I just got my first GSP, good dog from a good bloodline. The guy i got him from did not spend any puppy time with him as he has 4 other GSP and in his words never took the time to focus on this dog. Now the dog is a year old (almost exactly) and i am starting to work wtih him on trianing to be a good bird dog. I have the 4 volume george hickox DVD and am starting him on birds and intoducing him to guns. then we will begin yard training. the problem i am noticing is that when we do backyard pigeon work the dog isnt pointing. in the field, he will point a little bit but nothing like you would expect. This is my first GSP and my first shot a training a bird dog. Any words of wisdom would be appreciated and very much welcomed. Thank you!

So if i am understanding correctly, it would be wise to get 5 or 6 birds and plant them around a field edge or in a good broom sedge area then bring the dog in, let him flush the birds and chase them after he flushes and then on to the next bird?

Should i allow the dog to see me plant the birds or make it a real hunting scenario?

I am a forester, so he has been going to work with me on a somewhat frequent basis and he is starting to range and become a little more confident in the woods/ field which makes me very happy. I introduced a pigeon the other night and when he got his mouth on that thing he was a changed dog, my wife now calls the pigeons, "dog crack". I am hoping to do a little more pigeon work this weekend, banding off their flight feathers and letting them go and allowing him to chase.

Once question with this, should i be focusing on him returning the bird to me or just keep this a game and not focus on the work just yet? The last time i did this, i let him run with a check cord on him and when he would try and bolt with the bird, i would get the cord and bring him in this way.

Keep the advice coming gentelmen, I am all ears and very much so appreciate it.

Zodiak,

To explain my pigeon work further, in watching the hickox video, there is a section where george demonstrates wing locking a pigeon and tossing it 10-15' and letting the dog get the bird. Then once the dog is comfortable with this, you put a rubber band around the pigeons flying feathers and throw the bird int he air, this allows the bird to fly 20-25 yards and the dog chases and catches the bird when it hits the ground. At now point is the dog pointing or jumping the bird but rather just chasing after you toss it. according to george, once this goes well, you would use the same pigeon release method when intorducing the gun.

This DVD is the only guidance I have this far and is what the guy i got the dog from has used on his other 5 dogs and has worked successfully. with that said, i am by no means saying this is the only way. just the only way i have been exposed to. do you think this methodology is not recommended for my age of dog? 

True,

very interesting insight. I like the idea of planting a bird or two.

My newest question is...

I have two pigeons (homers). These birds are imprinted on someone elses coop. My question is, what do you think of hobbles or lanyards? would allowing the bird to fly 50' before being downed be instilling the wrong idea for the dog or would this be enough to get the point across to him? The lady who owns the pigeons lives about 45 minutes away and i would have to drive that distance to go pick my birds up.... I am all ears yall!

I wanted to bring all of you up to speed. I have had a hard time finding quail so I took my pigeons to the training field behind my house and placed them on 75' really light lines and anchored the end to the ground. I hid the birds in depressions in the field out of sight and then brought the dog in and let him "hunt". I was really amazed how he responded once he got a feel for what he was supposed to be doing. Initially he walked right by the first pigeon and didnt pay it any mind, then i think it set in and he ran down wind, and started zig zaging back up the field, and BAM, pointed and held point for a good minute. Once he couldnt hold it anymore, he broke and the bird flew. I had a 50' check cord attached to him which i grabbed after he went on point, so i was able to hold him back from grabbing the pigeon mid flight (and he tried). I plan on doing this until i can get my hands on some quail. It was a very proud momment for me, he held point very well, and allowed my to walk from behind him to infront of him and then in between him and the bird and never flinched. I think i might have a bird dog on my hands ladies and gentlemen!!! 

Yeah, i am very happy. We worked together last weekend and am planning on working him again this weekend. Like you said, once a week is my plan. My goal is to get him on some quail soon, my biggest fear is to get an awsome pigeon dog that doesnt know what a quail smells like! haha

When you say teach him to hunt, are you implying that i could stick with the two pigeons and increase the field size and distance between birds and let him range to find them? In my mind that was the next step but if you see a fatal flaw with this please let me know.

No flaw in that except for the fact that you will need to read the dog or find a mentor who can look at him, watch him, see him search, range, body language, etc. and read what he needs.  To make a birddog the dog needs much much more than to point and hold birds.  He must learn obedience, learn to hunt for you, but at the same time learn to range and be independent enough that he searches as far and wide as is needed in the areas where you will hunt.  He must learn to hunt, meaning...use the wind properly, hunt to the front, turn when you want him to or when his experience teaches him he needs to to hunt cover properly, to seek game, to track enough so that he can hold birds but won't flush, etc. etc. 

Judging AKC hunting tests, I've seen a ton of dogs that will point and hold birds but have little or no desire, little range, and must be hacked to birds.  Owners feel that if their dog points, then they should be considered an effective hunting dog.  But, if the dog ranges 20 yards, is always looking for direction, and has to be directed to game, the dog is useless, other than as a food sucking pet.  Maybe enough for some.

I can't answer if you can train a dog with two birds.  Depends on what you are wanting to get out of the dog.  Dogs needs birds.  They need experience and experiences.  They need situations and different types of cover, terrain, etc.  IMHO, you need to find at bare minimum, a hunting preserve to get the dog into birds, and really, you need to plan a time to spend some time putting the dog on wild birds if at all possible.  Birds don't make birddogs, WILD birds make birddogs.