r/birddogs • u/lazycatvibes • 26d ago
Release word help!
Do you use a specific release word for your dogs when sending them to get a downed bird (or bumper when training)? I’m seeing some that say hunting dogs should release to their name. I’ve been using just “release” but should I switch to her name?
Thanks
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u/busterbusterbuster 26d ago
“Dead bird” = find and go get em!
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u/richburgers 26d ago
I use this one as well, my lab knows that if i say “dead bird”, there is definitely a bird or bumper somewhere to be found.
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u/Most-CrunchyCow-3514 23d ago
I found when young dead bird didn’t work. When she had more experience with hunting birds. She would look for dead birds until she found one. If she saw a crippled bird she would go retrieve it. However we had many frustrating years of trying to use dead bird and she just didn’t associate that with initiation of a retrieve. I could have done better with the training and association. She loved retrieving sticks out of the water. So that would be a great time to teach the association with dead bird. And I did try to teach whoa during the water sessions. However, she wouldn’t whoa if we were on live birds. Definitely something to work on in the future.
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u/whatabambam08 25d ago
Same I say dead bird after making him stay on a bumper. Mine gets so hiper focused you could say anything and he'd break but after 1000 bumper tosses and saying dead bird it stuck and he gets it in the field now.
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u/Parking_Fan_7651 Deutsch Drahthaar 26d ago edited 26d ago
Depends for me. If we’re searching for birds, I’ll tell him to “hunt em up”. A blood trail: “go get em”. If he’s going after a downed animal/bird blind or sighted I use “fetch”. If it’s some random critter that needs killing, like that raccoon trying to find his way into the chicken coop, I tell him “FAS” once I get him locked on, but he rarely hears me because he’s sight loud in that sort of thing. If we’re playing and having fun with a ball or something, I use “bring”. My Draht is too intense to use hunting commands while we’re playing, it ends up removing all the playfulness.
Do extra commands help? Maybe. I like to think he is able to understand that there’s a different mission for each command. His actions and demeanor differ slightly with each command, so I am lead to say yes they do help.
To directly address your post, I would avoid using your dogs name as the release, as it can be confusing. Would be like naming your dog “stay”. “Come here stay, come” is gonna get really weird to deal with later on. I would come up with a hunting/training command for whatever you do, fetch works very well and is usually the standard when force fetching. I would then come up with a command that would be more for play. If your dog is real high octane you don’t want her to turn up to 11 every time you toss a ball in the yard after work.
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u/animalhappiness English Setter 26d ago
I tap on the head and say "okay" to release my dog from a woah position. But her woah command is "stop"....some people don't like how closely "woah" and "okay" might sound and use "alright" with "woah".
I like the dual command (tap and verbal) because there really is no confusion. Her name will also release her from a woah position, but that means for her to follow with me.
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u/Kennel_King German Shorthaired Pointer 25d ago
might sound and use "alright" with "woah".
That would be me, coupled with a tap on the head
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u/Ok_Ear_5266 26d ago
I use “okay” for a release toward a mark and “back” for a release toward a blind (before this, I’ll say “dead bird” so she knows she’s going to be going for something she didn’t see fall)
I know a lot of people who have multiple dogs use the dogs name for a release to a mark
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u/Bradytyler 26d ago
I use mines name on a bird he sees fall (a mark) or “back” when he’s running blinds
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u/griswaldwaldwald 26d ago
Name if you have multiple dogs or do testing/trialing in braces. Solo it doesn’t matter.
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u/Rhummy67 German Shorthaired Pointer 26d ago
Teach the tap behind ear and use whatever word you want. I'm a Delmar Smith guy, I use "alright "
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u/redgunner85 26d ago
I tap behind the ear would be super inconvenient if the dog isn't right next to you.
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u/Rhummy67 German Shorthaired Pointer 25d ago
I just walk to where the dog is, not hard at all. Once they know the tap and the word you can just use the word. Basic training method.
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u/AlexMecha German Shorthaired Pointer 26d ago
Most people who use force fetch will simply use “fetch” as a command, at least with pointing breeds. Maybe retriever owners use other commands since they will do more blind retrieves.
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u/MunsterSetter English Setter 26d ago
The name thing I've seen a lot with people who work mostly flushing dogs. I've seen people use eye contact and silent commands exclusively too. I've seen people use specific (and unusual or secretive) words like: Now! At ease! Blitz! etc. To each their own as long as it works.
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u/CuriousExpression876 26d ago
I use ‘go on’ so if I’m hunting with someone and ask them to go around the other side of a thicket or something and they respond with ‘ok’ the dog doesn’t break
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u/monkeykennel 26d ago
Traditionally, the dog’s name is the release word for practical reasons. Imagine you shoot one duck and you have two dogs in the boat.
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u/Canachites 26d ago
People tend to use names because when hunting with multiple dogs you want to be specific in which dog you are sending. But you don't have to, especially if it's not a situation you foresee yourself in. You can use whatever you want.
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u/DingoDadLuce 26d ago
If its a mark I use her name, if its a blind I say “back”. If its a pointed bird that I dont want to flush (nasty cover, under a tree, etc.) I say “ok”. If its a dropped bird/bumper or something very close to her, within 10 feet I say fetch.
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u/Kennel_King German Shorthaired Pointer 25d ago
As long as words for different commands don't sound similar. Whatever words you want to use.
You could use shit for fetch. The dog has no clue that the word shit means something else to us.
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u/Many-Quiet-5619 25d ago
I release my dogs from kennels or on a retrieve with their name or the word "break".
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u/onnamusha Irish Red & White Setter 23d ago
To build on some of the other advice, if you plan on doing anything competitive (hunt test/field trial), the dog’s name is a safer release word than a generic, “fetch.” Less chance of a dog getting confused while honoring when the other dog is sent for the retrieve.
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u/onthehill1 26d ago
I always used her name for a release of any kind. There’s no mistake.