Working on Range

[skagit]

So I have a 1  1/2 year old Brittany that is running way too far from me when hunting the release sites.  Flushing birds 100 yards out.....urghhh.  Any tips on working on the range issue?  I am getting an e-collar shortly.

[Ellensburg]

My springer pup is doing the same thing. Not 100 yards but sometimes getting out past the 25 yard mark that i like... Then he is chasing birds that he flushes. I too am getting an e-collar. My last dog had no need, but this one is super stubborn.... But a GREAT hunter for 7 months old.

[SpringerFan]

Sounds to me like more training is needed. I have a springer who stays nice and close. If I need to turn him or have him change direction I give him his whistle command. But first you need to teach them the verbal commands.

don;t you use a "whoa" command with pointers?

[Ellensburg]

Sounds to me like more training is needed. I have a springer who stays nice and close. If I need to turn him or have him change direction I give him his whistle command. But first you need to teach them the verbal commands.

don;t you use a "whoa" command with pointers?

Yea mine needs more training. Like I said, my last dog didn't get out of range like this. Everything else is fantastic. I think that an e-collar will do the trick when he starts chasing a bird and being hard-headed. How much do ur springers weigh? My last one tipped the scales at 90 lbs. He was a chunk but he could hunt alllll day. I think my pup is only going to be about 50 lbs... Both were purebred.

[RC3]

You have a pointer 100 yards isn't very far.............she just needs to point and hold it!

[BuckeyeMan]

Has the Britt been trained to point?  I've yet to see a "close working" Brittany, all the ones I've seen want to run, and need to be well trained.

How does the dog do on a check cord?

[SpringerFan]

And NEVER use an e-collar to teach them a command. It shold be to correct only. That is, they know the command but decide to ignore it. It makes me sick to hear dogs shriek after a zap and the damn hunter never said a thing or gave a whislte command.

My pup is 42 lbs. 90lbs. for a springer is pretty odd. Sure it wasn't a lab?? 

[Ellensburg]

And NEVER use an e-collar to teach them a command. It shold be to correct only. That is, they know the command but decide to ignore it. It makes me sick to hear dogs shriek after a zap and the damn hunter never said a thing or gave a whislte command.

My pup is 42 lbs. 90lbs. for a springer is pretty odd. Sure it wasn't a lab?? 

I know. He was a chunk but he hunted harder than any dog I have ever seen. He would climb up and over 5 foot thorn bushes and come out bloody but he always got the flush.


I don't plan on using a shocker to teach commands... I took the pup out today and he hunted like a champ. It was a truly great performance minus one incident where he ran too far ahead and would not come. In that instance, I would have liked to have had a shocker. He is getting chopped on wednesday so hopefully that cuts down on his hard head.

[Houndhunter]

i would buy a shock collar, dont even really need to shock em much once they learn what happens you can just use the beep

[SpringerFan]

i would buy a shock collar, dont even really need to shock em much once they learn what happens you can just use the beep

Agreed. My pup now responds to a vibrate mode. Only took a few low level zaps. I always gave the command, then gave it again. Followed by the vibrate then a low level zap. They are quick learners.

[wildweeds]

A pointing dogs range will be what it will be,100 yards on a release site is what I'd consider short,I run the garmin on every dog of the six I own,average range of each dog is different,I've got 2 that git with it and have hit over 600 yards on a single swing,my male a horseback trial dog hit 892 last year and went on point,stood there until 3 yahoos driving by the boundry saw him,stopped the truck,jumped the fence,flushed and killed 2 birds in front of him,collected the birds,returned to the truck and drove away,I saw the whole thing.I had closed the gap to 450 when he released himself and returned back my way.Those 2 dogs average 200-275 yards on the "Edges".Put either of them in the flats east of Ritzville or the chukar hills and their Average gets alot bigger.One dog averages 50-100,another which is a pup still is an awful example of an AA CH sired dog and rarely gets past 35 yards,points and holds till you flush for him,Zero training other than "here" and "yo".I've killed about 40 or so birds over him so far,I don't like his range and he'll be moving it on down the highway to live somewhere else after I return from South Dakota in December.

   Your Brit needs alot of wild bird contacts and work on the "Here" command to 100% reliable,then you need to come up with a whistle toot to signify "Turn" you control the range with the "turn".My Turn command is "YO".The best thing is to let the dog "knock" until she points and then hustle on up there and get one killed over a point,this needs to be done over and over and over ,the more repetitions the longer the points will be held,I'll assume this is the dogs first hunting season(at least a REAL season)last year at 6 months there wasn't enough between the ears to be anything more than ARMED dog walking.First season is for the dog,the rest are for the hunter,the 90 days between June 1 and August 31 are going to be where your going to get somewhere,if you perservere with the training and stick with it around the first week in August you'll have a dog that will stand through the kill of a bird,by the end of the month she'll stand still and be a peach.You don't NEED a collar to do this but it will help.If one only knew that a checkcord,slip collar and a bunch of birds is all that is needed.

   Head to someplace with lots of birds and turn her loose,Huns in the flats would be my choice,they allow for ZERO dog B.S.


         I have a really reliable steady dog that took 9 - 3 hour hunts before she "pointed" her first bird,I killed it,and then the next...............the lightbulb burned brighter and brighter and she has turned out to be a bird finding machine that has put alot of birds in the bag.

      PATIENCE.............................if your britt has had less than 50 encounters with game ............she needs more time on the ground IMO.I haven't been overly impressed with many britt puppies I've seen as far as "inherited point".They need repeated exposure and disappointment of "flyaways" before the urge to knock and chase subsides and the urge to point and hold comes on.

    Sometimes a guy gets lucky and his "choice" points the first wild birds he ever sees and is what one would consider a "Natural pointer",other times though the "choice" needs time on the ground,birds to teach him the error of his ways and an owner who is not a micro manager.

[SpringerFan]

Great reply weeds. I can't help as I have a flusher. Input like yours is what makes this a great forum. 

[wildweeds]

To awnser your question on the pointers Springer fan, Yeah "whoa" is for pointers but not for around birds IMO,Its used as a saftey belt when they "Break" to chase.Repetition of the desired work nets the end result,If a dog does it right,to the box with a reward(the bird) and that's it for the day,If the dog does it wrong..............same thing,giving a second chance at doing it "right" rewards the negative behavior that netted the undesired result,and with a second try the outcome will be the same as the first over 90% of the time from my experiance.

Sounds to me like more training is needed. I have a springer who stays nice and close. If I need to turn him or have him change direction I give him his whistle command. But first you need to teach them the verbal commands.

don;t you use a "whoa" command with pointers?

[10Key]

Great info wildweeds and thanks to skagit for asking the question. The differentiation that wildweeds uses to describe when tonier whoa makes perfect sense, although different from what I've read. Again, great info...when can I drop my dog off wildweeds?!

[jetjockey]

Wildweed is spot on.  Its not a range problem, its a training problem.  Pointing dogs are supposed to run big and hold birds until you get there.  Your brits running, but not holding birds.  100 yards is a very close working pointing dog IMO.  Get it on lots of birds and get it steady, don't shoot birds it flushes, but doesn't point.  Sounds like it needs more yard work and barrel work.  Work on patterning, and bird work, and you will love your brit ranging out a long ways.  BTW.. You might want to spend the money and buy a Garmin Astro as well.  With big ranging dogs they are wonderful for telling you when your dog is on point.