you always hear to not start pups in pheasants

Shadow

Shadow

Banned
curious- because this is ultimate pheasant hunting-

if you lived in pheasant country- had 2 4 month old pups- and wanted them to be good pheasanty dogs- why or why not- get them into wild pheasants young- proper handling and reading each pup-
 
I have always started with pigeon's? for no other reason then they stink so it's easier for the pups to locate them. Then the smaller size they can pick them up also. If price comes into play pigeon's are cheaper last forever and easy to care for.
 
js- that's got me chuckling- wings flailing and all- that would have to have seemed like a monster to her-

I've always sort of believed to start a youngster in what you figure to hunt-
first impression meaning a lot
 
I have always used quail, because of predictability, cost, and last but not least I hunt quail. I don't hunt pigeons, pigeons are not hunted in the manner of upland birds, so I shy away from those with pointing dogs. Retrievers seem to be fine working pigeons. I would have no hesitation to train on pheasants, initially with some precautions to protect a young dog from spurring. The dogs only respond to spurring 2 ways, one it makes them mad and they learn to grab from the back, and sometimes break their back, or two, they become bird shy of pheasants, creating a whole new set of problems, which are very difficult to resolve. It's usually softer bitches that have issues.
 
I start young pups off on quail only becouse of the size of the mouth and then we move straight to pheasant maybe a chuckar if i need to rework a startled pup at an older age
 
Shadow said:
curious- because this is ultimate pheasant hunting-

if you lived in pheasant country- had 2 4 month old pups- and wanted them to be good pheasanty dogs- why or why not- get them into wild pheasants young- proper handling and reading each pup-
Click to expand...

We use pigeons and quail and switch to just quail when the shooting starts.:thumbsup:
 
Pigeons. Reason is to build confidence. A big rooster, or even a strong hen for that matter can ruin a dog from picking up or wanting anything to do with pheasants if, they have a bad experience early in life. Same with the gun. Sure you can tread thin ice for a long time , but sooner or later the ice will crack and you will fall in.:D I go right through the intro to gun with pigeons. Some chuckers from time to time. Quail would be fine. It is about availability on small birds I guess. I use fresh dead pheasants with some retrieve work through the process so they switch over with out skipping a beat. I use hens to start, then the cocks I cut the spurs off. Once they are well conditioned and confident, then I take them wild bird hunting. But by that time they have had a bunch of pigeons and several pheasants shot to them. This can be double trouble for the flushing dog, 1 they need a strong flush, and bad experience can ruin that,(turn them in to one of those pointy things:D) 2 what I said earlier, not wanting to pick up birds.
Pointers it is just the latter, if it causes them to not flush, big deal. But the risk of what can happen is not worth the rush for me. When they are a year old and confident the risk is basically over. Sure I have been that guy shooting over a 4 month old pup on wild birds. And I was lucky. But I am more educated and wiser these days. Brought upon by people that knew more then me. And I thank them for there help. They are the many pros and elders I have come to know over the years, and I soak up every bit of knowledge I can from them. I will continue to do so.:thumbsup:
 
FCSpringer said:
A big rooster, or even a strong hen for that matter can ruin a dog from picking up or wanting anything to do with pheasants if, they have a bad experience early in life.
Click to expand...

A few years ago my wife's uncle inherited a 8 year lab that was used only for ducks. We took him hunting and on his first retrieve a feisty rooster gave him the what for when he picked it up. Dog dropped the bird and ran back. Kind of funny at the time.
 
There's a difference between hunting and training. I train with pigeons to a point then switch to pheasants (wild). The important thing is to develop desire. Once they have built desire and confidence, they can take most of what a pheasant can dish out. Yeah, try hard to kill the birds you shoot over them, but sooner or later the crip will come and the pup should be ready. Sure, you don't want a 2-4 month old pup working a crip. That'll wait until they're ready.
 
With Tony a friend had some pigeons. I used them once to steady Tony on point. Only Tony was so steady naturally it was a waste of time. So I worked on obedience and retrieving. He went Pheasant hunting at a year old and pointed 9 roosters and has been a pheasant hunting fool ever since..........Bob
 
prarie- I started each pup with my male- he's pretty staunch on pheasants-he's a pretty good retriever- I was particular on the shots- hit em hard you know-


little female pointed, Shadow backed, I dropped a rooster- she got there first and picked it up and brought it to me-

this year she did point, the rooster ran, she caught it- she retrieved- still very much alive- broken wing

if the pups hesitated Shadow would quickly grab-
 
bobeyerite said:
With Tony a friend had some pigeons. I used them once to steady Tony on point. Only Tony was so steady naturally it was a waste of time. So I worked on obedience and retrieving. He went Pheasant hunting at a year old and pointed 9 roosters and has been a pheasant hunting fool ever since..........Bob
Click to expand...


nice- think that's what I have in mine- they'll point a rabbit every now and then- but it's easy to see they are really looking for pheasants- think that's because of what I started them in
 
I've started my last dogs on quail because they were easy to handle and what was available. But once they were staunch on point, I soon went to hen pheasants as I began killing birds. I've also used pigeons for the same reasons as quail, but can't often find them.

I have a new pup coming this summer. At 5 months old, he'll be pretty young at the beginning of grouse and woodcock season, but I'll get him plenty of time in the woods. If he points and holds, I'll kill for him. If he takes longer to learn he's got to be staunch. I'll be cautious and patient. I don't think there's anything wrong with getting a pup on birds as early as possible, but also am concerned about spurring with pheasants. The dog I hunted over as a kid got spurred by a rooster as a pup and never retrieved after that.
 
Starting pups

Starting gwp on pigeons as soon as they are walking the short grass(7 to 8 weeks old)pigeons with clipped wings will walk not run so it makes it easy to work on tracking a scent and working on first points.bird size is easy to retrieve and gains prey drive with every outing.then will work with non clipped pigeons and let them fly.take them to the game farm and request young hens for the first outing.work up to the big birds so do not create problems that have to be fixed in the future
 
maybe there's something to choosing a breed with a natural desire to point and retrieve
100_0175.jpg
 
Dogs Started on Pheasants

I have no expereince training other than the two Brits I have had. I started both on wild pheasants during regular season opening day when both dogs had just turned one. The one I got as a pup started finding and pointing in an urban off-leash no shoot area with a wild pheasant population. He pointed two or three before his first hunt. His first hunt he did it all. Current dog is a rescue. Other than a field "test" with pen-raised chukars when I was buying him, he did not encounter birds until his first hunt when he had just turned one. Again, he just did it all from the get go. Both dogs very aggressive on subdueing downed birds if necesary. My pre-first hunt training focused solely on back yard fetching ("fetch," same command as in the field), range, hand signals, and obedience to "come," and "whoa" using a check lead with a training cinch collar and sometimes the e-collar.
 
Last edited:
Shadow said:
maybe there's something to choosing a breed with a natural desire to point and retrieve
100_0175.jpg
Click to expand...

Great photos. Reminds of many scenes I have been in with my own Brit.
 
I had a 8 month old chocolate lab get spurred by an old rooster on her first hunt. Cut her from just behind her nare to under her eye. It was late afternoon on a Saturday in South Central Iowa and I couldn't find a vet to stitch her up so she carried a scar for the rest of her life and a Hate for pheasants! I know now it could have gone either way but with her she hated pheasants for the rest of her life.

She would retrieve with a soft mouth unless the bird twitched, then she would "crunch" it three times to make sure it was dead.
Not once, not twice and not four times, but always three from the back while she was standing on the wings. I saw her do it at least 100 times or more.

Had she not had the "fire" it could have easily ruined her I'm sure.
 
letting pups run on wild birds is a great way to start a pup.This does not include shooting or retrieving.Serious training can start whne a pup gets a year or so of age.The pup will develope a desire to hunt if he sees a lot of birds and if your in good pheasant country you have the best of both worlds
 
richudak said:
letting pups run on wild birds is a great way to start a pup.This does not include shooting or retrieving.Serious training can start whne a pup gets a year or so of age.The pup will develope a desire to hunt if he sees a lot of birds and if your in good pheasant country you have the best of both worlds
Click to expand...

really- each pup was hunting pheasants with their dad- picture- pup is 5 months- she grabbed the one she pointed

strange- all this getting spurred and ripping the face- I've yet to have one of mine scratched- but then again- mine don't seem to grab roosters by the breast- for those that think a dog isn't smart- you go ahead and grab a very alive rooster by the breast
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top