New dog journey...
- Thread starter 1_pointer
- Start date
Headed back to the preserve this past weekend. Found and pointed both birds well enough. Retrieved both mostly to hand. He did drop the hen a bit too early, but held on to the rooster until I took it from him. The hen did get chewed up more than I'd like. So, I do plan on doing the force fetch training, but will wait to start until March. Family schedule is crazy until then. Over all I'm happy with his progression. Just need more exposure to more birds...
I have some Christmas money burning a hole in my pocket. Have considered getting an e-collar. How necessary do you guys find them? In your opinion would you consider them nearly essential for training/hunting?
I have some Christmas money burning a hole in my pocket. Have considered getting an e-collar. How necessary do you guys find them? In your opinion would you consider them nearly essential for training/hunting?
Hank and I hunted two more pheasants on the preserve this past Saturday. It became much more of a "rodeo" than intended... First bird, he pointed and it flushed. I was slow getting the gun up as I was trying to take a picture of the point. Ended up missing it and it made it across a wetland. We'll get back to that bird.
Second bird, he points, but breaks a bit too early flushing the bird. I go to shoot, but get a click instead of a bang. I hadn't ejected my last spent shell. I mark the bird and we start that way. It landed in a CRP tree planting, which is much different cover than the mix of milo and warm season grasses they plant the birds in. AT this point, the bird has it's track shoes on... It took a while, but we finally get in pinned, flushed, and shot. He brought it mostly back to me and it was more than a touch tenderized... That said, Hank kept in search mode and didn't seem to waver on the task. I think the wind was just strong enough for him to keep getting whiff's of the bird that he never quit working the cover. I was pretty pleased with that part as mostly on these types of deals it's a very short search for birds.
Back to the first bird. We make it over to near where I had marked the first bird. Hank did great navigating the frozen wetland. I did too for the most part, until I found a few spots not quite frozen enough for my weight... It took him a bit to work out the scent, but eventually we got it worked out and the bird pointed, shot, and retrieved. This one was less 'tenderized'!
All in all, it turned out to a a productive training day. He had to work some scent trails out and to pin down a runner. I'd call it progress!
Second bird, he points, but breaks a bit too early flushing the bird. I go to shoot, but get a click instead of a bang. I hadn't ejected my last spent shell. I mark the bird and we start that way. It landed in a CRP tree planting, which is much different cover than the mix of milo and warm season grasses they plant the birds in. AT this point, the bird has it's track shoes on... It took a while, but we finally get in pinned, flushed, and shot. He brought it mostly back to me and it was more than a touch tenderized... That said, Hank kept in search mode and didn't seem to waver on the task. I think the wind was just strong enough for him to keep getting whiff's of the bird that he never quit working the cover. I was pretty pleased with that part as mostly on these types of deals it's a very short search for birds.
Back to the first bird. We make it over to near where I had marked the first bird. Hank did great navigating the frozen wetland. I did too for the most part, until I found a few spots not quite frozen enough for my weight... It took him a bit to work out the scent, but eventually we got it worked out and the bird pointed, shot, and retrieved. This one was less 'tenderized'!
All in all, it turned out to a a productive training day. He had to work some scent trails out and to pin down a runner. I'd call it progress!
The kids schedule has been making it tough for Hank and I to get in much bird work. On Tuesday, we headed out to the conservation club. He's always so full of energy to start with I've taken to getting him a run/walk in prior to putting any birds out. I've been using this time to work on recall and range. He generally does okay with both, but does tend to range farther than I'd like. If I felt more confident/comfortable with his pointing I don't think the range he wants to be at would be a problem, but we're not quite on the same page yet. After our walk, I put out a pigeon in a launcher and took him on a circuitous route downwind. Though he's not consistent with it, but he picked up the scent about 50 yards from the bird and quartered into the wind and locked up on point. He held it for a good couple of minutes as I made it a point to take my time getting up to him and flushing the bird. It was a good day.
Yesterday I took him back out to the club for more of the same. However, two other members were there and I scrapped my plans and worked with them. Though a bit earlier than normal, there are quite a few woodcock in this part of IN right now. We had 3 dogs out, all under 2yrs of age. In 90 minutes we put 13 woodcock in the air! Hank didn't really lock up and appeared to have no idea of how to back the other dogs points, but he hunted hard and got the scent of a new bird in his nose. I hope to get him back out there soon to see if he can figure out the woodcock on his own. Great experience, but I won't lie and say I was "happy" with how he did. As well as he's been pointing pigeons I was hoping he'd do a bit better. Maybe next time...
Yesterday I took him back out to the club for more of the same. However, two other members were there and I scrapped my plans and worked with them. Though a bit earlier than normal, there are quite a few woodcock in this part of IN right now. We had 3 dogs out, all under 2yrs of age. In 90 minutes we put 13 woodcock in the air! Hank didn't really lock up and appeared to have no idea of how to back the other dogs points, but he hunted hard and got the scent of a new bird in his nose. I hope to get him back out there soon to see if he can figure out the woodcock on his own. Great experience, but I won't lie and say I was "happy" with how he did. As well as he's been pointing pigeons I was hoping he'd do a bit better. Maybe next time...
Saturday Hank and I did a "fun hunt trial" as hosted by the Indianapolis chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society. Long story short, you and the dog are judged on your ability to find, point, shoot, and retrieve 2 pheasants in a 20min run. I'm not real sure on all the criteria, but they were not required to be steady to flush, but did need to be staunch to point. They only had to retrieve to within 6' of the handler. Basically, I looked at it as a fun day to meet some folks, get Hank a run in, and see some dogs work.
It was very windy on Saturday, so it seemed to be hit or miss on how well the dogs were finding the birds. This was making me a bit nervous as older, more experienced dogs were not finding their 2 birds in the allotted time. When it was our turn, we headed down the field, perpendicular to the wind. Shortly thereafter, Hank starts getting birdy and bang. Point! He made a short lunge and repointed. The bird was moving on him, but he held the second time. I flushed it and dropped it with one shot. He retrieved it to hand! We worked the rest of the field down and back the other way. He got birdy a few times, but never went on point. Mind you there had been 7 runs prior to this, so there had been a lot of birds planted, shot, and running around before we hit the field. Hank got about 80 yards out on the last loop through the field, started getting birdy and hit a point. I could tell he wasn't super sure as his tail was still wagging. As I closed the distance he locked up. I moved in to flush the bird and nothing. He repositioned slightly once I got between him and where he was pointing. Then I saw the hen scurrying through the grass. He held and she flushed. I tipped her with the first shot and again with the second. She lit in a tree at the woodline about 75yds away, then fell. Hank ran into the trees, found her and was on his way back with he flushed another bird! He dropped the bird he had and gave that hen chase. I was able to get him stopped, he came back to the dropped bird and brought it to me. Not quite to hand as once he got to me he spit it out at my feet. It was over 70º at this time and he was panting pretty hard, but I was still a bit discouraged he didn't hang on to it for another 10 seconds.
We didn't come home with any hardware as a few of the things he did were not great for scoring (staunchness and dropping the bird), but I was tickled pink! He found the birds, pointed them (for the most part), I actually hit them, and he brought them to me. He did great quartering the field and covered the ground and cover very well. We're far from done, but it was a good show of how far he (we?) have come. Once home I celebrated with a beer or 3 and the boys made sure Hank got plenty of treats. It was a good day!
It was very windy on Saturday, so it seemed to be hit or miss on how well the dogs were finding the birds. This was making me a bit nervous as older, more experienced dogs were not finding their 2 birds in the allotted time. When it was our turn, we headed down the field, perpendicular to the wind. Shortly thereafter, Hank starts getting birdy and bang. Point! He made a short lunge and repointed. The bird was moving on him, but he held the second time. I flushed it and dropped it with one shot. He retrieved it to hand! We worked the rest of the field down and back the other way. He got birdy a few times, but never went on point. Mind you there had been 7 runs prior to this, so there had been a lot of birds planted, shot, and running around before we hit the field. Hank got about 80 yards out on the last loop through the field, started getting birdy and hit a point. I could tell he wasn't super sure as his tail was still wagging. As I closed the distance he locked up. I moved in to flush the bird and nothing. He repositioned slightly once I got between him and where he was pointing. Then I saw the hen scurrying through the grass. He held and she flushed. I tipped her with the first shot and again with the second. She lit in a tree at the woodline about 75yds away, then fell. Hank ran into the trees, found her and was on his way back with he flushed another bird! He dropped the bird he had and gave that hen chase. I was able to get him stopped, he came back to the dropped bird and brought it to me. Not quite to hand as once he got to me he spit it out at my feet. It was over 70º at this time and he was panting pretty hard, but I was still a bit discouraged he didn't hang on to it for another 10 seconds.
We didn't come home with any hardware as a few of the things he did were not great for scoring (staunchness and dropping the bird), but I was tickled pink! He found the birds, pointed them (for the most part), I actually hit them, and he brought them to me. He did great quartering the field and covered the ground and cover very well. We're far from done, but it was a good show of how far he (we?) have come. Once home I celebrated with a beer or 3 and the boys made sure Hank got plenty of treats. It was a good day!
Ha! Funny you mention that as my wife made that comment on Saturday. He can almost tell by what I'm wearing if it's "his time"!
Ttannahill14
Active member
Enjoyed following the progress. I just put a deposit on a lab that should be whelped next week so learned a lot from your experiences.
Hank is going to be introduced to an E/training collar soon, so I have a question. How much range is needed for training purposes? There is a model I am very interested in with a range of 1/2 mile, but they state that on flat ground they've had it work a bit farther. Reason I'm interested in this make/model is that I still use a launcher for birds and this one works with that launcher. Meaning one remote can work both the collar and the launcher.
So, you guys that have used E collars for pointing dogs, is 800yds or 1/2 mile enough range?
So, you guys that have used E collars for pointing dogs, is 800yds or 1/2 mile enough range?
Irrelevant
Well-known member
I would encourage you get a gps one. Not only does it help find them when they're hard on point in some brush patch, but also to help from loosing them in rolling terrain. I went with 800 yards and have regretted it several times.
Irrelevant
Well-known member
I went with a basic sportdog because that's all I could afford at the time. But I've lost my dog a handful of times, and I'm sure have missed several of her points as I had no idea where she was. I've spent a fair bit of time with some guys who hunt with some older garmins, and it is NICE. "Oh, dogs on point 300 yards up the coulee...get up there!"
Thanks for the info. The guide I used for a day hunt in AZ for Mearns quail used them. However, that's a much different than other hunting I've done. Big country with big running dogs, who were most often out of site.
Something I didn't mention in the previous post about the fun hunt trial, is that Hank did not munch on the retrieved birds. I have been playing more fetching games with bumpers, which may have helped. I was just happy he didn't munch the darn things. Will be shooting some pigeons over him this weekend, so we'll see if that good news continues. Regardless, I think I'll still be doing forced retrieve training.
Got in a bit of water work yesterday in anticipation of see how he does with live ducks in a couple of weeks. He LOVES the water and seems to almost prefer retrieving out of it than on land... Any who, I don't know who enjoyed the lesson more, the dog or my helpers! 
Well, I finally got Hank a new "necklace".
Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr
There's info in the manual about selecting the appropriate correction level, but not a whole lot else. Any tips/tricks you guys have to getting him used to the collar and best ways to use it?
We'll be heading to the woods of MI in a bit over a month to try our hands at ruffed grouse. His recall is okay, but I'm hoping to sharpen that up with this as I expect thick woods and not a whole lot of long visibility. Money and my frugalness prevented the purchase of a tracking collar. I have used a bell on the collar successfully to keep tabs on him when loafing in the woods.
Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on FlickrThere's info in the manual about selecting the appropriate correction level, but not a whole lot else. Any tips/tricks you guys have to getting him used to the collar and best ways to use it?
We'll be heading to the woods of MI in a bit over a month to try our hands at ruffed grouse. His recall is okay, but I'm hoping to sharpen that up with this as I expect thick woods and not a whole lot of long visibility. Money and my frugalness prevented the purchase of a tracking collar. I have used a bell on the collar successfully to keep tabs on him when loafing in the woods.
Addicting
Well-known member
Where did you end up getting the collar from? I was looking at those GEMS the other day and am getting pretty excited about season coming up. Still want to try and hook up on some farm birds with you down there sometime.
