Training a first hunting dog... can we do it ourselves? Good resources?

Andrew · #1 03-19-2017, 04:39 PM

Know there are a lot of people with a lot of years of dog training experience on this site, so looking for some opinions and insights.

Quite a few years back, our first dog, Shadow, sadly passed away. She was an amazing dog, super sweet and beyond intelligent. We were pretty rocked by her passing, and adamant about getting a new dog for awhile. Shadow was just a family pet, but me and the Ol man have always really enjoyed pheasant hunting together. Recently we have been mulling the idea of a new dog, preferably one we could have come hunting with us. Just as we were starting to consider the option of a new dog, an opportunity to get a German Shorthaired Pointer from good hunting bloodlines at a good price fell into our lap. Long story short... Our pup will be home with us beginning of April

Although we're beyond excited, we have no experience training a dog for the purpose of hunting. I have been collecting as many opinions about the task as I can, but some people have been telling me that training a dog to hunt is tough feat that is best left to a professional.

As much as we love pheasant hunting, we're weekend warriors of the sport. We're not particularly looking to have an award-winning, trial champion hunting dog; rather, I'd say we'd like to have a good pet/companion that we can train to come point and retrieve birds with us on our hunts. To save a few thousand dollars on training would certainly help our wallets, but considering we've already invested into the dog itself, it would also be nice to be sure that our dog will become a strong and utilizable hunter.

So, with all this said, what are your opinions on us trying to train the dog ourselves? Does anyone have any tips, methods, or resources (books, websites, etc.) they could point us to for training this pup to hunt? I'm already looking to delve into some books on the topic, but would love to hear some opinions on which methods have worked best for people. Or, if you have gone the professional training route, which trainer you chose and the reasons why.

Appreciate any insight you all might have!

Cheers!

pikergolf · #2 03-19-2017, 04:53 PM

I used "How to Help Gun Dogs Train Themselves" by Joan Bailey as a guide for training our rescue Wire Hair. I am very pleased with the results. The gist of the book is to bring out what a well bred dog wants to do naturally.

elkhunter11 · #3 03-19-2017, 05:08 PM

I recommend joining a NAVIDA chapter if you are reasonably close to one. You will not only get good coaching for the dog, but for the handler as well which is just as important As well, the chapters have access to live birds for training, and you can get help as you train the dog over live birds.

Springerman · #4 03-19-2017, 05:45 PM

You can definetley do it if you are dedicated. I have trained 7 dogs myself over the years 3 of them field trial dogs. Each one got easier to train. Joint a club and you will get lots of advice & help. Plus you will have lots of enjoyment along the way.
My best advise is to start traing obediece as soon as you get your pup. A dog that won't listen to your in the field is worse than a pain in the neck!! Good luck & make sure the traning is fun for both of you!!

NSDucknut · #5 03-19-2017, 07:20 PM

Obedience, obedience, obedience! The dog will hunt, that's what they're bred for.

You can look past their errors in the field, especially when they're young. But, you will have endless frustration if they won't listen to your commands.

Check out some books and be patient.

1shotwade · #6 03-19-2017, 07:34 PM

find a copy of " Gun Dog" by Richard Wolters! it is 50 plus years old but IMO the best book for training !!!

^v^Tinda wolf^v^ · #7 03-19-2017, 07:58 PM

A lot of great literature on line for training a hunting dog. I've also been listening to the hunting dog podcasts lately, more or less just discussions but still informative. My dogs training was recently set back due to a leg injury two days before Xmas. I think he's finally ready to get to work again

Yesterday my dog was reunited with his mom and sister for a visit. We were both Very pleased to see them

mickeyjim · #8 03-19-2017, 08:26 PM

Hunt over my pointer cross and she's never been trained professionally. She's good, not great, but it works for me and it's fun hunting with her. Obedience is the biggest thing. Having her come, go where you want and retrieve are the biggest things. I don't know if i got lucky or not, but the dog will find birds and point, had no training for that.

Good luck to you man and have fun with it

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SamSteele · #9 03-20-2017, 07:47 AM

I sent mine too WWBirds for 3 months when he was young to get a good foundation and built off that. Like you, I didn't have experience training a hunting dog and I didn't want to start it off with bad habits.

WWBirds gave him obedience training and had him flushing and retrieving chukars by 8 months old. It cost me more than doing it myself, but I got a dog that was started right and a resource to answer questions going forward. Plus, they get trained on live birds towards the end.

SS

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densa44 · #10 03-20-2017, 08:01 AM

Alberta now boasts 2 NAVHDA clubs, Prairie Vista and Wild Rose. As others have said if you could train the trainers all the dogs would be better.

You will get the help that you need.

cotang · #11 03-20-2017, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NSDucknut

Obedience, obedience, obedience! The dog will hunt, that's what they're bred for.

You can look past their errors in the field, especially when they're young. But, you will have endless frustration if they won't listen to your commands.

Check out some books and be patient.

+a million! Depending on the dog they are born to point of flush. Its the obedience training that you need to get right. Also the gun shy. I think that's the most important is to research on introducing your pup to a gun sound. I did mine with a cap gun and treats in another room. Took about a month and a bit before even getting it firing it close to her. Now she doesn't even care.
Kinda funny the other day she was pointing at a small bird and she constantly looked back at me, I swear she was saying (Shoot it!!).

elkhunter11 · #12 03-20-2017, 04:28 PM

You don't train a dog to find birds, it comes naturally with good bloodlines, and if your dog has no interest in birds, you may have a serious problem. You do often need to train the dog to hold point, and not try and grab the bird or chase it. And you do need to train the dog to retrieve to hand. As far as introducing a dog to firearms, I used a blank pistol from a distance, and then small gauge shotguns from a distance. It took me about a week before my dog was comfortable around gunshots. My dog also liked water immediately, and retrieved the first dummy that was thrown into the water, but some dogs are a little apprehensive about water. The most helpful thing for me was having live birds and a good location to train with them. Training with the NAVHDA chapter and with densa44, were huge assets. My pup was actually a little intimidated when he was first introduced to live birds, but it only took around five minutes, before he was totally comfortable, and wanted the birds. At four months we were training him on live birds, and at five months,we were shooting birds over him. After that, it was a matter of getting the dog working live birds on a regular basis, and he learned quickly how to deal with birds that ran instead of holding tight. My pup was seven months when we went to Wainwright for the sharptailed grouse hunt, and he did fine. Once the pheasant season opened in September, I had him on roosters three or four times per week, and he had worked over a hundred birds by the end of the season. Now in the off season, he gets exposed to Hungarian partridges two or three times per week,which helps to keep him in practice.

Springerman · #13 03-20-2017, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1shotwade

find a copy of " Gun Dog" by Richard Wolters! it is 50 plus years old but IMO the best book for training !!!

X's two I relied on Wolters book a lot with good results!!

Springerman · #14 03-20-2017, 05:24 PM

RE water work, I would recommend not introducing your Pup till the water in the wetlands warm up. You want them to love them the water!!

raab · #15 03-20-2017, 07:26 PM

Biggest thing to remember is no birds, no bird dog. You absolutely have to get your dog exposed to live birds. Some people have the resources to do it, some dont. If youre serious and dont have the access to birds I think youre better off sending him away for training. If you go this route talk to the trainer and see where they want him before he heads out.

elkhunter11 · #16 03-21-2017, 01:23 PM

You can't train this type of intensity. We were going for a run in the field and Butch found some Hungarian Partridges.

kinwahkly · #17 03-21-2017, 07:19 PM

Absolutely you can train a hunting dog. I would recommend to join a club of some sort and get a mentor to help. It always starts with good obidience first as ground rules and then applying game to the dogs instincts.

58thecat · #18 03-22-2017, 05:49 AM

Read, educate you and your pup together, that time is priceless and will show in the field as you develope loyalty and a partnership.

catnthehat · #19 03-22-2017, 07:55 AM

Louie was trained by his owner - my son.
His first bird dog, and self trained with very little help from myself, only CD's, books, and talking with a few trainers.
He turned out very well, but his bloodlines are excellent annd he has super drive
You can't train this kind of style into a dog!

This was his first bird

Cat

Dave P · #20 08-14-2018, 02:16 PM

Just a general question.

Still working on general obedience right now, but any harm in using some bumpers with pheasant scent (vs no scent) to work on retrieving and recall?

Dave P · #21 08-23-2018, 01:13 PM

Also, in case anyone was interested, the dollar store at 7400 Macleod Trail SE, Calgary, AB T2H 0L9 has Team Realtree Orange Canvas Dummies for $4 a piece

Orange Canvas Dummy
9" long + 10" throwing rope, 2" diameter
Readily holds game scent
Durable and Floatable

aulrich · #22 08-23-2018, 02:17 PM

Yes a guy can train his own dog, the trade off is time vs money, looking back on mine the process took most of my free time for 2.5 – 3 years between just keeping the dog walked and training. It was quite the process , but it was very rewarding.

X2 on the Joan Bailey book you can read other books but this one is a must.

X3 on NAVHDA I would have failed miserably without the help I got from the club, and preparing for the tests

If you have the space get pigeons

There are a number of good systems out there, I did Perfect Start /Perfect finish. But you sort of need to see them all to see what system fits best to what resources you have available.

tallieho · #23 08-23-2018, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1shotwade

find a copy of " Gun Dog" by Richard Wolters! it is 50 plus years old but IMO the best book for training !!!

X2 On the Gun Dog trained 3 labs & supposedly that untrainable hard head breed Chesapeake Bay...Toughest dog i ever trained,smart as a whip,loyal.Toughest get a dog to break ice to retrieve geese in the ocean...