get it figured out. I'll see if I can find the guys email addy who I got him from and see what he says.
 
Its not uncommon for a older dog to recognize pen raised planted quail and pigeons are not really game and get bored with them. I've had very good wild birddogs both shorthairs and EPs ignore them or act wishy washy over them.

Dogs are smarter that we think an many know the difference.

I would work the dog on wild birds only
 
i agree with Bobman , i run E pointers and on more than one occasion mine would be check corded into the wind on a planted bird and stop show no excitement or style and just stand there looking at me like really, not again , i have used every trick i could think to get them to believe they were the real deal. this year Ive had them into as many wild coveys and birds i could and they have all the intensity and style you could imagine , have they bumped birds sure but my current two are young ,Ive had both young and old dogs show no interest in pen raised birds , but the important thing is to remember they are learning not just young dogs but older dogs that have had no exposure , i had a rescue EP that was we figured at 4 yrs old and didn't know a thing about her , in the Yard she would fetch all day , i shot blanks over her while working my other dogs and she was untouched but you put a pen raised bird out and she would sniff it like , it was a alien , but on wild birds she was a natural , she was one of my better dogs to date , i don't thing she was ever hunted before i got her she made a lot of mistakes but it was all about exposure to the birds . just my two cents
 
I'd take him to the vet for an exam; tell the vet about his change in behavior. Something may be amiss with his health. A seasoned, well-trained dog like that should not abruptly lose birdiness.
 
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