Wisco_outdoors

My wife recently brought home a black lab/hound mix from the humane society. He is about 6 or 7 months old and I just started bird hunting, just went for the first time last weekend. My friend and I hunted grouse and wood**** and I was wondering if he would be a good bird dog or not. He doesn't really like to play fetch and it seems like he looses interest pretty quickly. He is a very quiet dog too, he never really barks. I'd like to try pheasant hunting some time but have no idea what I would be doing. Also any tips on how to train him would be very appreciated. I've been reading quite a bit since last weekend about what to do for him, and I'm still not sure when your dog is supposed to point or flush. I really don't know many people around here that go bird hunting to answer all my questions haha.

jeep4x4greg

depends on the dog!

I have a lab spaniel mix who has zero interest in hunting....nope...she just wants to walk with me....doesn't leave my side! If i get the pheasant or dove or whatever she'll be happy to carry it for me....but I've given up on expecting her to flush or retrieve.

training tips i've heard and tried:

drag a wing or scented decoy through the yard and then hide the decoy at the end of the scent trail. dont let the dog see you hide it. get him to follow the smell to the decoy/toy/dead bird wing.......praise the dog endlessly when it finds the thing.

my dog had no interest in this game, but i got it from a guy who trails english pointers.

he also had pigeons that he would tie to a realllly long rope and then let the dog chase them to get the pointing instincts going. he would hold the old end of the rope

jodis girls

I got a dog at about the same age she is a purebred GSP on the first trip I didn't think she would be able to find a bird in a closet. Gave her time and bird contact and now I wouldn't trade her for anything and she is a bird finding machine. Most dogs have hunting instincts in them it just needs to be brought out. I encourage you to keep taking him out with you and make things positive. No pressure to do anything involved with birds until he is ready. Try to get into as many birds as you can, game farms can be fun for the dog with lots of contact and smells. I think with time yoiu may find a decent gun dog in your rescue.

Teddee5

Had opportunity to train my Springer pup with a nationally known trainer several years ago. Most sporting dogs have inbred ability to hunt. Some more than others of same breeds. Every once in a while the trainer would receive a dog that very simply had no interest at all. The dog could be trained to retrieve an object, but would not make a hunting dog. His way to train was to use a live pigeon to see if the dog had any interest, and if so, start there. If no interest, the dog was returned to a very dissapointed owner.

sproulman

first thing to do is learn dog to listen to commands.if not,you will never make it happen.
then after that,do things above. YOU HAVE TO GET DOG AROUND ANIMALS.
here is sprouls SECRET way to quickly traIN A DOG TO HUNT.get a rechargeable million candle spotlight.go to school in your area after dark.you will find lots of rabbits.walk dog on leash, spot a rabbit ,put the spotlight on rabbit and say, HUNT EM UP TOBY, HUNT EM UP TOBY.

toby is my lab .

now for grouse. take your dog ROAD RIDING .drive road where you will see grouse.after seeing grouse in middle of road,stop your truck, pull over and walk road with your dog.at about 20 yds,stop and say,BIRD,BIRD And point to grouse in road.
dog will go after grouse and smell its tracks etc.
after that it will be easy.

then go enjoy yourself and have fun.

SPROUL HAS SPOKEN

Mite

Your dog has to be interested before you can build up the desire. Your dog is still young and the interest is in playing games. Go someplace where you can buy a small bird like a quail. Tether it's feet to along cord. Let the dog have at it. Play with him, tease him. If he catches it, don't worry; you are just building up his desire for birds. The dog can do no wrong at this stage.

If the dog is disinterested then it either don't have the mentality to hunt or is still too young. BTW, make sure the bird is small. You want the dog's experience to be fun and not a battle.