Use your checkcord and slight neck pressure reinforcement if needed. Continue to slowly increase the distance from the dog as you progress, until you can release a bird from 20 feet away, all the while using no voice, just the hand signal.
Remember, NO VOICE! You can skip a day in between exercises. Holding the checkcord firmly in hand, place her back where she was and repeat the exercise. As it flies away, the dog will break and want to chase. Holding the bird by your side, quickly release it. Gently reach into your vest and remove a pigeon, not letting the dog see it as you take it out.
Facing the dog, give the whoa hand signal. Once she will stand quietly when you stop without any pressure, step a short distance away, about four feet or so, keeping the dog on the whoa. We prefer to use only gentle neck pressure whenever needed.įace your dog, give the whoa hand signal, and release the bird. Some dogs struggle with the half-hitch, so get them accustomed to it before you use it as a training aid. You can also use a half-hitch on the dog as you walk along when you stop, the half-hitch will keep the dog in the standing position. If she should try to move or sit, reach down and put your hand in front of her flank to prevent this, still saying nothing. As you walk along, stop occasionally, saying nothing – while at the same time using some slight pressure on the training collar attached to the checkcord to make her stand still. Start out in the yard or driveway, heeling your dog along with a 20-foot checkcord, leaving the excess line trail behind you. Especially, you want this young student to be over-the-top enthusiastic about birds and having fun in the field before you start steadying her to wing! Make sure your dog first knows and responds well to the heel, here, and whoa commands, and is well-developed to the gun. A year and a half to two years of age is a good estimate. Hunt your young dog for at least a season (maybe two if she’s coming along slowly) on multiple birds before beginning this training. Steadying to wing can also help to eliminate common problems with the young dog like jumping in on and busting birds, or creeping and moving forward on point. And more importantly, the dog that is steady to wing has a better chance of not being shot by an overeager hunting partner (or even overzealous owner). Also, if the dog remains steady, this lessens the chance of flushing other birds that might be ahead in the same field. Often this dog has a better chance at marking the bird as it is shot and comes down. Even if you aren’t interested in competition, having a dog that is steady to wing has its advantages. They may not have, or want to invest in the time that it takes to train a dog to be steady to wing and shot and in addition, the work involved in keeping the dog that way.įor those who are interested in field competition, many events require a pointing dog to be steady to wing and shot. Many hunters prefer their dogs to chase after the bird when it is flushed and may feel that the dog has a better chance of retrieving the shot bird, especially if it’s crippled. Whether to train your pointing dog to be steady to wing or to wing and shot is up to each owner/handler. Our little setter had learned her lessons well and given us a morning to remember. There’s nothing quite like the thrill of watching a finished dog in the field – an accomplishment that represents months and years of training and dedication. This performance, to us, is the “sweet spot” of dog training, the thing that gives us goosebumps and ignites the bird dog fever. The entire scenario was enacted in silence. The bird exploded into the air and she followed his path with her eyes but never moved a muscle, even after the shot, until she was released with a tap on her head. As she watched, trembling but otherwise motionless, the pigeon was located and flushed. About 30 feet from the planted bird, Bonnie wheeled and froze, her tail at 12 o’clock. She took off like a shot, tail cracking, into the field. After heeling to the field, she was shaking with excitement as she stood, waiting to be released. We planted a pigeon a good distance out in some pasture cover. Awhile back, we had some rare cool nights and headed with her to the farm one early morning before the sun had a chance to warm things up.īonnie is steady to wing and shot – but we wondered how well she’d perform after her summer break. She’s not a warm weather dog, so we try to make sure the temps are below 60 degrees, at least, before any extended exercise. There, we have pasture acres for her to run in, a wooded hillside, even a pond to cool off in.
By Bob and Jody Iler Our hot Iowa summer limits the opportunities to get our English Setter Bonnie over to our “farm” for a good workout.