Training Pointing Dogs with Birds - Part 2

In Part One of this series I explained why “Whoa” is the most important command in pointing dog training. Now I’ll explain the next step I take towards tying “Whoa” and live birds together.

I want to give me young dogs heaps of experience with finding live birds. One, it's fun. Two, it's also educational. I want them to learn that they can't catch a bird. It's their job to locate it and stand still. But early on I'm not worried about them holding point.

I mainly use pigeons with my young dogs. They're usually easier to get than quail, and they cost less. More importantly, pigeons fly better than quail most of the time. That's important because again, I don't want a dog to catch a bird. I never use release traps with young dogs because sometimes they can startle them, and that could lead to a dog actually avoiding bird scent.

In a relatively small area with some decent cover, I'll take four or five pigeons, slightly stun 'em and tuck 'em into the cover. I always plant these birds fairly close to wherever we're starting our walkabout. This is another lesson for the dog to pick up on: You don't have to bolt out of the country to find birds. I want my dogs to learn that if they stick by me, they're always going to find birds.

So, we head out on our walk and eventually a pup finds that pigeon and tries to catch it. The bird flies away and the dog chases it, which is fine. This exercise has nothing to do with control or 'Whoa.' This is also the stage at which I introduce the gun. You want to introduce that loud gunfire when the dog's mind is on chasing the bird. I pop off a .410 shotgun or .22 pistol while the dog is running after the bird. His mind might register the sound, but it's nothing that startles him. He makes an association between birds and gunfire, which is good. If you do this enough times you're never going to have a gun shy dog.

Depending on the dog's age and maturity and if you live in an area that's got heaps of wild birds, you can also take your young dog hunting. There's no other goal but to expose him to more birds. He might stop and point sometimes, and if a bird flushes, go ahead and shoot. If he flushes a bird, then don't.

Even though we're out having a good time and finding planted birds and maybe even some wild ones, none of that negates the 'Whoa' and tug training I explained in my earlier article. Now it's time to put your dog back on the check cord and tie everything together.

The first step I take in training a dog around birds is to rig up a solid fishing rod with a 10-foot line and a live pigeon in a harness. I'll get a mate to hide behind a bush and then I'll walk the dog into the area and the mate will lob that pigeon right in front of the dog, about 6 or 8 feet out. If the dog goes for the bird, I tell him 'Whoa' with a yank. We do this again and again until eventually I just need to give the yank. After enough goes at this, I won't have to do either. Again, I'm trying to teach the dog that his job is only to find the birds, and then his job's done. In time we get to the point where the pigeon could be practically sitting on the dog's snout and he won't budge.

Now you've got a dog that gets “Whoa” and knows to do it around birds. In Part Three of this series, I’ll explain how to keep up these sorts of exercises using more live birds.