Yard Work
It's the time of the year where all good bird hunters should be working on the oft neglected commands that they likely will use during the hunting season. No rest for the weary, in other words, and it is hard to believe that the grouse and woodcock seasons open a mere four months from now. Sharpening up your dog's understanding of, and making possible corrections to, the commands that are very important for us bird hunters can be done now, instead of during that much anticipated hunt this autumn ...
"Yard work", two dreaded words if you train bird dogs, is what we have been doing lately, and while it is not particularly exciting, it'll pay dividends this fall when the birds are flying. The command that we are focusing on the most, as you would expect, is "whoa", a great command for exercising control of a dog on point, or for nearly any other situation where compliance is required from your hunting partner. "Heel" and "Come!" have also been topics of conversation for us, but without a doubt, whoa is the most important command of all.
Rosie's sister Millie has been a constant pupil over the last month, and though she is five years old and has had little formal training, we are making progress in her development in to a possible hunting companion this fall. Millie is what could be termed "raw" in terms of her hunting ability - if she was an athlete, she has all of the components to become elite, but has a ways to go to get there. That's what we're working on, starting with the foundation and she is showing signs of developing in to something.
The image above was taken this morning, as I have been working on "whoa" with Millie along with some of the other dogs (Millie's on the left, Rosie's in the background, and Bode's in the foreground), in the hopes that their actions will rub off on her. It seems to be working, but the real test will be in July and August, when she's encountering grouse and woodcock. It's also been beneficial reinforcing the commands for the other dogs as well, so maybe all of the dogs will be ahead when we actually get to the hunting season.
Speaking of the hunting season, the all-important month of June is upon us, where our weather will likely have a lot to say on how the grouse and woodcock (and us) fare this fall. A warm, dry June will mean a good hatch of new chicks, whereas a cold, wet June could mean the opposite. Grouse survival from this winter seemed to be pretty good, and I had plenty of grouse sightings this spring while turkey hunting. We'll see how this month turns out, and perhaps it will be another good fall for all of us.
"Yard work", two dreaded words if you train bird dogs, is what we have been doing lately, and while it is not particularly exciting, it'll pay dividends this fall when the birds are flying. The command that we are focusing on the most, as you would expect, is "whoa", a great command for exercising control of a dog on point, or for nearly any other situation where compliance is required from your hunting partner. "Heel" and "Come!" have also been topics of conversation for us, but without a doubt, whoa is the most important command of all.
Rosie's sister Millie has been a constant pupil over the last month, and though she is five years old and has had little formal training, we are making progress in her development in to a possible hunting companion this fall. Millie is what could be termed "raw" in terms of her hunting ability - if she was an athlete, she has all of the components to become elite, but has a ways to go to get there. That's what we're working on, starting with the foundation and she is showing signs of developing in to something.
The image above was taken this morning, as I have been working on "whoa" with Millie along with some of the other dogs (Millie's on the left, Rosie's in the background, and Bode's in the foreground), in the hopes that their actions will rub off on her. It seems to be working, but the real test will be in July and August, when she's encountering grouse and woodcock. It's also been beneficial reinforcing the commands for the other dogs as well, so maybe all of the dogs will be ahead when we actually get to the hunting season.
Speaking of the hunting season, the all-important month of June is upon us, where our weather will likely have a lot to say on how the grouse and woodcock (and us) fare this fall. A warm, dry June will mean a good hatch of new chicks, whereas a cold, wet June could mean the opposite. Grouse survival from this winter seemed to be pretty good, and I had plenty of grouse sightings this spring while turkey hunting. We'll see how this month turns out, and perhaps it will be another good fall for all of us.
