by Steve and Jodie Ries, Top Gun Kennel
There is a scripture in the good book that best describes this time of training. Consider it pure joy as we face these trials and they build our endurance to help persevere. We smile as we share this with you; however, we know too well the truth speaks out to us.
As a new-puppy owner, we started off doing well by introducing the basic commands – having them sit before meals, sit prior to going in or out of doors and the kennel and teaching them to respond to the recall command. Eye contact is good and the pup seems to want to please us “most” of the time.
Just when we’re feeling confident in our training results, they start thinking on their own and seem to find a way to release some extra energy during these training moments. This is all normal and you’ll find these times the most rewarding when you’re told that “you own a rock star” by your family and friends later in the field.
Their immune status should have them protected by now, allowing them to have exposure to other dogs, places and things.
This stage is where the fun begins with introducing distractions and getting them acclimated to birds and guns. First, let’s talk about distractions. Anything that has the opportunity to break their point of focus is a distraction! Things out of their normal routine, noises, voices or people in or around their training area that pulls their attention elsewhere is a distraction.
If you are not a current member of a local hunting organization such as the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association or American Kennel Club Hunt Club, we encourage you to search for one closest to your location. These organizations will have experienced handlers to help you with questions as well as a variety of birds and equipment to use during this phase of training. Having the support of others is always a good thing.
Before introducing your future hunting companion to birds, remember this: You will only have one opportunity to provide their first introduction to one of the biggest reasons you invested in a hunting breed. You might only have a 50/50 chance of receiving a positive response. Let’s set this up with a well thought out plan to increase your success.
First, we feel age is very critical with introduction or acclimation to anything new, starting in the whelping box up to six months of age. Even puppies within the same litter develop differently with mental responses to sense, fear and recovery.
We won’t expose our puppies to live birds until they are 16 weeks of age. At this age, a higher percent of puppies are mentally mature enough to overcome wings slapping them, scratches from birds they are trying to carry around and the new cover, as well as check cords and tie out stakes after a car ride that created motion sickness we didn’t think about prior to exposing them to birds.
Start with a smaller bird like a bobwhite quail with flight feathers removed. Let the puppy smell the bird as you are praising them to build the excitement. If the response you’re receiving from the puppy isn’t positive, stop and wait for another time or situation in the future. If the response is positive, throw the birds 4 to 6 feet out in front of the puppy while holding it back to see their response before letting him or her chase the bird. The cover should be equivalent to the grass height in your yard. This will allow a good chase with the opportunity to succeed in catching their game. We always have a check cord on them with a solid collar. When the puppy picks up the bird with confidence and starts to carry it around, at this time, things are going through their head that we might never understand. With one hand on the check cord, we allow the puppy to carry that bird around as much as it wants to as long as they don’t drop it and become aggressive with it.
Overcoming the bird is important and we never take it away from them as long as they want to show off their prize. We’ve learned that if you allow them to carry it around and receive praise while next to you without fear of you taking this prize from them, this will become the first and important step for setting up for a natural retrieve. Those that snatch that prize right out of their mouths right after picking it up will create other habits that will require professional training in the future. With positive repetition, they will learn to bring it back to you for the praise you are providing without risk of losing their prize, then they will start giving it to you to go out and find another.
We switch to using homing pigeons after our puppies are fearless with smaller upland birds to build on their desire for chase. We do this in a safe area with plenty of room to allow them to stretch out a chase until they figure out on their own that they can’t catch these birds and, eventually, give less and less chase. This is when we start introducing them to standing still around game and pointing birds.
Now you’re ready to acclimate to the gun. We share with all our clients an example of proper acclimation of when we were young staying at grandma and grandpa’s farm. When the dinner bell went off, it was time to get to the house for a meal. This is the same association we want to build into the gun. Start off by distancing yourself from the gun. We use a dispatched pigeon while getting the puppy excited, then throw the birds opposite of the gun in the air. When the thrown bird is at the peak of its toss, signal for the gun to go off. Your puppy will soon realize that when this noise goes off, a bird is falling, creating excitement like grandma’s dinner bell when meals began. Again, have a check cord on them to take advantage of working on the natural retrieve.
You will look back on this phase of training and realize you have created a solid foundation.
