flops away from them thus encouraging
them to give chase, pick up and hold that bird. We don't care
if they bring it back at this point all we want them to
do is pick it up and carry it.
Keep in mind that this column refers to the started dog
a young, green pup that is ready now to begin his work afield,
hunting with you. You're going to encourage his retrieve, but
mostly you're going to see what develops this season as the two
of you go hunting.
There are some key things to remember at this time. Don't hunt
your pup on game birds like doves, |
which will fill pup's mouth with feathers
and may turn him off birds. Be careful on your initial pheasant
hunts. We recommend taking your pup to a good game preserve (most
are open from September through March), and using hen pheasants
on the first several outings. If a rooster spurs a young pup
that is coming along well on the retrieve, this may turn him
off birds and set you back. Use your common sense! A good progression
of game birds for a young pup would be quail, chukars, hen pheasants,
and finally roosters. We may seem overly cautious, and your pup
may have no problem from the get-go with roosters, but remember,
you're trying to encourage the retrieving instinct in your pup
everything that you can do to make this successful will
help ensure that you've done your part to bring this out.
If you have a friend with a natural retriever, you can try the
jealousy approach to interest your pup in retrieving. Don't hunt
the dogs together at this point. A young started dog should be
hunted alone, with you, his first season an experienced
dog that retrieves the birds before your pup has a chance to
will not teach him to retrieve this will only teach him
that he doesn't have to. Instead, keep your pup on a short line
and have your friend toss out a wing-clipped bird for his dog.
Let your pup watch as the other dog retrieves. Do this several
times and observe your pup's reaction. If he gets excited after
seeing several retrieves, |
give him a chance. This exercise often
helps to awaken the retrieving instinct in young dogs.
Don't overdo your retrieving this first season, even if your
pup is a star pupil. We trained a fine little Shorthair pup
less than a year old and a natural retriever later sold
by his owner to a kennel down south. The new owner hunted him
over multitudes of pheasants, shooting as many as ten birds over
him in one field session. Within weeks he was complaining that
the pup had quit retrieving that now all he wanted to do
was continue to hunt rather than retrieve. Can you blame the
pup? This is an example of how you can create a man-made fault
in a dog that has great natural ability. Again, we are talking
about young, green pups easy does it this first season.
Too many consecutive retrieves can also cause some young pointers
to lose staunchness on point, because they anticipate the retrieve
and begin to figure "Why wait? I might as well jump
in, bust the bird and maybe catch it!"
Another word of caution although we have not yet done a
column on the electronic collar it's important to note
here that, during this first season, you don't even want to think
of using an e-collar in connection with your pup and retrieving.
Remember when we said that everything should be fun and positive?
Don't try to "cure" a pup from shaking or chomping
birds, dropping birds halfway back to you, or refusing to pick
up birds by using an e-collar. As a novice handler, you may turn
him off birds for good. This first season you are evaluating
your pup noting his strengths and weaknesses and giving
him time to make mistakes and learn.
What if your pup is showing absolutely no interest in retrieving
at this point? You've given her a whole season, and thus far,
no dice what then?
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