Too old....

[trkymercanary]

I have a 4yr wimeriner who was never really trained, just taken to south dakota and hunted a couple times a year. I have taken him once and he really didnt mind too well. Now i have taught him to obey me and i think he is finally really to go out and find some pheasants. BUT.... I went recently with a friend to a youth hunt for pheasants and he killed his birds and gave me the wings. And i thought you know, just get my dog warmed up a little and we will be al ready for the season. I was all happy about this and hid a couple wings in the back yard and told him to, " Hunt ' em up," and this is where it gets bad.he found the wings just fine, but instead of pointing at a dead stand still, he plunges right into the weeds after them. I tried to make him hold and point but he just dosent want to. I dont know what is wrong with him...this is supposed to be natural instinct right? I need some serious help with this, i have no clue what to do. Is he too old to try and train again. or should i just give up and leave it. I was thinking about taking him out into the field this weekend and seeing if he could find anything, is this a good idea....or not?

[seattlesetters]

The dog more than likely never will point a wing hidden in the bushes...his nose is so keen that he completely knows the difference between the wing (dead meat) and a live bird (which can get away). I would not be discouraged by this behavior in the least.

That being said, you need to make sure he will point live game, and the only way to do that is to get him into birds. Wild birds preferably, but pen-raised will do if they are strong flyers.

You should also do " whoa" training. It is nice to know you can stop your dog on a dime no matter what the circumstances. See a recent previous thread for some basic instruction on this command.

If he is finding the wings, he obviously has at least a decent nose so there is still some hope. Get him into some wild birds real soon and see how he does. Make your decision about the dog based on this experience rather than on the wings in your back yard.

[jackassflats]

You train pups with wings. My old brits won' t point a wing either. They look at it and at me with a certain sneer on their face. Same with old dead birds. They just retrieve them.

Get a few pigeons or pen raised quail but teach him whoa first. Sounds like a good hunting dog to me and he certainly has the nose.

[t-roy]

i agree, you have the basics for making a good dog. just get him on some birds. get a fishing net, tape a long pole on the handle, and " catch" pigeons under bridges. hide them, let him flush a few, to learn that he can' t catch them, and work him on whoa training. only let him catch birds that he pointed and you shot, eventually he' ll put it all together

[trkymercanary]

thank you guys. youve given me alot of hope, now i think i can take him out. i have one question tho, where could i buy some pheasants in small town osceola iowa????? would i have to go to the dnr.

[trkymercanary]

here is a picture of the 4 yr old anyway. i hope you think he is good looking.

[short-range]

here is some stuff I found for you with just a quick web search. There is a place right in osceola that at least has quail.


http://members.tripod.com/~StanRitaR/index.html


http://www.feathersite.com//Poultry/BRKHatcheries.html