First Season - Young Dog

[Gonewest]

Last summer I got my first bird dog. He’s a Drahthaar and we’ve been training a lot for his spring test. I live in SW Michigan and don’t have a ton of wild birds around me. I’d like to plan a road trip in September and was wondering what would be some good options for a young dog to get some good exposure.

 

[OneGunTex]

I drove all the way to S Dakota from TX with my springer just to get him on wild pheasants for a weekend (Oct). Was a great time. We both learned a lot. A lot shorter of a drive for you.

 

[Ironmerganser]

Southern NE and KS for quail
SD/ND for just pheasants, sharptails and partridge.

Remember.....spring test is just about natural ability. General obedience, getting exposure to the world in general and getting them on rabbit tracks is more important (IMO) than wild birds for that first test.

 

[30338]

If I was road tripping a young draht in Sept I have two things I would do. First would be to get him through rattlesnake avoidance training(or I would not go). Second would be to be very cautious about hunting in temps over 60 as both of mine do not handle heat well. Get cold weather in October and I'd hunt him a lot through January.

 

[huntineveryday]

I would get your dates set, but leave the destination flexible at this point. By the end of August you will be able to look through spring and summer weather conditions and see some bird counts and forecasts. At that point I'd pick the area that seems to have had 1) good or increasing bird numbers for the last season, and 2) good nesting and brood rearing conditions over this summer.

In September, if grouse numbers are good you could do prairie chicken/sharptail trip to the sandhills region of Nebraska. In early September, the chance to hit early teal season would add ducks to the list, with grouse hunts until noon and then evening duck hunts around the Valentine Refuge lakes.

 

[17Hunter]

There are plenty of wild birds 3-4 hours north of you in your home state.

 

[BigDuckHunter]

Last summer I got my first bird dog. He’s a Drahthaar and we’ve been training a lot for his spring test. I live in SW Michigan and don’t have a ton of wild birds around me. I’d like to plan a road trip in September and was wondering what would be some good options for a young dog to get some good exposure.

Not sure how much experience he has with hunting but I like to do a couple of hunts with farm birds first. One where it’s real short and easy and we hit our limit within 30 minutes. Another where it’s a little harder, the another that’s more like a real hunt, but I know there’s some birds for him to find. It helps them know what they’re looking for when it comes to wild birds.

As far as places to find wild birds, I live in mid-Michigan and know of a few kind of unorthodox places around that hold birds. Feel free to PM if you want.

 

[chemist]

I am going to be that guy. What is the driver for September and how many trips will you be able to take with him in the fall?

If you are limited to a single trip in the fall, wait until temperatures decrease so you can hunt your dog for a greater portion of the day. The cooler temps will also help the dog learn faster. Running over birds before the dog can smell them doesn't help them learn.

Also, realize two things:
1: There is a reason people own multiple dogs and rotate them on long trips.
2: The physical conditioning of your dog before the trip will make a huge difference in its lasting power on the trip. That said, your dog sounds young so you do not want to overstress their body this summer in preparation.

 

[Gonewest]

I am going to be that guy. What is the driver for September and how many trips will you be able to take with him in the fall?

If you are limited to a single trip in the fall, wait until temperatures decrease so you can hunt your dog for a greater portion of the day. The cooler temps will also help the dog learn faster. Running over birds before the dog can smell them doesn't help them learn.

Also, realize two things:
1: There is a reason people own multiple dogs and rotate them on long trips.
2: The physical conditioning of your dog before the trip will make a huge difference in its lasting power on the trip. That said, your dog sounds young so you do not want to overstress their body this summer in preparation.

Yeah, my dog is young. He turns one in May.

I was really thinking September because that’s when seasons open but October can work too.

I can probably do multiple trips/long weekend hunts. I’ll do one in northern Michigan and thinking of doing a late season pheasant hunt in SD.

I’m wondering if one species of bird is better suited for a young dog.

 

[long hunter]

Any game farms around you perhaps buy a few birds put the dog on them in a canned hunt exercise

 

[FranklinBluth]

Non res pheasant in SD doesn't open until October unless you're paying to hunt a preserve.

Honestly my favorite time to hunt SD public is later season - late November or December. The birds are more concentrated in certain cover types and there are fewer hunters. Even though the birds are more educated later in the hunting season, I always felt the limits were easier.

 

[Gonewest]

Any game farms around you perhaps buy a few birds put the dog on them in a canned hunt exercise

I’ve been able to buy chukars for training.

 

[jmez]

Birds make a dog, period. The more wild birds he sees the better. Head to the prairie in September. Montana, North Dakota, or South Dakota. Take your pick, they are all good.

Pointing dog so between now and then he needs to know to stay to the front and go where you go. You need a solid recall and whoa. Other than that he needs birds. Wild birds are far better than liberated.

Sept will be fine. It gets light early. If you are needing to hunt all day to get into birds find d new spot. You should be able to have multiple bird contacts from sun up until it gets hot.

I'd say early season chickens are easiest on a young dog. Don't run much and popcorn flush. Sharpies ard ok but once they have been shot d few times they will both run and flush wild. Huns, good luck with a young dog!

Get out there and have fun with your dog.

Sent from my moto g power 5G - 2024 using Tapatalk

 

[long hunter]

I’ve been able to buy chukars for training.

That’s great,I have a bird door a English black lab he hunts dog treats and is actually very good at it, a friend of mine is a serious gun dog person and he trains a lot with canned birds the dog does well with it.