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ORIGINAL: 3DTHUNDER
I have one that wil run way too far once you cut him loose. What do I do to train him out of this? He'sa great dog, great nose, super energy but hardheaded............lol
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3D, There is a big difference between a dog that wants to run and one that wants to hunt. Hopefully you have a good bloodline and with time and patience can teach the dog to associate you with finding birds. This can be accomplished by taking the dog to your training field and every now and then when the dog ispre occupied take a bird out of your field pouch and plant it in the weeds. I use a lot of pigeons as they are easy to come by, cheap if not free, and they will fly back to my small coop i have raised them in ready for next session. Call your dog back in and give him a command (this is a command that you will use to tell the dog to pay attention, there is birds in here). Let the bird flush, and if the dog is young you may want to let him chase to learn he can not catch it. I do not let my dog chase as i want him steady to wing and shot. I feel it is important that you take precautions to not let the dog catch the bird, as this teaches him that he does not need you to get birds,he can hunt by himself and will continue to run big.The more times you plant these birds and call the dog in to you, the more the dog will associate you with these exciting, flushing birds and want to work closer to you. As you improve on this you can start planting the birds in more natural looking cover on opposite sides of the field maybe even incorperating quail into the program if you can buy some. Then start teaching your dog that he will have to Qaurter and hunt the right cover to find these birds. But more on that later. one step at a time. Point is you want your dog to qaurter and cover as much ground as possible instead of running hard and fast in a straight line. Its just a good idea to start him on birds, and qaurtering at the same time. Keep us posted on how you come along or with some more questions. Thrers lots of people with lots of other ideas and methods. Use what works for you.Hunting dogs need to see lots of birds in my opinion. Sometimes I even take a bird with me and if the hunt isnt very productive, ill plant the bird and let my dog find it just to remind him what its all about and keep his interest up.Just some ideas. Good Luck!
who here hunts german shorthairs
