Will Wild Birds Teach my Dog?

[RuggedYogi]

Looking for some advice from the more experienced bird hunters regarding steadiness to wild flush. Today will be day 12 of hunting dusky grouse in the mountains this season.

Buck, my GWP, is a couple months shy of two. This is his second hunting season, but his first "real" season having gone through whoah training and force fetch over the last year. His drive is high and he can find the birds. My current issue is his lack of steadiness to wild flushing. Training with pigeons, steady to wild flush. I took him to a hunt club to train with pen raised roosters, he pointed and was steady to wing/shot.

I take him out to the grouse woods, unsteady! I know he is finding birds because he has quite the tell, he runs around chasing them and barking like crazy when he finds them. I can get him to stop once I hear him barking, although sometimes it takes quite a bit more stimulation than it would when he isn't excited. If I can see him, I can get him to whoah with a verbal command. I have shot some grouse over him by getting him to whoah and shooting birds that hadn't flushed yet. He holds steady and makes a good retrieve in this case.

I am just wondering what I can do, if anything, to get him steady to wild flush on wild birds. I have heard from others that wild birds will teach him more than any training scenario. Do I just let him keep busting birds until he figures it out and chalk it up to him still being a young pup? Keep him closer so I can make sure that I can stop him when they flush? (hesitant to do this as I like the fact that he is finding them 200+ yards away). Any input is welcome, thanks!

 

[jmez]

Are you using a belly collar on him?

 

[RuggedYogi]

Are you using a belly collar on him?

Intermittently. I’ve noticed that if I hunt him hard his skin gets irritated where the prongs rest on his skin. It definitely stops him when I do use it.

 

[30338]

Early on in his life/training was he allowed to catch pen raised birds? Sounds like he is just running around flushing birds all over vs pointing at all. Am I understanding that correctly?

 

[molliesmaster]

Is he pointing the birds at all?

Hard to do much in a wooded area where you can't see the whole story. Not sure how thick the terrain is but you may be better off trying to convince him to hunt a little closer to you so you can see what is happening.

He's still young, first real hunting season. Very good chance he will work this out.

 

[codym]

Stop to flush is huge. You need to get him to stop any where at any time. Tons of repetition with launchers and pigeons is good. Don’t correct behavior you can’t see. If you see him put up a bird make him stop to flush until you physically go release. Under no circumstances should you kill a bird for him he doesn’t handle correctly at this point. I have seen dogs that figured out if they flushed a bird but didn’t chase the guy with the gun still killed for them so they essentially became flushers that were steady on the wing. This is the biggest mistake short of improper gun into, don’t shoot birds the dog doesn’t point and hold point on. The dead bird is the reward.

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

Great thread......Im in a similar boat w a 6mo DD. So many varying opinions "Bury them in Wild Birds"....."Long Line and bird launchers"....."Get ahold of some Homers".