kbad
Posts:6
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| 09/18/2008 7:44 PM |
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HI
I could use a little help.
I just recently aquired my first pointer, she is 13 weeks old.
We have had her for 3 days, she is very energetic and willing to please.
The problem ( or I think it is a problem) is she has not pointed at any thing yet.
We have tried a dove wing on a string,and walking her in the field ( there are no quail in the field).
In the field she did find dove and crow feathers but did not point.
She looked and nipped at grass hoppers and butterflys. she looked at medow larks and watched other birds fly, but showed no signs of pointing.
I guess I need to know first, if I should be worried and second what can I do to encourage her to point, if she is pointing at anything.
thanks for any help |
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DesertRoseKennel
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Posts:1033
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| 09/18/2008 9:18 PM |
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If she has not been exposed to a live game bird, I would not lose one minute of sleep over this. I would never expect her to point feathers or bugs. Many excellent dogs are just very discriminating. Find a local club that can help you get her in contact with live pigeons or quail.
Jean |
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"Our dogs are bred to be champion hunters who sleep on the bed"
www.desertrosekennel.com |
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kbad
Posts:6
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| 09/18/2008 9:58 PM |
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thanks for the reply.
I will try and get some pen raised quail next week.
Should I clip the wings on a few and let her catch them, or just let her try and find hidden birds and let her do what ever she wants? |
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RyanGSP
MH
Posts:430
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| 09/18/2008 10:44 PM |
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Not only that but its a 13 week old puppy who has never seen game. Skip the pen raised birds puppy is still way too young to even worry about this. Wait till she is 12 or 16 weeks and showing some independance then take her out. By take her out I mean on the real deal, wild birds. You dont want very many to start so no need to worry. Go out and spend some time in the field if you dont find any whatever no big deal next time you might. You just want to be introducing this pup to hunting and let them figure the game out. Good hunting dogs are not born knowing how or where to hunt, they are not trained how or where to hunt they learn for themselves how and where to hunt.
Depending on how many and how often this pup is on birds will depend on how fast he will learn. By the end of 1 hunting season (not this one puppy is too young) he will be pointing if you just keep your mouth shut and let him learn. Dont do any field training until this pup is holding point long enough for you to get to him. The only thing I would tell him in the field is to whoa incase he is running on the road and to come to his name. He wont learn himself if you hold his hand. Yes do the yard work just dont relay it into the field until you can approach this dog on point. |
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kbad
Posts:6
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| 09/18/2008 11:17 PM |
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Unfortunately all the public and private land I have access to aournd me have no wild quail.
That was one of the reasons I have taken her to the field to see if she would show any birdieness ( is that a word ) to the medow larks and the like.
I have nnot started working her other than obediance, like come, no and her name.
She has show a very high natural drive to retrive so we have tossed a few items to her.
So would it be better to just hunt her in the field with no wild quail, or plant a few pen raised for her to flush?
Oh and when I say hunt it really just means her walking the field in front of me, no guns or training
thanks again for all the help.
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pixie bee
MH
Posts:4450
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| 09/19/2008 4:28 AM |
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Don't worry,
she is only a baby. Many dogs start pointing between their 5th and 7th month. Some dogs at 12 months. Since you are not a hunter, this should be of little importance. What should be up on your list of important things,IMO, is a dog that will take direction from you,stay within a reasonanble distance off leash and a dog you can have fun with. At this age you can do puppy directional commands and memory retrieves. Take her to the empty fields and work on cooperation.This will help reinforce the recall and build a strong bonding. A plan for training is always a good idea. Pressure needs to stay low,if any, until about 6-8 months of age. Learn to read you puppy at this age and training will go easier as she matures into that perfect companion.
You can purchase wings of game birds online at Cabela's. Maybe a dove wing was the wrong scent to start with.
Have fun,
Francine |
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"Time with my dogs clears my mind, renews my faith, and lets me see the world as it is. My only regret loving dogs as I do, is the misery of their early departure." Robert G. Wehle
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kbad
Posts:6
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| 09/19/2008 9:24 AM |
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Thanks for the reply.
I am a HUNTER
Just getting back into wing shooting after a long lay off.
My youngest son has shown some intrest in wing shooting this year.
on one dove hunt this year he got to hunt with 2 bird dogs.he expresed an intrest in getting one of his own so here we are.I have ordered some quail wings, dummies and sent.
I will try and find some pen raised quail next week, and put a few in the field and see how she does.
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pixie bee
MH
Posts:4450
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| 09/19/2008 10:06 AM |
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Great for you and you son. How old is your son?
I would cancel the scent. If you can find a way to keep the wings on the dummies you can do that but it is more to get the dog to accept the idea of feathers then for the pointing. A fresh dead quail,chukar or pigeon can do that. A good way to get cheap pigeons is to call a pest control company that catches pigeon for their customers. Or poultry market. You can freeze the birds,when they are dead, and reuse them after you thaw them out. For training purposes these are good alternatives when breeders don't have any birds. |
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"Time with my dogs clears my mind, renews my faith, and lets me see the world as it is. My only regret loving dogs as I do, is the misery of their early departure." Robert G. Wehle
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kbad
Posts:6
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| 09/19/2008 10:45 AM |
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my youngest is the one that has shown an intrest, he is 13 and is really amped about trying to train a bird dog. |
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DesertRoseKennel
MH
Posts:1033
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| 09/19/2008 1:13 PM |
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Do you have a local AKC, NAVHDA or NSTRA chapters? You really will benefit if you find a good club. |
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"Our dogs are bred to be champion hunters who sleep on the bed"
www.desertrosekennel.com |
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kbad
Posts:6
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| 09/19/2008 1:33 PM |
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not sure. I will check. |
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NJAg78
Posts:17
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| 09/22/2008 1:15 PM |
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Don't worry yet. I sent my female puppy off to a trainer at seven months. For the first two weeks with the trainer she showed no interest in birds, you might even say she was bird shy. I went to my first "training day" with her and she showed no interest. At $500/month for trainig I was getting worried and decided to leave her for two more weeks, then maybe try again later. The next week her on switch flipped and she became a hunting mainiac. She is eleven months and completed one leg of her Junior Hunter certification this weekend (see my post on the Performance forum). The point is, some start later than others (you know like some kids walk, talk, etecteras earlier than others). She is a GSP, there is a very high probability that she will be just fine. |
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Almost Heaven GSP
Springfield, WV
MH
Posts:731
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| 09/23/2008 9:00 AM |
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I would not be concerned about such a young pup not pointing right now, but would recommend at least some young intro's, maybe a day or 2 with someone knowledgable to help and then find out from them what you should or should not be working on until around 5-6 months of age when training in earnest can begin. Most Pro's will work with you for a few hours for not much more than the price of the birds they use and would do wonders to help you get off on the right foot.
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Money will buy a fine dog, but only kindness will make him wag his tail.
Bruce Shaffer
Almost Heaven GSP's
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snips
n.ga.
MH
Posts:413
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| 09/24/2008 9:28 PM |
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It does not hurt to let pups this age find a few birds. Plant the bird, lightly dizzied in some cover and let the pup find the bird and have some fun . Good not to overdo it, but also brings out their instincts early. |
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brenda |
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Coastie87
Posts:7
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| 10/05/2008 7:28 AM |
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| sometimes a puppy not pointing just means the scent is not strong enough, sometimes a wing that has been dried just doesn't have enough sent to set off that bell in their heads. I had this same issue too. As soon as i got him on some real birds he pointed. |
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TessaGA
Georgia
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Posts:2387
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| 10/10/2008 9:17 AM |
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First off, this (my) comment is coming from a complete novice - I am pretty clueless! I was just about to post a similar question.
Tessa is 14 weeks old, she shows interest in birds when she spots or hears them (unless distracted by barking dogs or flying insects), and she has pointed a few times, one time at a bird in the sky, mostly at people or objects or things I can't see, but honestly, it seems to me there is no rhyme or reason to it. If she starts moving towards the birds with her nose on the ground, she usually gets distracted by some scent or another...or does she?
Again, I am new to this, but my gut feeling is to just let her do her thing at her own pace, at this age. I give her freedom to move, and silently follow and watch her. I feel at this point I can probably learn more from her than she from me. Then every once in while we do a recall. Or a directional signal: I point in one direction and then move in that direction whereupon she follows me - is that the way to do it?
This is her yesterday spotting some birds. I think those are crows  No pointing, but she pointed at something invisible to me a few moments before that.
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To live without dogs would mean accepting a form of blindness. [Thomas McGuane]
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carlower1
Kansas
MH
Posts:1253
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| 10/11/2008 8:57 AM |
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Ears up, tail out, straight body... While this is a more relaxed form.. that is the beginnings of a point.. Like you I am not an expert, but this is the body language I was encouraging with my puppy, he is now a little over a year old and we got a full blown point complete with tucked paw last week at the cross country meet. I am not a hunter, but we are thinking about training him for search and rescue, so my approach has been more of a relaxed one
Carrie |
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