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thinking of taking 8 month old britt hunting

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lungbuster

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
k, so I am thinking of taking my 8th month old britt hunting with me and my buddy.

I have had him out a couple ties at a WMA and he has pointed to birds in the launcher.

He is good with obenience and I am working with getting him ready to hunt.

I was thinking of putting him on the check cord and taking him to a WMA with my buddy to hunt.



I would hold the 30 ft check cord and have him work while my buddy uses the gun. Then when the dog points i would hold the cord and try to keep him steady on ppoint. then flush the bird and have my buddy shoot it and then let the dog go get it.

Do you think this is a good idea yes / no/ Why why not?
 
#2 ·
lungbuster said:
k, so I am thinking of taking my 8th month old britt hunting with me and my buddy.

I have had him out a couple ties at a WMA and he has pointed to birds in the launcher.

He is good with obenience and I am working with getting him ready to hunt.

I was thinking of putting him on the check cord and taking him to a WMA with my buddy to hunt.



I would hold the 30 ft check cord and have him work while my buddy uses the gun. Then when the dog points i would hold the cord and try to keep him steady on ppoint. then flush the bird and have my buddy shoot it and then let the dog go get it.

Do you think this is a good idea yes / no/ Why why not?
Click to expand...
I would go non-stocking days. Less people.
 
#4 ·
Introducing a young dog to wild birds too early may cause bad habits which will be hard to correct later. At this young age, you could very well encourage him to hunt for himself rather than for you. Sure the dog can point, that's what he is bred to do. Does it heel or come every time? Does it know whoa? Has it been introduced to birds that are not in a launcher? Has it been force fetched?
Say you just wing a bird; dog goes to get it and it gets spurred or beating wings scare it. You may now have to undo what you did. (Trust me... I'm an expert at that!!) I started hunting mine at 13 months and she would clean up a field, BUT she would lay on the bird and wait for me to come get it. It took me nearly a year to finally get her to fetch.


Now some guys are more bold or have just a natural born champ and say go for it. But that's a lot of pressure to put on a young pup, especially a Britt which is generally a softer dog to train. At 8 months, I would want to guarantee the dog finds a bird and do it under a controlled environment. Get some pigeons and quail and keep working on steadiness. Take the time and steps to do it right now and save yourself some aggravation down the road. No criticism intended. Just something to think about.:encouragement:
 
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Discussion starter · #7 ·
Thank you very much. I appreciate your input. Something's never thought of.

I have worked with him with starter pistol when he eats and have had him in the field a couple time with pistol. Never with shot gun. These are all good points.

The controlled environment until he runs through everything is the way to go then?

He will be a year in April and will only have been on birds in the launchers the .
 
#8 ·
You need to him is used to gunfire before you take him to a WMA. He needs to associate gunfire with flushing birds. Get him out flushing quail, chukar, pigeons and then slowly introduce you gunfire. Key is to get them bird crazy and have them associate the gunfire and with a flush/retrieve. I would also suggest going to a preserve for your first few hunts. Good luck.
 
Discussion starter · #12 ·
bob kudile said:
the fact you are asking for approval means you already knew the answer.
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Well I had an idea of taking out the dog and me handling him. He needs to get out. I figured I would hold the check cord while he pointed and get him steady. Then if the bird moved keep him still. Then if the bird flew have my buddy shoot it. Gun fire doesn't bother the dog.

I never thought of the retrieving aspect. I was trying g to slowly go through the steps. This would be pa WMA not NJ.

I have my reservations because I don't want to do wrong by him. We are starting the second set of obedience classes in January. I need to get him out on birds this I know. He has been out on live chucker and live quail twice.
 
#13 ·
No problem asking questions, good idea! I think hunting with your pup can be done this year but agree about a controlled environment. Before you go more introduction to the gun and exposure to birds may be needed. Remember pup is going to act differently in the field than your backyard. A new place with lots of smells and open horizon...of course he will get excited and may be harder to handle :) Agree with others slow exposure to gun fire and more birds will set the table for a successful hunting day. Good luck!
 
#14 ·
Lungbuster: There truly is no right or wrong answer here. You have to know your pup as it relates to where your pup is mentally and what exposure your pup has received. Just like poeple pups mature at different ages some pups are ready for the big birds at young ages others are not.

There is NOTHING wrong with taking your pup to a WMA. What you have to think about is the day of the week and the time of the day you are going. Go when the crowds are gone just the experience of being out in that enviornment will assist your pup in learning. You are right to keep the pup on a check cord so that you can control your pup. The best experience for a pup is to get them out let them learn for themselves. If your pup has not been exposed to gun fire you can do that at the WMA just have your pup a good distance away from your buddy and when you are raise your hand and have your buddy fire a shot. If you can start with a 410 or 20 gauge that would be great then eventually working your way up to a 12 gauge. While you are out work your pup with your check cord criss crossing a field and turning the pup to follow you with a whistle blast. I use a two tone whistle balst to turn my pups. If you do come across a bird first watch and see what your pup does naturally . Make everything fun at this stage...

While your pup has pointed birds in a launcher the question would be how consistantly is he pointing birds and up to what point? Does he point and then bust in on the launcher? Does he point until the bird is released? A pheasant is a much larger bird therfore the scent cone gives off more scent. So keep that in mind. Also pheasants will run on a pup you need to keep that im mind as well. I do not know which WM you are thinking of going to I would look for one where there are more open fields and less heavy thick hedgerow type cover. Working a pup in this type of area will do two things first you will be able to see your pup at all times therefore knowing what he/she is doing, second it will give you the ability to teach a quartering pattern to your pup, third if there is a bird there you will be able to see your pup making game therby giving you the best opportunity to use that encounter in a positve way setting your pup up for success, getting to the cord working your way up the cord do that you can steady your pup while your buddy flushes and hopefully kills the bird. I would NOT at this time consider having the pup retrieving the bird rather have your buddy simpley go out and pick up the bird all the while while you calmly hold the pup in place. Remember not to realse your pup until you give the pup a release command!

The key here is to have fun and make it fun for your pup! Think about the outing as another training session.....

The generalazation of a breed that is generally more bold or generally softer is just that a generalzation. . It is the individual dog one needs to consider not a generalzation.
 
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#15 ·
If your dog isn't anywhere near gun shy, it doesn't matter if he hears one shot or volleys of 10, it is the same. It won't bother him. Hunt him off the beaten path, not in the thick of it. The other people and dogs will only be distractions anyway. Of course, if you could go to a preserve or belonged to a club, it's a better situation.
 
#16 ·
Scoops other then their colors[eyeroll] they were some nice dogs. It is about time you get another one! Only easy on the white ,,,,LMAO
 
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#18 ·
Take Nobelles advice.

Dog needs exposure to birds to become a bird dog.

If I were you, especially in PA, I would be trying to get my pup on woodcock and if possible grouse. No better teacher than wild birds. I would avoid pen raised quail unless you are in complete control of the situation. Some might not fly well, or not at all letting the dog get way to close and/or catch the bird.
 
#19 ·
archer36 said:
If your dog isn't anywhere near gun shy, it doesn't matter if he hears one shot or volleys of 10, it is the same. It won't bother him. Hunt him off the beaten path, not in the thick of it. The other people and dogs will only be distractions anyway. Of course, if you could go to a preserve or belonged to a club, it's a better situation.
Click to expand...
There's a difference between a starter pistol and volleys of 10 12 gauge shotguns going off. Gradually introducing these things would be the best way to ensure your hunting dog doesn't turn into a house dog over a one day pheasant shoot.

Have you thought about buying your own birds and releasing them? Might be a better way of guaranteeing successful training.
 
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