by L. Woodrow Ross

Created on: March 30, 2010   Last Updated: March 31, 2010

A wise old hunter and dog trainer once said, "You have to be smarter than the dog to train it". There is a lot of truth to that statement. If  you are a novice, it doesn't mean that you can't train a bird dog, but it will be much harder and a lot of mistakes will create some delays and headaches in the training process.

Most working breeds such as shepherds, bird dogs and companion dogs for the disabled are very intelligent breeds. They are quick to learn, but if they sense that you are hesitant and don't use a firm hand in training, they are like a child and will take advantage of that fact.

Start the pup at an early age with some basic obedience training. Even at 8 weeks is okay, but keep sessions short. Puppies have very short attention spans. Several short sessions are much better than one long session and the puppy will progress faster.

The first step in training a bird dog is to instill basic obedience training. The minimum should be sit, stay, heel, come and kennel. Each is explanatory except "kennel". This command may be used to load the dog into a crate for transport or to enter the kennel or any similar situation.

When teaching basic obedience, use strong, clear commands and do not add words. Don't say "Sit Rover like a good boy." Merely say "sit" in a firm voice. If your dog has a long, fancy name on his pedigree, use a short (preferably one syllable) name for his everyday name. Be consistent in the commands, both in choice of words and strong voice.

Teach your dog not to bark excessively and not to jump up on you. If you allow this behavior, you will be embarrassed when he jumps up on a guest with muddy paws.

Once the basic obedience training is well under way, introduce the pup to a quail wing on the end of a string tied to a cane pole. The wing can be flipped around the yard and the pup will stalk it and if he is a natural, he will point the wing. It will smell interesting to him with the scent of the bird. In order to make the pup steady, place your hand on his rump and push forward. He will push back against the pressure and it will make him staunch on point. Don't let him catch the wing at this stage of training.

Use a small training dummy and you can purchase liquid bird scent to place on the dummy. Throw it and the dog should chase it and retrieve it for you. If he runs from you, back away and he should come to you. You may have to attach a check cord to his collar for this session. As the dog begins to mature to several months

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