Hey guys (and gals) I have a hunting friend with a two year old GSP he uses for hunting.  He questioned me about a problem he is having with his dog.

"Hey Bob, im having a problem; Zoe is ranging way too far all the time and im tired of constantly hacking to keep her in range"  Hunting with her is becoming more like babysitting than hunting and enjoying being outside.

So I went over to his place and we worked the dog in a field so i could see what he was talking about.  At first glance it does just appear to be a dog working out with an extended range...in the woods and field.  Zoe ranged out a good 100-150 in the open field and completely out of sight and almost beeper range in the woods.   If left without a call back she would prob have just ranged off to her own content.

On spending a good hour or so with her hunting I came to realize that indeed the dog was ranging far....but not due to just being a dog that ranges a bit farther as some do...but to the dog not hunting for the gun.

Zoe is obedient and will respond to all basic commands including, "back" at which point she will turn back and hunt closer for awhile until she eventually is ranging again.  So I "think" there is just a missing link here.  Like how my dogs hear the "rattle, chattle" of the food dish they get excited and stay close.  She is not seeing the gun and staying close.

Now im far from a professional trainer.  Ive only been doing this for a short bit now; but my hunch is the dog is "hunting for her self" and not made the connection that she must be near the gun "handler" "hunter" to get birds in her mouth.

What approach would you all take to this? My guess is she needs to be exposed to a lot of birds to make the connection.  But how so?

I have a million things or methods going through my head but am not sure of what one to help him with.

His plan was to check-cord her for darn near eternity.  I don't think that is the answer.  That will just restrict her and when off the rope.....off she will go.  May even deminish her hunt drive.   VERY strong now!

I feel she needs to hunt but be exposed to birds that are only close to the hunter (gun).  And when she roams too far...launch the bird and don't shoot it.   She stays close; points...launch it and shoot it.   a LOT of reps and she "should" make the connection.

What do you all think?

I would encourage her to range farther and run her in field trials!

Sorry - gotta be me!

Jean

Is that 100-150 yards or feet?

What is the range of a field trial dog?

A gundog range probably averages 100-400 yds. Shooting dogs probably range out to about 400-800 yds, all age often ranges bigger than 800 yds. These are just guesstimates - there are always exceptions and the cover will determine whether a dog ranges closer or further.

Jean

Thanks for all the input guys!  Greatly appreciated.

Well i guess to further add....maybe it would be best to say Brian would prefer if his dog stayed a bit closer.....at least in ear shot of the beeper.

As for what we did to work the dog was....we hunted a field near his house that is known to have birds in it.  He explained that what the dog was doing was typical of how she hunts.

I suppose what he would like to know are some possible approaches to modify the dogs way of thinking into encouraging her to stay a bit closer.  My guess this would be with exposure to birds near the gun right?

As for the dogs experience.  She has been trained out of a book, and with a little help from others.  She is by no means a professional trained dog, nore will she be expected to be so.  He hunts her ...ahhh 10-12 times a year but does spend a good deal of time with her and is willing to put in the time needed to adjust her habits.  She is steady on point though he said she has tried to grab a bird or two when she was younger.  Brian is 57 years old and a slower moving heavy guy.  If Zoe is ranged out to 150 yards in cover it may take him a bit to get to her and the bird at times to get a shot.  I suspect birds may boogie before he is in shot range.  I sense some insecurity that his dog may run off on him too.  He loves the death out of her and just wants to enjoy his time with her more......all the while maybe get'n a bird or two.

Again thanks for the suggestions, im passing them on.

That helps a lot to know what he wants and what to suggest. My random thoughts:

This dog will likely shorten up her range on her own. I've placed lots of pups from field trial lines (gasp! ) with foot hunters and I can tell you that those that belong to the older guys who don't move so fast anymore adjust their own range to stay close to the gun. That comes with age and experience though. If she is not a runaway - which is what you said - I wouldn't be so worried about her range being on the edge of her owner's comfort level. A good, big ranging, dog can pin a bird and keep it there for her handler. Isn't that what we want? I know I don't care to cover every inch of a field, that's why I have dogs. Can he afford to get a tracking collar? Garmin's is great for hunting and as far as I'm concerned, worth every penny for piece of mind. Then he can KNOW where she is at all times and let her range a little bigger.

Jean

Personally I think it's totally inappropriate to be talking about considering a different dog at this point. She is two years old, and if she is hunted 10-12 times a year she has simply not had enough trips under her belt to be fairly judged as to her ability to cooperate and learn to shorten up her own range to stay close to the gun.

My two cents.

More great insight guys and gals.

Well my impression is that he will not be handing off the dog.  He just wants to be assured his dog will not just take off on him; and would like the dog to hunt close enough that his old heavy butt has a sporting chance at banging off a shot at a bird.  Though he will prob only hunt her a good dozen times a year I suspect she will be off at a preserve a few times also.  By all means a weekend warrior.

From what I could tell her obedience was pretty good.  She held a heal from the car to the field for about 200 yards with only a few verbals, and she sat put at a sit for......ahh 2 minutes maybe with only a verbal "sit" maybe one time to get her back in sit.

I do understand she is young, and beign handled by a complete novice.....not to mention asking tips from me a complete greenie, ahaha.

From what i can tell the dog needs to mature some indeed, and maybe experience will help along with more obedience.  But in the mean time what would you all suggest for drills he could do?