Train Them Right, From The Very Beginning: Bird Dog Training
Are you a hunter -- or a would-be hunter -- looking for some good tips and information on Bird dog training? If so, you've come to the right place! Bird dog training can be challenging for even the most experienced dog handlers, and even more so for the beginner -- so we hope the following information will help you as you prepare both yourself and your dog for the field.
Bird Dog Training -- What Will You Need Your Dog to Do in the Field?
Before you begin your Bird dog training program, it would be wise for you to sit down and think about what kinds of tasks you will need your dog to do in the field. Perhaps you will need your Bird dog training to incorporate the use of silent hand signals -- on the other hand, your dog may need work in learning how to properly retrieve game and place it into your hand. If so, then your bird dog training program should address that subject instead. Some hunters use their dog more for simply flushing game from the brush, while others will need to adjust their Bird dog training program to teach their dog how to retrieve from the water.
Bird Dog Training Is an Ongoing Process In actual practice, there will likely be many behaviors that your dog will need to learn to master as a part of their Bird dog training program -- which means that your training will be an ongoing project for both you and your dog, carried out over an extended period of time. In fact, it may take your dog several seasons of hunting before they have fully mastered all of the necessary skills and behaviors. Only then will you be able to consider your Bird dog training program "complete." Bird Dog Training -- When Should I Begin, and How Should I Begin? Of course, you will know your own dogs personality best, but in general after your dog has been weaned, and a few months have elapsed, you can begin some very basic bird dog training. One good activity at this stage is to play a game with your dog: hide some favorite treats in one of your pockets. A beginning bird dog training activity can be as simple as encouraging your dog to find a treat in your pocket -- this will help to get them in the habit of using sent to locate objects, and they will come to associate this activity with receiving a reward. Another thing you can do as a part of your early-stage bird dog training is to introduce your young dog to the out-of-doors, before you go out specifically to hunt. At this stage, just let your dog become comfortable being in the out-of-doors, with all of the sights and sounds and smells that they will be encountering. At some stage in your bird dog training program, usually in conjunction with other training for fieldwork, you will also need to prepare your dog for the sound of gunfire. The goal of these types of training activities is to make your dog "gun broken." Typically, training your dog to accept the gunfire is done as a part of other bird dog training in the field, rather than as a separate training activity.
| 
