Cove Mountain Kennels

As you can see Jinx is coming along nicely. He has some reluctance to hold a large rooster pheasant, but he is getting it. This guy is a fast learner. He readily understands what is asked of him and is a pleasure to work with.

 

 

I have been working with a beautiful German shorthair pointer, Jinx on the trained retrieve (force fetch). Jinx is coming along nicely. I started on the table using the ear pinch, getting him to hold dowels, wooden dumbells (photo above), bumpers, then graduating to a hammer (held far down the handle, it’s awkward and difficult to hold), and a metal pry bar (again, uncomfortable and difficult to hold). With Jinx confidence and previous training, and his ability to learn, he is coming along quickly. However, it’s important not to skip steps, so the foundation is properly laid.

 

 

Walking the dog on lead, seems easy enough, right? For many people, walking the dog on leash is a frustrating experience; one where you match your strength against the dog’s pull. Thinking about the leash differently may help your dog understand you and help you to have a better experience walking the dog on the leash.

Most people think of the leash as a control device for the dog. Put it on and pull him into place. The problem is that more often than not, the dog uses it to control you by pulling you around. It often becomes a struggle of strength between the two of you. A big strong guy might be up to the task, but often times, it’s just not worth it for a lady to walk the family dog, especially if it is one of the larger breeds of gun dogs. 

Instead of thinking of the leash as a control device to pull the dog into position, think of it as a communication tool to let the dog know when he is in correct position, or when he is out of position. I absolutely love the Delmar Smith Command Lead for the initial leash (heel) training; however a properly fitted choke chain collar will also work. Place the command lead, or choke collar high on the neck, right behind the ears. If you feel carefully high on the sides of a dogs neck there is a small depression, followed by a small spinal process that bumps out. Proper placement of the training lead/collar is right in this depression.

Once the lead is in place and the dog is on you left side (most common), give the command (“Heel!) and step off crisply with the left foot. You are the leader here; you decide where you are going, at what speed, and just what will be sniffed, marked, etc. Hold the leash up, or just slightly to the side of the dog’s neck with just enough pressure to keep the lead in the groove behind the head. When the dog starts to get out of position, give a crisp snap on the lead, then return to the normal light pressure to let the dog know he is getting out of position. You are not pulling the dog back into position, rather telling him through the leash that he is not following your lead. If you find that the leash is slipping out of the groove, you are trying to control the dog with the leash and pull him back into position.

When the dog is challenging your authority by getting out ahead of you and pulling on the leash, turn a sharp 90 degrees to the right, giving the lead a crisp pop to let him know he is out of position and not following your lead. Similarly, you can 90 to the left, snap the lead and bump him with your knee to let him know he is out of position.

I would like to stress the position of the lead/collar close up behind the head and the fact that if the collar is constantly slipping out of this position, you are trying to control the dog by pulling him to heel. If he is pulling, he is asserting his dominance over you.

I think that for many dogs, it feels good to pull, something like a sled dog driving against their harness. This is fine for a sled dog, or a team of horses, but not for your dog you are walking around the block, or down the two-track to a good looking hunting spot.

It’s August and it’s hot! Nevertheless, fall bird season is right around the corner. (Just a reminder, if you want a Utah Sage-grouse permit, tomorrow is the day.) Dove season is less than 4 weeks away. Right now I am looking at a passel of doves on my training ground; I’m praying that we don’t get the usual rainy, cool weather about August 28th, which sends the doves packing. Another 15 days after the dove season and the forest grouse season will be underway. The grouse season is when I get really keyed up (it has begun!).

For most hunters in Utah, they are dreaming of antlers about now. Not me, I’m dreaming of a dog locked up on point and having the rush of two following pairs of chukars coming up at my feet. I also can hear the whistling wings of ducks zipping over head just as the gray light is forming.

It’s nice now, that the training birds are just getting old enough to start using them for dog training. Now’s the time to get the dog tuned up in the yard before you can hit a game preserve to really tune him up for the field.

Some of our good friends and their new dog. Nothing like kids and a lab. Note 2 year-old Brooklyn holding her dog, happy as can be.

 

My last post got me thinking about unlikely hunting dogs. When I was a kid hunting in Rexford, Kansas, one of my hunting mentors, (Mr.) Carol Gould had a great little cocker spaniel that would shag doves as long as you would shoot them. He was like a ferret working up pheasants, though Carol didn’t take him too much because his coat would get so tangled with cockle-burrs.

A friend of mine recently took up hunting and converted his mongrel dog, Tyson, to hunt grouse and rabbits. There’s no telling what breeds Tyson descends from, at least not from any hunting stock I recognize. But he does a great job.

The funniest though, was a guy we ran into duck hunting along Farmington Bay near the Great Salt Lake. He was hunting with an Australian Heeler. It was bitter cold; he had a neoprene vest on the dog, and the dog seemed to be loving the outing. The owner, I never did catch his name, had shot a merganser and it had sailed way way out on some thin ice, where he was still up and alive. (My favorite part was the dog’s name, “Kowalski.”) Kowalski was sent on the retrieve. He blasted out there, then when confronted with a large hissing duck, instead of picking it up, he started circling and driving it back to the blind. I can still hear the owner yelling, “fetch it up, Kowalski!” He looked at my hunting partner and I and said, a little sheepishly, “He doesn’t exactly come by it naturally.” We still laugh about that today.

The fact is that all dog are canines and are related back to wolves and wild dogs, so it shouldn’t be suprising that with some work, they all can hunt. On the other hand, hard-wiring (genetics and breeding) can’t be overlooked. It’s what makes a cow dog circle the herd and a retriever fetch.

Send me your stories about your unlikely hunting dog.

We are used to larger breeds, mostly hunting dogs, so it is a fun twist for us to have a cute little toy dog (Shih Tzu) boarding with us for two weeks. He came complete with a pink faux aligator-skin hand bag to tote him around in. (I thought I’d really look good with that accessory. Maybe I’ll try it out at the trap range.)

Jackson is a bold little dog and after a minute gets right down to playing with the big dogs. When they get too close or too rough, he lets them know in no uncertain terms that it’s enough. I wonder how these little guys would do shagging doves on a dove shoot?

This morning, Pioneer Day (a State holiday here in Utah) was a beautiful morning. With the cloud cover it stayed in the sixtys until almost 8:30. Chris and I took the dogs for a five mile run and had a great time. They were hot when we got back and enjoyed a cool dip in the snow sled/dog bath.

After exercise, dogs are always so much happier. They really respond to regular exercise. I guess people do to. I know it clears my head and makes me feel more alive.

Happy 24th of July.