Dog Training

[rickjr1]

Does anyone have a suggestion for dog training? This will be my second season hunting and I completely enjoyed myself last season. We bought a English Springer as a puppy who will be 2 yrs old this Oct., and I' d like to try hunting with him. It was not my original intent to hunt so we never checked his lineage, so I don' t know if he' s field bred or show bred. The original intent was to have him as our family dog to play with us and our 3 daughters, which has worked extremely well, he' s a great dog. I' ve looked into the few trainers available locally, but I just cannot afford even the least expensive one. There are only hundreds books on the subject so choosing one is a daunting task to say the least.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.

[EJDoane]

I would look and see if you could pick up the George Hickox Video' s on training pointing dogs/flushing dogs. He will teach you some very basic command which my dog has taken to pretty well.

Happy Hunting and Good Luck,

Eric

[seattlesetters]

I agree with Eric. The George Hickox video for training flushing dogs is a great place to start.

[rickjr1]

Thx for the replies!!! I' ll be ordering both videos on payday! I' ll just have to tell the wife AFTER they arive[>:]

I' ll let you know how it turns out. The hunting that is, not the wife' s reaction to the packages arriving in the mail.

[Texas Hunter]

There are some videos out there by Richard A. Wolters, the first name
is " GAME DOG" , and the second is " WATER DOG" , great vidoes, they worked
for me. good luck

[MA Jay]

Good for you Rickjr. Hunting with a good Springer is an awesome experience. I hunt with a Springer as well, she' s 2 1/2 now and coming along really well. As this is my frist Springer, I' ve always trained and owned pointers in the past, here' s some things I' ve picked up.

With Springers it' s about control. You need to be able to keep him in close. You can do this by teaching him the basics, sit, stay, come, no ... start at home in a quiet, non distracting environment then work up to walks in fields .. layering in distractions but not losing control. Use a long check cord if needed. Springers are very smart and want to please .. he' ll get it pretty quick i f you are clear what you are expecting from him.

Once you have the control down and are confident he' s going to stay close and you can rein him in if needed you can start to test the nose. The books/videos listed are great for training suggestions here. I bought 6 pheasants from a local preserve to introduce my dog to scent when she was a pup. By planting them and letting the dog " find" them and flush them .. then praising the dog for this action .. and really really really getting excited for your dog when he flushes that bird .. if he has any hunting blood in him he' ll be hooked.

I also suggest if you take him out without having the training part down .. either go alone or with someone who is very understanding .. because you' ll need to focus on the dog NOT the hunting.

Good luck ... everything I have read says Nebraska should have a great pheasant year.... I am VERY jealous.