The Trials and Tribulations of Chukar (a Brittany)

[adam.WI]

Your a step up on mine. She only get in the water if there is an actual bird out there, but I guess she does it when it counts so can't complain that much

[Moses]

Didn't see if anyone else passed this on....

Superglue will close the wound on a clipped quick.

[10Key]

July 24th:

We went out to the Fun Day that was put on by the Whid Island Brittany Club
yesterday, the 24th. We met a ton of great people and cool dogs.

We showed up in time for the lunch and the bird exposure portion of the meet. We chatted with several of the members and met thinkingman and his son. The day started off for Chukar by getting "staked" for the first time. We didn't have a stake set up, but one of the members was kind enough to lend one. At first, Chukar was freaked being staked to a 4' chain next to three dogs he had never met, he eventually figured it out.

Later on, Chukar was able to run with another Brit, in search of a couple of pigeons trapped in launchers. It was interesting to see the other dog work, as it was 4.5 years old and had worked birds many a time. Chukar was more interested in that dog than hunting anything up, hopefully in time and with more exposure, he will figure it out. This being Chukars first real exposure to birds, I was able to see how important it is to expose your dog to the scent and movement of birds and get the dog excited about it. I was super reluctant to expose Chukar at home (for fear of screwing something up) but I now understand how and why it needs to be done.

All in all it was a great day, we met a ton of great people and dogs and discovered a club that we are seriously considering joining and becoming active with.

[10Key]

August 11th:

We just got back from a road trip down to central California, Chukar was a saint on the drive there and back. He is so well behaved in his kennel. There were times when he was "cooped" up for 5 hours. Anyways, he had a blast swimming, playing with my nephew and nieces as well as my sister and bro-in-law.

The plan was to start "bird" training when we returned, today was the first day. I do not have a strict plan, my idea is to take it easy, make "birds" fun and see where it goes.

Today we started with some old pheasant wings that I had laying around...I might add, that Chukar has been around pigeons (read above), but he didn't exactly have the "drive" to seek them out.

I whipped out the first pheasant wing and Chukar instantly knew something was up. He jumped, snarled and whimpered to get a hold of it. I let him get a taste and then I hooked him up to his leash, so I could go hide the wing. Without being too sneaky, I placed the wing in one of our holly bushes. I went back to Chukar and released him...He of course went right to the area he saw me go and picked up the sent rather quickly, he flash pointed and went in for the "kill". It was pretty cool to see him really "want" the wing. We repeated this a couple of times with me hiding a wing and him locating it. We ended on a good note with Chukar locating a pretty tough one.

I am going to keep doing this, progressing to Chukar being totally hidden, so he cannot see where I am locating wings. I will post up on his progress.

And by the way, it seems like Chukar has picked up on me using my hands to have him go in a certain direction, something we haven't formally worked on, pretty cool though.

Here is a shot of Chukar swimming in a small creek in Cali:

[arintime]

I have been following your posts about Chuckar and that is one good looking dog! Keep it up and thanks for the updates.

[10Key]

I have a ton of catching up to do here, but time is limited. Here is a quick shot from this morning of Chukar running around the yard with a new toy that G-ma brought over:

[10Key]

September 10, 2010:

Well, it was finally time to take Chukar out on an actual "hunting" excursion. The idea was to get him in the field, expose him to shotgun fire and maybe stumble upon a grouse or two...We met part of our goal

To give some additional background as I haven't posted many details lately, we have virtually done zero training with or around live birds (and it shows). We've spent time in the back yard with wings and scented dummies, but that is the extent of it. We have worked very little on "whoa" training and directional/range commands have been something Chukar and I have developed while spending time on hikes, etc. Well, here is how it went:

We started of Friday morning heading out to the grouse woods, we made it to our initial destination at about 7am. I popped the hatch on my car and left Chukar in his crate. I grabbed the 20 gauge and some shells and I headed out to 100 paces...I fired off two quick shots. I could see Chukar peering though the grates of his crate, not much movement. I walked about 20 paces closer and fired off a couple more rounds, same thing. Finally, I walked to within about 20 yards and fired off the last 2 rounds. All I saw was Chukar sitting there in his crate waiting to be "released". I went over to him and praised him and got him excited to hit the trail.

We started off up a pretty steep grade and right off the bat he was smelling a ton of stuff that he was interested in, including some TP and associated mess that someone left 4 feet off the trail. A couple "leave-its" got us going again...He was going crazy, covering areas to both sides, up and downhill and up ahead. He is pretty good at staying in front of me, but there are times when he gets onto a scent trail and ends up behind me. Anyways, we continued on up the grade, seeing a ton a different berry patches, for sure I thought we would see something sooner, rather than later...Nothing. Chukar kept working the trail and surrounding area and I was trying to keep up with him. Here is a shot of him looking back down the trail, hoping we never turn back!



We kept on up the hill, with me reeling Chukar in and sending him back out. I truly thought we were going to bust a grouse...or a bear at any time! Here is Chukar working a steep, rocky hillside about 2/3 up the trail, doesn't he look like a bird dog?!



We approached the end of the trail...or the part of the trail that I wasn't willing to tackle on this day and decided to head back down. No sign of a grouse, bear, deer or any other living creature besides a squirrel and a crow or two. Before we headed back down the trail, I decided I would "surprise" Chukar with a couple quick shots to see how he would react. Bam, bam, he came running toward me to see what was going on, but he didn't jerk, cower or show any other sign of being spooked. I was pleased to say the least.

We went on another hunt, with similar results. There were no birds to be had on this day.

With the first hunt completed, I was feeling pretty good about exposing Chukar to the gun and his reaction or lack there of...At the same time, I realized that we both have a TON of work to do. Here the three things that became evident before we left the woods:

1. Bird work is super important and is something we are going have to do in the near future. I could tell that Chukar was on scents numerous times, but those scents could have been squirrel, rabbit or grasshopper...I am hoping the bird work will focus his attention to bird scents and keep him from or limit his chasing of the other scents in the field.

2. Whoa. There were a couple of instances that Chukar looked birdy, but nothing materialized. I am thinking that his lack of training in this area could have potentially lead to at least an instance in which there may have been a bird nearby, but he chased it away without me noticing. How is he supposed to know what to do if he has never been trained

3. Directional commands/Ranging. I have to figure out how to keep him within range and in front of me. There were times when he was well out of site and there were other times that he started off ahead of me and popped out behind me on the trail. I have a couple ideas here, but I haven't figured out exactly how I want to approach this.

Overall, it really was a great day. The weather was awesome, watching Chukar work the woods was a joy and learning the things that we need to hone was enlightening. Dead birds will come in time.

[jetjockey]

Time to go purchase some birds.  I prefer a dogs first bird intro to be on caged birds in a release.  You can work the dog into the birds from the downwind side off a check cord.  Work the dog into the birds until it points.  Once it does, you can release the bird and let it fly off.  Don't let the dog catch the bird though.  You can even tie a small string around the birds (pigeons work great for this) leg with a small water bottle attached to it.  You can fill up the bottle with just a little water so the bird can't fly to far and can be used again.  Wild birds are great for teaching pups, but unfortunatly for 99% of us there just isn't enough wild birds any more to train with.  Once the dog is holding point a little better you can continue to work your way up to the dog working without the check cord. 

When you want to train patterning, just plant birds in a field at different 11 and 2 oclock, or 10-3 positions down the field.  Work you way to the left until you find the first one, then to the right until you find the next, then back and fourth working your way down the field.  It won't take many times for him to learn to pattern back and fourth.  If you want your pup to run edges, just plant the birds in the hedge rows, or edges of the fields.  Dogs seem to pick up patterning pretty quick.  Good luck, hes looking good.

[10Key]

Great advice jetjockey, I think we can handle that. Through this entire process, I have been super hesitant when taking training to the next step, for fear of messing up the pup. What u described is pretty much what I've read, I just need to do it now. Of course, I will post our progress.

I did forget to mention how much fun it was to watch Chukar work during our first excursion, the hunting aspect became secondary.

[10Key]

September 19th:

Thanks again to SnowDog for hooking me up with some chukar, I got 5 from him for training.

I decided we would start in the backyard on a check-cord (thanks jetjockey). I put one of the chukar into a very small cat crate and hid the crate in the bushes. We entered the backyard, with me releasing Chukar with the good 'ole "hunt 'em up" signal. He put his nose into the ground and started tracking...he had some trouble on the first one, but he eventually figured out that using the breeze and his nose really helps. He found the crate and went crazy, not much of a point, but he definitely used his nose to find the bird. We repeated this a couple of times, eventually having my wife hide the crate so both Chukar and I were "blind" entering the yard. By the fifth time, he really picked up the sent and found the crate. We ended this session by releasing the chukar into the "wild" while Chukar went ballistic trying to catch it.

Wow, what a difference a live bird makes. I have seen Chukar excited before, but nothing compared to this. When he was on a scent and tracking that bird, he was having a ball. Then for him to see the bird "get away" made him super excited! the funny part is, his best points were when he approached an area that the crate was on a previous stash...He never really pointed on the crated bird, something we will work on. Here is a rough shot of us entering the "field":



We held another round of training in the afternoon, with the weather being much nicer. Basically, we did the same drill. Put a chukar inside the crate, hide the crate and then Chukar and I enter the yard blind and try and find the crate. There was a stark difference in how Chukar approached this round. He seemed to know that using his nose and the wind would get him on the bird much faster and boy did it! We did this three or four times, which didn't take long now that Chukar had it figured out. The session adjourned with the crate door being opened, Chukar being "whoa'ed" and the chukar flying off into the Himalayas. Overall a good day, I can't wait to do it some more! Thanks to everyone for the tips.

The next round I plan to hit the field and really concentrate on pointing/whoa...Until then

[SnowDog]

Sounds like it was a great couple of sessions. One of the drills I used with my pup was to drag a rag with "training scent" on it around the yard and then placing a dog treat at the end of the trail. It gave him some good experience trailing. Nothing motivates a lab like food, except birds.

I took the rest of the live Chukar out to Peppers today and worked on steady to flush and recall on a running bird. Coho is starting to get it, but you can still tell it is almost more than he can handle watching a running bird get away when I recall him. Progress

Cheers!
SD

[10Key]

September 21st:

With the great weather, we just had to get out today and use the last few chukar that we had from the original five we picked up Sunday. I was out marketing all day, but I made sure to get home in time to capitalize on the sunshine.

The session started off a bit rocky, with the first bird escaping my grasp and flying around the garage for a bit, that was fun. Meanwhile, Chukar was tied up in the front yard and he could hear me rustling around in the garage (door closed) trying to catch the dang bird! Anyways, I pinned the bird and got him into the crate. Off to the backyard I went, I hid the bird in what I thought was a tough spot...To the front yard to get Chukar. As soon as I came around, he saw my leather gloves, smelled them and pointed, boy was he excited! I shortened the check-cord and reeled him in, calming him before all hell broke lose. We went through the side gate, I commanded, "stay", Chukar stood there, waiting for the next command..."Hunt 'em up Chukar!". Off he went, ripping the cord through my gloved fingers, thank the lord for the knot at the end!

He put his nose to the ground, picking up the scent from where I drug the crate on the ground, leaving a "false" trail. It sure is amazing how well these dogs can smell. Anyways, he worked into the wind and picked up another scent, this time it was for real. He rounded the holly bush, flash pointed and started whining and yelping, he wanted that bird. I commanded, "whoa" and pulled back on the check cord. I tied it off to the nearest tree and proceeded to grab the crate with the bird in it. I placed the bird just out of reach of Chukar and commanded, "whoa" again, Chukar obliged.

Next round, I moved the crate and focused on the point/whoa portion of the training, as Chukar nose was finding everything fast. This time, he found the bird, I pulled back on the cord and commanded whoa. I shortened the cord and got close to Chukar, stroking his tail upward, commanding whoa at the same time, holding him back. He eventually relaxed and stood there...Nice job! Eventually, he laid down and I had to stand him up, but overall, pretty good work.

We repeated this a couple of more times, with the fourth round ending with me tying off Chukar, releasing the bird just out of his reach, commanding whoa until the bird flew off...Check

I went and grabbed the next bird, this time, Chukar found the bird fast, I whoa'd him and tied him off. As I was releasing the bird, I could tell something was up with the bird...He didn't fly, oh crap! The last thing I need is for Chukar to get lose and chomp this bird. I untied Chukar, held on tight and commanded, "Hunt'em up!". He went ballistic running after this bird, he lost sight of it and went back to using his nose, he approached, pointed and I commanded whoa...This was our first experience putting the point/whoa together, it was an awesome feeling...Somehow the bird "escaped" over the fence, hmmm.

We had one more bird to go, we basically performed the same as above, with emphasis on point/whoa when Chukar located the crate.

Overall, training with live birds has been a blast and has REALLY brought out the bird-drive in little Chukar. I can't wait to get some more birds and move the training into the field.

[SnowDog]

Congrats on the great progress!!!! Live birds really make a huge difference.

Cheers!
SD

[10Key]

September 29th:

We went back to basics today, time for some check-cord work! The plan was to go through several rounds of sit/stay/come and then move on to several rounds of fetch with a scented dummy.

It is funny how quickly Chukar get's in training mode as soon as he sees me don the leather gloves and pull out the check cord. So anyways, I hooked him in and got going.

Sit...Stay...Walk away with my hand up...Come! We ran through that series several times until both Chukar and I got bored (only about 5 times).

Next up was for me to go grab the grouse scented dummy from the garage. As soon as I stepped out of the backdoor, Chukar caught a whiff of the scent and was going ballistic! By the way, I had him hooked to a tree, so you can imagine the scene with him jumping against the check cord/tree

I unhooked him, with one hand as I had the dummy in the other, what a sight. Eventually I get Chukar to heed my command of sit, I then tightened down the check cord with my foot so he couldn't run when I threw the dummy. I then tossed the dummy about 20-25 feet and I commanded Chukar to stay as I stroked the underside of his chin and chest...good boy, good boy.

From there, when I want him to fetch, I give the command "Fetch" and tap him at the same time. That seems to work well for the two of us. Anyways, he ran out like a bat out of hell, clamped down on the dummy and started my way with a little guidance from the check cord. I commanded "drop-it" and he released...kind of We did this two more times with similar results.

It wasn't until about the fourth time that I didn't need to guide him back with the check cord, he figured it out by then. Several more rounds of this with decent results and we both were ready to pack it in, Chukar was losing interest and I had to get back to work.

Overall, a good day in the "field". It was nice to review some of the older commands, reinforcing them and keeping at "fetch", which is still a work in progress.

The plan is to pick up some chukar tomorrow and do some more bird work, locating, pointing and whoa. I might even be able to shoot over Chukar too, we'll see. We are prepping for a trip to a game preserve next week, so I hope to get him "polished" up before then...We have a long ways to go, the journey has been fun thus far!

[10Key]

October 7th, 2010:
We made it over to my friend's farm on the Palouse mid-afternoon...Just enough time for a hunt. We jumped in the Mule and headed out. The first place we stepped out, within 100 yards, Chukar had scented and flushed two hen roosters, this got him in the game fast! We hiked for another mile or two and only had some tweetie birds here and there.

We made it back to the house and we could see some roosters out in the field about 200 yards out. We loaded up and off we went, this would be Chukar's first "gimme" hunt, we were excited to see how he would react.

We made it to within 40 yards of where we last spotted the birds and released Chukar, within seconds he had their wind. He was slinking along and all of a sudden he locked up, it was quite the sight! We approached cautiously, we made it to within 5 yards of Chukar who was still holding by the way and the bird flushed. BAM BAM, I hit the rooster with the follow up at about 35 yards, he landed in a creek. What a moment! I went down the water, called Chukar over and he jumped in and mouthed the bird, swam with it a bit and left it near the bank, I was able to reach down, fall in the water and grab the bird, success. By the way, remember that we were hunting a shooting preserve.

In the few hours we hunted, it was quite obvious that we need to work around and in birds more often, his instinct seemed to come out more and more and his exposure increased throughout the afternoon.  We are going to head out again today and see if we can get into some quail.