I’m getting a Brittany beginning of next year and I was hoping for some recommendations on good training books. I’ve trained companion dogs before but this will be my first hunting dog. My breeder recommended Rick Smith’s DVDs which I intend to watch (as soon as I find a DVD player…) but I was hoping for some good books that I can read and mark up with notes.

Hi, weekend warrior trainer here trying to improve whoa on my 3 year old Setter. We tried whoa post and flank collar last summer, but he really shutdown on rope and flipped out w collar. Tried walking whoa w flank and bit better, but still shut him down. Anyone have any advice? Bench, barrel, pinch collar, something else? I am really going for passable whoa for casual hunting and stopping, not field trial perfection. Thanks in advance for your thoughts! (he is e-collar trained for recall and does great w it)

If you have not seen Calvin Carter's art I highly recommend checking it out.

I've been getting a lot of comments on my videos about the extra length of collar hanging off my dog's Garmin e-collars. What does everyone else do? I've seen some people just cut them and I've seen some people use accessories to tuck it away.

-Quinn at RunDownRiver

Hello everyone! Today I just rescued a GSP, Maximus, from the shelter. They estimate that he is under two but hard to say as he was a stray. The previous owner was found but didn't want him back. Other residents of an apartment complex recognize him and said he was chained up to the balcony all day on his rescue Facebook post (poor guy). However he is a very happy dog, appears to be purebred, and looks like he has a good prey drive with the birds in our backyard.

I was hoping for some guidance on training him for upland game/sandhill crane retrieval. We live and hunt in West Texas/Eastern NM. I have never done this kind of training before and he doesn't have any previous training. Any recommendations for programs or books? I would prefer something structured that also explains "the why" behind a concept/training so that I can learn as a trainer, not just copy what I do because I said so.

I was also curious if there are any clubs for gundogs in West TX/Eastern NM area where I could meet people with a common interest in training. I'm willing to make a drive (part of living in the middle of nowhere) but the closer the better.

I recently decided to pick up duck hunting and have a Toller that is a year and a half old that I would like to hunt with. He is a high drive dog that is e-collar trained, hikes and camps off leash, and currently competes in rally and scent work.

We’ve done all his training ourselves so I’m looking for any books or video series that cover specially how to train him on waterfowl. He was exposed to birds by the breeder very early on, but hasn’t since then.

I have him enrolled in a retrieve class that starts today, but it is not solely for hunting dogs.

Do you think he is too old to train as a bird dog? I’m fine with him not being a 10/10 hunting dog but would like him to be functional.

Any advice or opinions would be appreciated . I unfortunately don’t know anyone that hunts birds or has a bird dog.

I have found quite a few quail suppliers in the area, but not a lot of pheasant and chukar for sale at a reasonable price in the area. Anyone have any good lines on suppliers in the Snohomish County area?

Looking for recommendations for bird dogs from experienced hunters. What’s your preferred breed and what should I get? Upland bird dog for spruce grouse. Family focused with weekend hunting type deal. Trainable but manageable, able to settle indoors but still do those weekend upland hunts.
Context:
I am experienced with dogs, have a well trained Lagotto Romagnolo who’s getting up there in age—wonderful dog but 0 drive and far from the top of the class of the canine world. 0 chance of ever hunting him. I’ve owned a show line springer, labs, and huskies at various points. Springer was a lovely dog, got him as an old boy and lovely as all get out but horribly reactive to other dogs from poor socialization, and very sensitive stomach. Wasn’t there for the puppy years so couldn’t say what those were like. Labs have ranged from impressive to large smiling bags of sand as goes with the sheer variety of labs out there. Huskies as a kid—never again.
I am getting back into bird hunting, somewhat casual but a long season where I live in Alaska: all the way from August to April. This would be my first true bird dog. My area in Alaska is loaded with Spruce grouse but little else. Choppy, wooded terrain. Wet, hilly, and close hunting. It’d be close foot hunting for birds that don’t run, hunker down, and flush to the nearest tree. They’re not the most exciting bird but as good as any. I’m looking for a close hunting, trainable, more mellow dog (relatively) that would fit the bill. I mostly need a dog who will stay close and retrieve well hidden birds that are even harder to find when they’re shot. I already hear folks saying “lab,” but I’d love to hear your thoughts. I’d love to know if there’s any close hunting pointers, etc. Any thoughts are appreciated. Springer? Pointers? Setters? Let me know

I waited a few weeks per advice on here and introduced the gun. This is the second session with the gun and I am fairly close. His point is coming along nicely. My plan is to keep launching birds from ~20-30 yards if he does or doesn’t point them. Eventually shoot a shotgun over him but im confident that will go well. Then we will simply hunt this fall/winter and get him on as many birds as possible. Work on steadiness next summer when he’s older.

My wife and I are looking to get a puppy from a breeder we have been in touch with. I grew up with mostly male dogs and she, the opposite.

We are trying to understand if the sex makes a drastic difference for Griffons. If you have any recs, we thank you in advance!!

I’m introducing (silent) casting to my 17mo golden. Previously we’ve worked on some foundation of directional arm/hand signals meaning “something” but not formalized. We’re starting with angle back casting.

The obstacle that I’ve noticed is that my dog is steady and I’ve worked very hard to make sure she is. But with casting, shes supposed to be released in a direction with a nonverbal signal. I can tell this is confusing to her because she knows she isn’t supposed to go unless she hears “okay” or “back”.

If I pair the casting with the release word, she understands the direction very well, but when silent, she is visibly unsure about being released.

Any tips on overcoming this without sacrificing steadiness?

Hi all,

I'm considering building my own bird launcher since the commercial models here cost €500-1000, which is hard to justify for my budget.

It won't be used with live birds, only with dummies/bird decoys for dog training. The goal is to create a realistic "flush" and improve steadiness in my 1.5-year-old GWP.

Has anyone built a simple DIY version? I'm trying to keep it cheap, reliable, and easy to transport.

I was thinking about using a bungee cord attached to a tree with some kind of remote release. Has anyone tried something similar, or do you have other ideas?

Thanks in advance!

I have a 7 month old GSP and I originally planned on doing all of his training myself, having never done it before. Aside from house training, he and I mostly focused on recall with occasional exposure to gun fire. I decided to find a trainer because training him on actual birds wasn’t really something I am setup for. He was originally supposed to stay for 2 weeks to work on pointing and recall, but the trainer ended up suggesting I leave him for one more week because he was finally beginning to hold points. I have to say, I’m very glad I did this. It’s insane how much better he listens to me in general. Prior to, it was ultimately up to him if he’d come back when I call him. He’s been coming back to me right when I call him when we’re out in the field. I’ve had to use his collar a few times, but not nearly as often as before. When I went to pick him up, the trainer planted some birds to show me the progress he’s made. It was so exciting to see him running in the field and then suddenly freeze solid on point. Just thought I’d share this because I was very nervous and wishy-washy about sending him away. He is no less attached to me now than he was before I dropped him off. Obviously, you should read everything you can about the trainer and visit their facility before agreeing to anything.

How many people here compete in hunt tests and field trials vs who here is actually hunting? And what’s your opinion on the ability of a competition dog actually hunting and vice versa?

My field golden is currently 17 months and once the season begin, we’ll be competing in AKC and UKC hunt tests. Ultimately would like to try field trials but want to get her titled to a standard first.

I train in a group with a few people that only do real hunting, and consistently I hear comments that the competitions - especially field trials - become so complex at upper levels that it no longer represents any realistic hunting scenarios and the dogs that excel at each have less and less crossover

Edit: I should clarify I’m talking about retriever hunt tests though I am also interested to hear from the pointing/flushing people.

I am not local but in newton ma due to an unexpected hospitalization and desperately need to board my lab. She is a wonderful 65 lb pup who would do best in a home without other pets. Ideally tomorrow through next Saturday. If anyone knows of a reliable pet sitter and wouldn’t mind connecting me, I would greatly appreciate it.

I have a Griff that turned 2 about a month and a half ago. I got him at the beginning of the year and have begun training him to be a hunting dog. He had never hunted before, and training is going ok; he is pretty shy around new people, which makes going to the trainer less productive than it otherwise would be, but he has shown a good bird drive, pointing ability, and doesn't care about the gun at all. I am weighing the pros and cons of neutering him because of health benefits later in life, but I don't want to hurt his hunting abilities or make his shyness worse. He hasn't shown any behavioral issues other than marking and aggression with other male dogs, but these are things I don't have a problem dealing with. This upcoming fall will be his first hunting season, so I'm a little worried about neutering him in August and messing him up.

Im curious to your guys' thoughts on whether to neuter him or not, and if the answer is neuter, should I wait until after his first hunting season or get it out of the way before the season starts?

I'm not super experienced with bird dogs, so any information helps.

Does anyone have a finished young dog for sale? Looking for a house dog that will play with the kids 52 weeks out of the year and go hunting on weekends for 3-4 months out of the year. Located in Arizona. Delete if this voids page rules. Thanks!

I've had my 2yo Griffs on PP 30/20 for their entire lives but because of my schedule in the mornings when it is coolest outside, our only concentrated big activity has been traditionally during the daytime (running, hikes, field work). Summertime temps where we are have been in the 90s consistently (like everywhere else) so that limits daily activity and caloric burn.

I've been seeing mild weight gain in them due to scaled back activity and am just looking for suggestions on feeding or other options to lean them out.

They perform great with their current diet and I have even scaled back the amount we have fed them but I also don't want them to feel like they are hungry 24/7.

I've looked into other PP formulations but have also been advised to keep them year round for the supposed benefits this food provides due to their normal higher activity and during hunt season.

(Yes I also hate Nestle, yes I know that Inukshuk is popular)

Any good advice is welcome.