First Hunt - Looking for Tips

[BlessedGirl]

Hey everyone,

I'm looking forward to my first hunting season this fall with my now 15-month old setter. How do you guys do the first hunting season with a young dog? Am I supposed to be out there with a blank gun the whole season, or am I supposed to be shooting a lot of birds for her? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Garrison]

Nothing wrong with shooting birds for her. The problem that arises, is shooting birds that have not been handled properly.

Many hunters (especially new) can quickly find themselves in it for the birds more than the dog as soon as they start flying. The excitement of the hunt and wanting to have something to show for it gets in the way of real progress.

Don’t shoot birds that are not handled properly, period!

Easy to do with a blank pistol, harder to control with a shotgun for many. I have a feeling you are in it for her, and will be able to control the urge. Going to be a blast either way! I personally enjoy focusing all my attention and effort on the dog, doing everything I can to make future seasons more productive.

Garrison

[mask]

With a young dog you might want to hunt alone or with one gun if you take someone along. As garrison stated only birds handled properly should be shot. I believe the more birds shot over the dog the better and the more you take her out the more progress will be made. If you have fun the dog will too.

[deseeker]

With a young dog you might want to hunt alone or with one gun if you take someone along. As garrison stated only birds handled properly should be shot. I believe the more birds shot over the dog the better and the more you take her out the more progress will be made. If you have fun the dog will too.

X2
Practice your shooting before season starts

[gypsy]

The hardest thing to learn is; "just let the dog hunt"

Pups are going to make mistakes.......................................

Laugh a a LOT.

Whistle trained to whoa really helps!

A non-tangle long lead helps. Let the pup drag it freely. It could care less. However you will have a way to catch the little idiot.

I believe any birds put up should be shot. Makes the whole thing more exciting, causing great enthusiasm and eagerness. Other will say don't do it. I mean if you and pup were hunting with some else and their dog points up a bird it flushes (WHAT?) Don't shot!

Fun stuff!

WHOA is so important!!!!!

[BlessedGirl]

So when y'all say only shoot birds that are properly handled, what measure of "perfection" should I hold her to? I guess you probably don't hold pups to the same standard that you'd hold a broke dog to, but besides her pointing the bird, what else should I be looking for?

Unfortunately, due to complications establishing my pigeon flock, it didn't work to start bird work with my pup until early summer. Hence, she's not as advanced as she could be, but I'm working with her consistently in the field and she's coming along well. She usually finds all the planted birds in any of her training fields within minutes of entering that field.

But gypsy, you say to shoot all the birds I can. Do you mean even ones that she doesn't point?

Oh yes, I'm sure it will be fun!!

[Garrison]

So when y'all say only shoot birds that are properly handled, what measure of "perfection" should I hold her to? I guess you probably don't hold pups to the same standard that you'd hold a broke dog to, but besides her pointing the bird, what else should I be looking for?

Unfortunately, due to complications establishing my pigeon flock, it didn't work to start bird work with my pup until early summer. Hence, she's not as advanced as she could be, but I'm working with her consistently in the field and she's coming along well. She usually finds all the planted birds in any of her training fields within minutes of entering that field.

But gypsy, you say to shoot all the birds I can. Do you mean even ones that she doesn't point?

Oh yes, I'm sure it will be fun!!

If she establishes point, and allows you to flush the bird, it is “handled properly” and what you are looking for at her age. Broke comes later, if you choose to progress her training that far. There are lots of great hunting dogs, probably most that are not fully broke.

If your goal is an honest dog that establishes point with or without you, and waits for you to come close the deal. Then shooting birds that she has flushed or wasn’t part of (wild flushes without a point) is taking you further from that goal.

The first couple seasons are hers, the rest are yours to share with her. I take much more enjoyment out of witnessing a good bit of dog work than any limit I have ever taken. I like watching a fish rise on a dry fly more than the release. But still second to watching a good covey rise off of my dog’s point, irrespective of if I shoot or not. Unless they are chukar of course, those little "bleep" better watch out!

Garrison

[Steve007]

I would be surprised if there aren't some pretty good articles addressing this subject in some detail in those magazines that I sent you. I would certainly review them if I were you. Not that you aren't getting some good information here. And, uh. make sure the bird is solidly in the air before you shoot. Easy to get excited and forget. Your dog may jump at the airborne bird.

[Sharon]

Don't shoot your dog. I'm serious. Brand new hunters shooting over their dog are often so rev'd up that they can shoot their jumping up dog. Almost did it myself with a beagle chasing a rabbit.

[EP222]

I like to carry a firt aid kit to stop any major bleeding and cut pads. You can google the subject and carry the items you feel comfortable carrying. Do not carry a stapler if you do not know how to use one. Vet wrap and tape are a must. I highly recommend a inreach or any emergency device. have fun and patience. Good luck and safe hunting

[RayGubernat]

BG -

A whole lot depends on what YOU want from your dog as a hunter. I am also in the camp of shooting whenever the dog finds a bird...but if the dog rips a bird, I will shoot...and miss. Then I will call the dog back in, set it up and make it stand, where it should have, and make it stand for a couple or three minutes at least. The dog finds out, fairly quickly that busting birds don't get it.

A bird dog has to be "honest". By that I mean it has to point and hold...until I get there. If it does not, you have essentially a long range flusher, which is pretty useless to hunt with. The sooner the dog learns that waiting for youmeans it will get to wrap its gums round bird, the sooner you will have yourself a bird dog.

Whether you want dog that breaks at flush or is steady to wing or steady to wing, shot and fall is up to you and depends on how much training you want to do.

RayG

[K9BigDog]

In addition to everything said above, I'll add this:
You will most likely have a few friends and/or family that you will invite to hunt over your dog with you. Establish the ground rules from day one with everyone.
1. No shooting anything on the ground.
2. Tell your other shooters where you want them to position themselves for the flush. Let them get ready before you flush the bird.
3. No walking up behind the dog when it's on point. Set your buddies off to the sides and YOU go in and kick the bird up. (This goes for you, too. Remember to approach the bird from the side of your dog or in front of the dog so you don't accidentally make your dog bump the bird.)
4. I give the commands to my dog and no one else does, unless of course there's an situation where I can't see the dog and it's in immediate danger.
5. The dog will retrieve shot birds to me. Don't try to get the dog to give you "your" bird, I'll give it you once it's delivered.
6. Make sure your guys all know their shooting zones and have the discipline NOT to shoot when they shouldn't.
7. Tell you buddies not to worry too much if the dog pretty much ignores them during the hunt. She's going to be laser focused on birds and on YOU. Everything else is just background noise once the hunt is on. I keep a bell on my setter when she's hunting. The second she hears that bell come out of the bag and the collar goes around her neck, it's like a switch was flipped and she's on a different level.
8. Have fun, make sure your dog has fun, and when small issues arise don't get too worked up. Identify the problem and come up with a training solution to fix it.

[BlessedGirl]

Thank you for all the suggestions. I definitely don't want to accidently shoot my dog. That would be terrible.

Unfortunately, I had to take a few weeks off of dog training which ended up delaying her a bit, so it will make hunting with her more complicated (at first, anyway). I got my license and the season is open now, so I'm planning to go this week. We may not kill any birds, but I'm sure we will learn a thing or two.

Steve, there's a really good article in one of those magazines you sent me! Thank you.

[RatDog]

I’ve only done this once but I was laid off at the time and hunted a ton with my dog the first year. He was not whoa broke or particularly staunch yet but knew enough to quarter and what the game was. Biggest take always were:

-get out and practice your shooting. You’ll spend a lot of time and effort before the magic happens and the dog gets a clear find, solid point and then holds until flush. You will feel terrible and have missed a nice opportunity if you then whiff on the shot (I know this from experience)

-primary goal is bird exposure and enhancing prey drive. Basically let er rip, don’t spend a bunch of time negatively correcting the dog. They’re going to run off, bump birds etc. just part of it. You want them to have fun and be stoked to see you put on the orange.

-I fall in the middle on shooting the birds. The bird is the reward so you send mixed messages if you shoot birds that either flush wild or the dog busts. That being said, if it is a really slow day and both you and the dog are getting bored and a bird gets up not the worst thing to shoot it and give the dog some incentive to keep going.

-buy a gps/electric collar. Just do it. You and the dog will be very glad you did.

-any scouting or prep you can do to increase your odds of finding birds will pay off. A salty old dog has the memories of good hunts and maturity to put up with not finding anything. You want to make sure the pup gets the point of what you are doing out there by getting into birds.

Be gracious with yourself as well as the dog. There’s a lot of trial and error. Don’t freak out if you screw something up, it’s going to happen. Just learn from it and move on. HAVE FUN!


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[RatDog]

Get OnX total freaking game changer. Once you figure out what cover you are looking for or say you need to be near water or some other criteria digital scouting can save you a lot of gas and boot leather. Super helpful if you are hunting checkerboard and aren’t certain where the public/private boundaries are. Really helpful tool for cataloging where you find birds for future reference.


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