Live Birds are the Key to
Building Better Hunting Dogs
By Rhett Kermicle
It’s no
secret that giving your hunting dog lots of experience with live
birds in the off-season will make him a better hunter when fall
comes around. But what types of birds are best? The short answer
is, “Any you can get!” But if you have a choice, you’ll want to
give some thought to your budget and what type of training you’re
doing.
We use all
types of birds in our upland training program, both for our own
dogs and clients’ dogs. Let me share with you my thoughts on the
pros and cons of various birds. Remember, before you acquire any
birds, be sure to check your local laws regarding possession,
transportation and training with live birds. These laws vary
widely from state to state, so make sure you know them before you
start.
Perhaps the
most common and economical training birds are pigeons. Strong
flyers that are easy to keep and care for over extended periods,
pigeons are the staple of most training programs. They also give
off lots of scent, a nice advantage when introducing a young dog
to birds.
The downside
to pigeons is that they are hard to plant with predictability.
Many training exercises fall apart when a pigeon takes wing while
the dog is still 50 yards away. Experiment with different methods
of dizzying birds so they stay put most of the time and, unless
you’re using release traps, just accept the fact that you’re going
to lose a bird now and then. Also, if you start your dog on
pigeons, it can be a bit of a challenge to transfer him over to
gamebirds, which give off less scent. Still, most dog owners find
pigeons to be a great value.
Quail tend
to cost more than pigeons, but they are still fairly economical
for most trainers. Healthy, pen-raised quail closely simulate wild
birds. However, unlike pigeons, quail can be difficult to keep
healthy and maintain. Unless you have a large chunk of land where
you can set up a recall pen and tend to the birds regularly, you
might be better off purchasing quail as needed.
Insist on
quality when you purchase quail. There’s nothing worse than
flushing a quail in front of a young dog’s point, then having the
bird flutter several feet and land again while your dog rushes in
and tries to catch it. This may be great fun for your young dog,
but if that happens too many times you’ll find yourself doing a
lot of retroactive training to keep him from breaking point.
Chukars and
pheasants have it all. They give off plenty of scent, and they’re
hard to beat for training dogs to handle runners. Yes, they’re
expensive. But if you plan on hunting pheasants, you’ll be way
ahead by purchasing these larger birds in the off-season and
letting him get used to the boisterous flush and extra size and
weight during retrieves.
Finally, my
favorite training bird is the Hungarian partridge when I can find
some. These birds simply aren’t as available as the others.
They’re bigger and heartier than quail, but smaller than
pheasants. They give off good scent, won’t run out of the county
on you and have a strong flush. Huns also recall like quail do. If
you have enough room to work with them, you might consider setting
up a training program around these excellent birds.
We’ve been
archiving a variety of topics to take you through the dog training
process at the sportDog Web site,
www.sportdog.net. Refer to this site if you need to
catch up on earlier information in our dog training series.
Rhett
Kermicle has 20 years’ experience training hunting dogs. He is a
co-owner, guide and dog handler at Wild Wing Kennel in Sturgis,
Kentucky. For more information, go to
www.wildwingkennel.com.
