Great video and thanks for sharing it. I just started my 9 year old lab on upland hunting (I know, too late in his life) and he's been doing great with the gunfire orientation and using his nose for searching birds instead of just crumbs on the kitchen floor. He even flushed his first pheasant this past fall after a month of working with him in the yard. I'm at the stage now where the hunting season is over and it's now training season. I use harvested bird wings from this past season to keep him interested in the bird scent but want him to get excited like yours did in the video every 2-3 times we go out to train. We live in a small housing community and don't have a large area to keep training birds. How do you keep yours? What type of containment do you use? What do you feed them? Do you keep them outdoors? If so, what do you do when the weather is cold (sub 40 degrees)? Thank you!
Thanks for your interest in the video. My pigeons are kept in an outside coop during the training season (March-Sept). Because I'm located in the north and can't keep them alive during the cold winter I then thin the heard and use them for live fliers in the fall. Each Spring I replenish them and the cycle starts all over again. I feed them a crushed corn. In your case it might be smarter to locate a local trainer and see if you can purchase them as needed. A local retriever club could be a great source too.
Thanks Todd. She's about 10 months in this video. She's been a pleasure to work with. Thanks for watching the video and Keep posted, they'll be more to come 👍
I wouldn't see why not. Especially if you want to encourage retrieving. I probably wouldn't do it to much if you're planning on disciplining a solid whoa command but like everything else in dog training. balance of drills and techniques is crucial.
..... will the clipped pigeon survive this training or is it a useless one which would be killed anyway? I have a black fieldtrial lab and a cage with pigeons.. also follow regular hunt training. Thanks for your answer and video. 😁💖the Netherlands
The clipping of the flight wings will not kill the bird. They will eventually grow back. If your dog is hard on the bird that could potentially injure the bird. It's one of the reasons why I highly recommend a 30ft check cord. It'll give you better control over the dog if it becomes overly excited Give the bird 60 seconds between retrieves as well to keep the stress level down. I have reused many pigeons using this method. Thanks for your question and keep watching 🙂
Take it slow. Maybe use a rubberband to wrap the birds wings so it's not intimidating the dog. Basically start with a walking bird. If the dog becomes more confident in a couple of sessions you could unwrap the wings and give it another try. If your dog is over sensitive and doesn't like birds no matter what you do it might be an untrainable situation. Leading to a tough decision on whether or not it's the right dog for the job.
Cool
Great video and thanks for sharing it. I just started my 9 year old lab on upland hunting (I know, too late in his life) and he's been doing great with the gunfire orientation and using his nose for searching birds instead of just crumbs on the kitchen floor. He even flushed his first pheasant this past fall after a month of working with him in the yard. I'm at the stage now where the hunting season is over and it's now training season. I use harvested bird wings from this past season to keep him interested in the bird scent but want him to get excited like yours did in the video every 2-3 times we go out to train. We live in a small housing community and don't have a large area to keep training birds. How do you keep yours? What type of containment do you use? What do you feed them? Do you keep them outdoors? If so, what do you do when the weather is cold (sub 40 degrees)? Thank you!
Thanks for your interest in the video. My pigeons are kept in an outside coop during the training season (March-Sept). Because I'm located in the north and can't keep them alive during the cold winter I then thin the heard and use them for live fliers in the fall. Each Spring I replenish them and the cycle starts all over again. I feed them a crushed corn. In your case it might be smarter to locate a local trainer and see if you can purchase them as needed. A local retriever club could be a great source too.
@@flycreekkennels9559Thank you.
Really great information and i enjoy your training style. how old is Vita in this video? thanks and keep them coming!
Thanks Todd. She's about 10 months in this video. She's been a pleasure to work with. Thanks for watching the video and Keep posted, they'll be more to come 👍
Can you do this with a pointer.
I wouldn't see why not. Especially if you want to encourage retrieving. I probably wouldn't do it to much if you're planning on disciplining a solid whoa command but like everything else in dog training. balance of drills and techniques is crucial.
..... will the clipped pigeon survive this training or is it a useless one which would be killed anyway?
I have a black fieldtrial lab and a cage with pigeons.. also follow regular hunt training.
Thanks for your answer and video.
😁💖the Netherlands
The clipping of the flight wings will not kill the bird. They will eventually grow back.
If your dog is hard on the bird that could potentially injure the bird. It's one of the reasons why I highly recommend a 30ft check cord. It'll give you better control over the dog if it becomes overly excited
Give the bird 60 seconds between retrieves as well to keep the stress level down.
I have reused many pigeons using this method.
Thanks for your question and keep watching 🙂
That dog did great for it's first time at this. Do you eventually plant a bird in a launcher for the dog to search and flush?
Yes.
That is one of the transitioal steps I use during upland training.
@@flycreekkennels9559 Word. I've trained Griffons and would work them with launchers.
@@davidcudlip6587 Such an invaluable tool
What do you do when a dog is afraid of the bird?
Take it slow. Maybe use a rubberband to wrap the birds wings so it's not intimidating the dog. Basically start with a walking bird. If the dog becomes more confident in a couple of sessions you could unwrap the wings and give it another try.
If your dog is over sensitive and doesn't like birds no matter what you do it might be an untrainable situation. Leading to a tough decision on whether or not it's the right dog for the job.