i have a yr and a half lab who loves hunting pheasants. i belong to a pheasant club and go up there everytime i can. when i take him hunting he walks like 5 ft in front of me and dosnt zig zag that much and he goes the bathroom atleast 20 times for every hour we hunt he just pee' s all the time. if anyone has any answers to my question, it would be appreciated grealty.
The marking or peeing of a male dag will drive you crazy! Eventually, that will decrease as birds become more important to him. Every chance to head him off bfore he pisses should be made, but DO NOT get carried away and use the e-collar. If you use it for urine training, the dog will begin to develop some wierd associations with urination.
The lack of quartering and boot polishing suggests a dog lacking in confidence. As with any problem, there are probably numerous factors contributing. The best thing to do is go way back to the basics and bring him up through the steps again with a great deal of praise and support. An uncofident dog will sometimes be too scared of screwing up to get out and work. Or maybe he just doesn' t understand what' s being asked of him yet.
Think about it awhile, analyze what exactly is happening, and write back. There are many very knowledgable people on this board to help you out.
Good luck!
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Days spent afield are golden, but those spent in the company of a good dog are truly precious.
thanks on the advice on peeing i hope he gets over it. on when we hunt what he does is like goes about 20 yards in front of me works a good bit then runs right back to me and i tell him to find the birds then he runs back out and does the same thing bit instead of me coming to him he runs back to me with his nose not on the ground. i hope you can answer this
I am not really sure about some of this, but are you contiunually walking or standing still? A dog when hunting will natually come back to you to check-in or for commands. The fact his nose is not to the ground is not a bad thing. The dog will find more birds from scent in the air, than on the ground. After he has a bird running or working, trailing by ground scent should be expected. Always, if possible, work the dog into the wind, to help the dog get more bird scent at a greater distance. I forgot the most important, ALWAYS follow/trust the dog nose, he/she knows more than you do, to what he/she smells. Bob
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" Find The Birds Tony"
"Watching a good birddog work, is like watching poetry in motion."
this is my first dog i ever owned and sorry for my stupid question. i am slowing walking and he will like run out in front of me and like go back in forht then run back to me and like sit down. its that a good thing.
this is my first dog i ever owned and im only 16 so im not really experienced in the field besides what i read and watch so sorry for the stupid questions. what i am doing is walknig slowly waiting for him to flush a bird, he like runs out and hunts and comes back to me and trys to walk next to me for like a couple seconds then i tell him to find the bird and he does the same thing is that a good thing or a bad thing.
Try picking up the pace a little and see what happens. Oh by the way, the only stupid question is the one that' s not asked,and as Bob said ALWAYS trust your dog.
The best advice I have is to try to hook up with someone that has an expeirienced flushing dog. At a year and a half your dog will still learn from the MSMD (Monkey see Monkey Do) method. Let the youngster follow an expeirienced lab or springer or like flushing breed around. He will gain confidence and will learn by example. Make sure the other dog is well behaved in its manners, and well trained in obedience. The younger dog can pick up bad habits as well as good.
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Use a Big Lead to shoot them
were they aint.
A simple thing may be fouling you up. You should always try your hardest to keep a young dog hunting into the wind. If the wind is at your back, he will run out and quarter back to you (as he should). The only problem is that a younger dog hasn' t got the sense to " hunt back" until he gets more experience.
Now, if that wasn' t the problem, you are going to need either some planted birds or hunting buddies you can absolutely trust with a firearm (I would suggest the planted birds!). Your dog needs to se the whole process of finding, flushing, shooting and retrieving together at once. This is where planted birds are very helpful. In knowing where the birds are at, you can make sure to get into that area only when you have the dog ahead of you at an appropriate distance and are certain that he willfind it.
You may need a shooter for the first few sessions be the hunter. This allows you work the dog out in front on a check line. I know flushing dogs don' t use one that often, but it helps you to direct your labs quartering and reminds him that you are on control.
Good luck, Keep in Touch!
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Days spent afield are golden, but those spent in the company of a good dog are truly precious.
few problem with lab
