Trusting your Bird Dog!

[Bmcox86]

I don't know how many times I learned this the hard way I guess I still haven't learned

Yesterday the dog slammed on a solid point and I killed the bird, then I ran the dog for 13 more miles(15 total on the garmin) over the next 2 hours and he got birdy many times to no avail( lots of piles of feathers), then on the way out he got birdy again and I ignored him, walking the other direction  and he slammed on point promptly and the bird flushed wild, never even saw it, just heard him get up, kicked myself in the butt all the way back to the truck not that I have to kill every bird I just like to reward the dog for good bird work

Did this atleast 20 times last year(1 season) and didn't learn!

[Heredoggydoggy]

Don't feel bad.  Happens to the best of us.  Years ago a buddy and I pulled into a Public Hunting Area just as a couple of other hunters were loading up their dogs and leaving.  I let my Setter out, and she immediately began nosing around a bush not 20 feet from our truck.  Thinking that there couldn't be a bird in there being as two dogs and hunters had just worked the area, we paid no attention, and didn't hurry getting our guns out.  You guessed it--a nice Cock Rooster busted out of the bush... 

Never doubt a dog's nose!

[Stilly bay]

It happens. I had a pup that would constantly point tweety birds when he got bored. It was irritating as hell, and I wanted to either ignore him at times or crank the Ecollar to nuclear brain damage, but I knew that as soon as I did there would be a pheasant in front of him instead of a tweety.

[AspenBud]

Lost one of my Pointers in a snow storm at a private preserve a few years back. The Garmin said he was 10 yards away pointing and my buddy and I circled and circled and the dog would not come when called. I started to cuss about how disobedient the dog was, started doubting the Astro since I couldn't find the dog, and took two steps only to have the bird take to wing with the dog hot on its heals (I don't train steady to flush). The dog had stood pointing, camouflaged with his white coat in the snow, the whole time doing what he should while I bitched about his "disobedience."

I've also had a dog mysteriously disobey and start hunting hard, call him off, only to see bird tracks in the snow.

Long story short, I've learned to more often than not let the dog hunt and stay out of the way.

[JJD]

Have done similar with a retriever.  Sent dog on blind retrieves only to have the dog want to go elsewhere after it was in the area of the fall.
Think the dog is just blowing off my commands, just to have it locate the birds many yds away.
If the dog could talk it would say, "listen moron, I'm the one with the nose here, how about you let me do my job so we can get on with the hunt?
Just because a bird appears to be pretty well anchored, don't mean it is.

[509]

I always try to remember to trust the dog.

A week ago, I thought I lost my dog.  So I started pressing the tone to get him to return.  Nothing. 

Then I heard a faint beeping off in the distance.  It must have been over five minutes before I finally found the dog in heavy cover.  He was on point.  Gave me a dirty look, like where in the hell were you??? 

So I am thinking about giving him a beeper.  So he can beep me when he is on point.

[Ridgeratt]

Just remember thats why God put a nose on a dog!! there for a reason.

[Heredoggydoggy]

Just remember thats why God put a nose on a dog!! there for a reason.

And that's why they go through life "nose first". 

[Bmcox86]

Finally trusted my dog this morning, he did a skidding spin around point(my favorite type of point) I went in to flush and nothing, I kept walking further and nothing, came back and tried to release him and he moved 6 inches and locked up harder, so I went in again and the rooster comes flying out from underneath me, perfect head shot and he even brought it back close to me(he's not force fetched) and dropped it so he could keep hunting.

[bracer40]

Isn't that an awesome sight?!?

[Bmcox86]

I think the skidding lock up is the best sight in bird hunting

[jackson7]

Gents, have found trusting your dog is like trusting a compass.
 I have knocked birds down hard and tried to get my dog to hunt dead in that area. Instead off she goes as I am now getting ticked off. invariably, back she comes with bird in mouth.
Trust them both, as hard as it may be to do at times.

[Wacenturion]

Always trusted my dogs.  Many years ago had a incredible Red Setter male that when I would hunt a certain area with a brushy draw that started where I parked, I would get out the Remington 11-48 28 gauge bored skeet, load, and then let Tack, my setter out of the rig.  Everytime like clockwork, he would run downwind, then turn, come forward slightly an put his nose into the slight breeze and many times slam into a point with his twelve o'clock tail pointing skyward  Can't tell you how many pheasants I shot at that location before we even got started.  One smart cookie...felt sorry for the birds.

[Don Fischer]

I used to judge field trials and one of the more common handler mistakes I saw was handler's not trusting their dog and handler's over handling their dog. Kind of funny after awhile, you can see it coming!