Steady Flushing dog tips?

Anybody have advice on training flushing dogs to be steady? Over the years I’ve had some dogs that were great hunters and retrievers but I’ve had poor luck (or skill!) at training them to not chase hens or missed birds. New pup is growing up and I’d like her under better control.

Really doesn't matter if the are pointers or flushers. It starts with the "basic's"..... the "come" command as a pup. I start with "Browndog, come" and I be consistent every time. I then move up to incorporate the whistle. For me two quick bursts are "come".

Now, with the above stated: you mention "steady". In pointing breeds that means that they lock on point and are steady to shot. They will not retrieve until they are released with a command. I would think that this would be the opposite of what you want a flusher to be while working birds in the field.

Remember, repetition, repetition, repetition and they will learn. Training in small sessions and most importantly... make it FUN.

good luck to all
the dog

I've had flushing dogs but never tried to steady one. These days I think I'd do it the same way I'd do a pointing dog. Teach the dog to sit really well. Actually up could do it the same way a pointing dog is trained to whoa. Then when you can make it sit anywhere, teach it to sit when a bird is flushed. With pointing dog's I get back in the yard and use the whoa command, you simply switch to the sit or hup command. Have the dog moving around on a check cord you are holding and give yout sit command. get the dog sitting then release a pigeon to fly away, your dog will nt to chase but you need to stop it, e-collar and the check cord. Your dog violated the sit command. when you stop the dog after the release of the bird, give the sit command and if it doesn't top right away, bump it with the collar and by all means don't let it get farther away than the check cord. As you go along, you move the sit command and release of the bird closer together until you simply eliminate the voice command and a bird in flight become the sit command. if you dog is very good on the sit command to start with, it will not take long. Then move to the field and do the same exercise there and be sure you have the collar on and the check cord in hand.

My Brittany was smarter than me. She learned on her own. When I would see a hen, I habitually would call out "hen". After a while I noticed she would no pursue a bird when I said "hen", so when I missed I would call "hen" as well and she would not chase the bird.

I mostly waterfowl hunt in Alaska.

I teach them a "silent auto-sit" keying off my stopping.
I find this especially useful for jump shooting ducks on spring creeks:
[video=youtube;J1cPpWXeFnc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1cPpWXeFnc[/video]

I also teach a sit-whistle for upland hunting.
They get summer practice on this when we run blind retrieves

I also teach them to "check in" whenever I silently stop while upland hunting.

Man that’s nice control! Good stuff! I’ve got work to do.

haiku_rodney said:

My Brittany was smarter than me. She learned on her own. When I would see a hen, I habitually would call out "hen". After a while I noticed she would no pursue a bird when I said "hen", so when I missed I would call "hen" as well and she would not chase the bird.

Click to expand...

You've taught her that when a hen goes up and you don't shoot, nothing falls. Good idea for a hunter! Probably if you don't yell and a hen goes up and you shoot, she'll chase.

Anyfish said:

Man that’s nice control! Good stuff! I’ve got work to do.

Click to expand...

You did not post the breed of dog you hunt with.

With labs, they get hundreds whistle sit practices in blind retrieve training,
so they understand when I hunt uplands later in the year.
[video=youtube;utX2TuRar9o]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utX2TuRar9o[/video]


I hunt late season in the lower-48.
Quiet as possible is important upland hunting late season.
No yelling, no human voices, etc.

I have a 1 year old lab that is coming along quickly and a 3 month old Springer Spaniel so I have my work cut out for me. I lost my elder statesman Springer to cancer this spring a year or two earlier than I expected so I’ll be in the field with the pups this winter. I appreciate the tips!

AlaskaHunter said:

I mostly waterfowl hunt in Alaska.

I teach them a "silent auto-sit" keying off my stopping.
I find this especially useful for jump shooting ducks on spring creeks:
[video=youtube;J1cPpWXeFnc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1cPpWXeFnc[/video]

I also teach a sit-whistle for upland hunting.
They get summer practice on this when we run blind retrieves

I also teach them to "check in" whenever I silently stop while upland hunting.

Click to expand...

Looks an awful lot like the Chena Flood Control Project Grounds. I spent many evenings training my Golden in that exact same spot. Nice Looking dog by the way.

Do you have any experience with an e-collar?

In any event, getting a sit to flush is all about obedience. Start with the pup at your side like in AlaskaHunter's video. If he won't sit while at your side, he's not going to sit 15 yards in front of you with a wild bird flushing off his nose.

Do the walking heel/sit obedience stuff and get that solid first while on lead. Then eventually, train a walk up. Basically walk with your dog at heel, then have a helper say 15 yards in front of you toss a bumper/bird in the air. Your dog should immediately sit at the sight of the toss. Once that is solid, have your helper hidden so all your dog sees is something flying out of the bushes, again the dog should sit! Add in a shotgun/pistol shot as well once things are going good. To help the dog see the toss coming out from the bushes, you can have your helper yell "hey,hey" or "There goes one" or something to that effect. Next step would be to have your dog quartering a field, then toss a bumper/bird in the air, yell "Rooster" and fire a shot. If he's steady while quartering, your well on your way to a sit-to-flush dog.

The trick is how you handle it when the dog doesn't sit. An e-collar makes that a little easier when done properly, especially for the times when the dog isn't at your side but quartering in front of you. The important part is to not let your dog get the retrieve if he doesn't sit. If your not e-collar savvy, a long check cord may be your best option.

Good information. Thanks

Frenchy said:

Looks an awful lot like the Chena Flood Control Project Grounds. I spent many evenings training my Golden in that exact same spot. Nice Looking dog by the way.

Click to expand...

YES! Chena Lakes is excellent area for dog training...thousands of acres of open public land and no 4-wheelers.

I moved up to interior Alaska 25 years ago from Moscow, Idaho and really appreciate the abundance of public land (especially water!) for training retrievers.

I do use an e-collar, but I teach whistle sit on daily dog walks with no ecollar.
With biddable labs it is pretty easy:
[video=youtube;V0OhtdbQv_o]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0OhtdbQv_o[/video]

I use an ecollar only after they thoroughly understand the whistle sit.
Typically they have done whistle sits hundreds of times on daily dog walks for months before
I use an ecollar to reinforce any slow sits.