Anbody Else Hunt ESS
06-09-2004 | 07:22 AM
#11
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 801
Likes: 0
RE: Anbody Else Hunt ESS
TreestandEd-
Great question. This being my first "flusher" after having worked with pointers my whole life, I thought long and hard about this. I chose to not train my ESS to be steady to wing and shot.
I had a couple of reasons for this, 1 was just a matter of taste. I really enjoy watching my Springer explode in on a bird. I love the excitement she shows as she trys to bring the bird down. Another reason is I hunt many different types of birds with her and they all call for her to react differently. In a duck blind she honors the shot, and retrieves upon command. When we hit the fields for pheasant later in the day I want her to be aggresive and cover ground, and not stay in to close. When we are after grouse and woodcock I want her to stay in tight and work right in my hip pocket. Because of the diversity I focused my training more on control and her hunting style. There have been times to be sure when I have wished I trained her to be steady to flush .... usually occurs early in the season first thing in the morning .. when she turns off her hearing when she chases a flushed bird 100+ yards out of sheer joy and overflowing energy!!! She always comes straight back with that look that says ... "I know I know .. but I just had to RUN!!!" Doesn't happen often though.
The final reason .. and I will be honest, it was a matter of time. She's a natural "hunter", smart and eager. She is also very obedient, and I do have good control in the field. Her speed and mine compliment each other and we communicate well enough that we make a good team as we are. The time to break that "drive" to pursue a flushing bird (she normally will only track a bird 20 to 30 yards) and the fact I can stop her with a single command and reel her back in with almost no effort, made it a step I personally felt comfortable passing over.
I would say that if you don't have really great control over your dog then it would be a wise investment in time to train them to be steady ... also in "style points" your dog will become much more polished if you train them to be steady. To be truthful, I don't compete or score my dogs hunting skills, I just go for the love of working with my dog and the absolute joy I derive from bird hunting.
Great question. This being my first "flusher" after having worked with pointers my whole life, I thought long and hard about this. I chose to not train my ESS to be steady to wing and shot.
I had a couple of reasons for this, 1 was just a matter of taste. I really enjoy watching my Springer explode in on a bird. I love the excitement she shows as she trys to bring the bird down. Another reason is I hunt many different types of birds with her and they all call for her to react differently. In a duck blind she honors the shot, and retrieves upon command. When we hit the fields for pheasant later in the day I want her to be aggresive and cover ground, and not stay in to close. When we are after grouse and woodcock I want her to stay in tight and work right in my hip pocket. Because of the diversity I focused my training more on control and her hunting style. There have been times to be sure when I have wished I trained her to be steady to flush .... usually occurs early in the season first thing in the morning .. when she turns off her hearing when she chases a flushed bird 100+ yards out of sheer joy and overflowing energy!!! She always comes straight back with that look that says ... "I know I know .. but I just had to RUN!!!" Doesn't happen often though.
The final reason .. and I will be honest, it was a matter of time. She's a natural "hunter", smart and eager. She is also very obedient, and I do have good control in the field. Her speed and mine compliment each other and we communicate well enough that we make a good team as we are. The time to break that "drive" to pursue a flushing bird (she normally will only track a bird 20 to 30 yards) and the fact I can stop her with a single command and reel her back in with almost no effort, made it a step I personally felt comfortable passing over.
I would say that if you don't have really great control over your dog then it would be a wise investment in time to train them to be steady ... also in "style points" your dog will become much more polished if you train them to be steady. To be truthful, I don't compete or score my dogs hunting skills, I just go for the love of working with my dog and the absolute joy I derive from bird hunting.
06-10-2004 | 06:35 PM
#12
Thread Starter
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 172
Likes: 0
From: Central Ohio OH USA
RE: Anbody Else Hunt ESS
Ya Majay I know what your saying. i dont have time,skills and birds to do it. Im lucky to have a good trainer thats helped me along the way. I can trust he is doing it right.
