You might have read my earlier posts about live pigeon training with my two year old Sadie.  After about 25-30 birds, my dog is a machine when it comes to searching and pointing birds (and a few other things).  Since Sadie was eight weeks old, we have played fetch with her and "Chicky" (as we call it).  "Chicky" is training dummy (11 inches by 2 inches) and she would fetch this for hours.  She never went anywhere without it in her mouth or nearby.  On our walks, she was more interested in Chicky than anything else, including birds.  Well, since we started on the pigeon training, she no longer wants anything to do with Chicky.  It's all about the birds now.  The only thing I can think is that Chicky satisfied her "prey drive", as she would chase it and retireve, chase and retrieve endlessly.  Now that she has birds on her mind, this is her outlet for that.  Does that seem like a stretch?  Anyway, Sadie now points every bird on our 3x daily walks.   She is constantly searching, searching and searching.  She locks up on point and then holds and holds until I flush the bird or walk over to release her.  This is on any type of bird that we cross paths with.  Before pigeon training, she would lock up for a short time and then run in and flush then chase the birds.  Not anymore. It has really slowed our walks down to a crawl, but it is a thing of beauty.  Her points (like most dogs) are a sight to behold.  Starting Monday, I'll be Ruffed Grouse hunting for the better part of 6-weeks (5 days a week at least, weather-permitting) and I can't wait to see what Sadie can do out there.  For the first time, I am really optimistic she will do great (last year was a disaster).  I hunt in areas that are loaded with grouse and woodcock and there is never a shortage of them.  Hunting pressure in these areas are light because they are way off the beaten path and cannot be reached by truck or ORV, only foot.  Seems now days people won't walk if it is too far.  I never dreamed that just a couple of dozen birds, a remote bird launcher and really being consistent with commands would pay off so soon.  The real test comes Monday.   I'm not saying she is perfect yet, but she has certainly improved. Can anyone tell I'm excited?