Hunting Wife
Well-known member
Nice! Wild birds are definitely where they earn the advanced degree 
New dog journey...
- Thread starter 1_pointer
- Start date
Thank you everyone for the kind words, information, suggestions, etc. over the past two years. It's been a hoot! I'm extremely glad JLS and my wife convinced me to head to IA anyway. Though I didn't bring a gunney sack of birds home, we ran into enough to up Hank's experience and learning curve.
A few things I need to work on with him:
1. crunching of birds. I let time get away from my this summer and did not force fetch him. He brings the birds back, but just like to crack them a few times. Two were alive when he picked them up and were not by the time he got to me.
2. waterfowl preparation. I'd like to get into waterfowling a bit over both fields and water. Not sure where to start on this except to really reinforce in him that he needs to stay put when I put him someplace with a sit and/or stay command. Any suggestions as to additional things would be very welcome.
Couple of things that really came together on this trip:
1. Recall was great! A quick double beep with the tone of his e-collar had him checking in with me or coming back to me. I liked that!
2. Range. First day he got out a bit farther than I preferred, but I was able to get him back in range with the e-collar tone. Once he ran some energy off I felt like he did a good job of varying his range based on the cover and my speed.
3. Working of cover. He is seeming to figure out where he thinks the birds are and pushing his way into those hides to look for them. Other than having to pluck seeds/cockleburs off of him, I'm very happy with his willingness to work cover.
4. Hand signals. I can often direct him where I want him to go by getting his attention with the beeper and pointing where I'd like him to go. Not always 100%, but it works well enough that I'm happy with it.
A few things I need to work on with him:
1. crunching of birds. I let time get away from my this summer and did not force fetch him. He brings the birds back, but just like to crack them a few times. Two were alive when he picked them up and were not by the time he got to me.
2. waterfowl preparation. I'd like to get into waterfowling a bit over both fields and water. Not sure where to start on this except to really reinforce in him that he needs to stay put when I put him someplace with a sit and/or stay command. Any suggestions as to additional things would be very welcome.
Couple of things that really came together on this trip:
1. Recall was great! A quick double beep with the tone of his e-collar had him checking in with me or coming back to me. I liked that!
2. Range. First day he got out a bit farther than I preferred, but I was able to get him back in range with the e-collar tone. Once he ran some energy off I felt like he did a good job of varying his range based on the cover and my speed.
3. Working of cover. He is seeming to figure out where he thinks the birds are and pushing his way into those hides to look for them. Other than having to pluck seeds/cockleburs off of him, I'm very happy with his willingness to work cover.
4. Hand signals. I can often direct him where I want him to go by getting his attention with the beeper and pointing where I'd like him to go. Not always 100%, but it works well enough that I'm happy with it.
The past couple of weeks, Hank has been a bit restless. Our schedule and the weather hasn't allowed him as much exercise or excitement as he'd like. I have a neighbor who's interested in getting more into hunting so I booked a day at a local preserve. I know, I know, but I just couldn't help myself get out after some birds with Hank again. Long story short, Hank found and pointed all the birds and even some extras! First bird he found he pointed, but creeped way too much flushing the bird too early. The rest he held very well through the flush. One interesting thing is that when retrieving birds, if called by my neighbor he took the birds he shot to him. Not quite as enthusiastic as when he brings them to me, but he did it. While there was a bit of bird munching, it wasn't near as much as previously and not really enough to damage the bird. Something I hope he continues to get better with.
Hank and the neighbor with the mornings bag.
Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr
Hank and the neighbor with the mornings bag.
Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on FlickrTime for an update; of sorts...
Not a whole lot of anything special this summer/fall for Hank. We haven't tightened up obedience quite a bit and working on giving up what ever he fetches. The relocation and leaving the proximity to where I was training him had me a bit curious as to what he'd do in Iowa on pheasants. He behaved as I think a bird dog is supposed to. He ranged appropriately, listened well, and when we were where there were birds he seemed to find them. Only a couple of very good, solid points as the birds seemed quite wild. Not sure if that was the birds, or him getting too close to them. I was pretty stoked for this trip as the bird counts showed numbers being up. However, places I found birds last year were dry holes for us this year, but we did find enough birds to make it a worthwhile trip. If I head back to IA next year, I might spend a few $$ for some access and am greatly considering broaden my horizons and driving quite a bit further...
Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr
Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr
Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr
Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr
Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr
Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr
Not a whole lot of anything special this summer/fall for Hank. We haven't tightened up obedience quite a bit and working on giving up what ever he fetches. The relocation and leaving the proximity to where I was training him had me a bit curious as to what he'd do in Iowa on pheasants. He behaved as I think a bird dog is supposed to. He ranged appropriately, listened well, and when we were where there were birds he seemed to find them. Only a couple of very good, solid points as the birds seemed quite wild. Not sure if that was the birds, or him getting too close to them. I was pretty stoked for this trip as the bird counts showed numbers being up. However, places I found birds last year were dry holes for us this year, but we did find enough birds to make it a worthwhile trip. If I head back to IA next year, I might spend a few $$ for some access and am greatly considering broaden my horizons and driving quite a bit further...
Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on FlickrUntitled by Tyler Staggs, on FlickrUntitled by Tyler Staggs, on FlickrUntitled by Tyler Staggs, on FlickrUntitled by Tyler Staggs, on FlickrUntitled by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr
Irrelevant
Well-known member
@1_pointer any updates on Hank? Or summary of what you've seen so far? I've been talking with several PP breeder the last few months. I had forgotten Hank was a PP, for some reason my memory had him as a Griffon
Hank has been to IA, MT, ND, MI, and IN hunting birds. Though a sample of one, I'm very happy with the breed. He has some faults, but they are mine. That said, he's a great companion and does a decent enough job finding birds and bring them back if I hit them. Biggest disappointment, again sample size of 1, is his shedding. One of the things that drew me to the PP breed was the reported low shedding. That is not the case for us. Just wish I had the time/money to put him on more birds. Wild birds on thin on the ground around here and time/money aren't allowing for any traveling bird trips this fall. Will probably do some planted birds later just because.
Been way too long since I updated this. Hard to believe Hank is 5 now. This year due to a variety of factors, we weren't able to make a trip work out for wild birds, so I relented and took him to a preserve. He's did great finding, pointing, and retreiving. It was good for the both of us to get out and about. I'm having to work for home so he's with me more now than ever, but working him, even if on planted birds sure is fun.
Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr
Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr
Untitled by Tyler Staggs, on FlickrUntitled by Tyler Staggs, on Flickr
