Pointing Dog
Foundation Training
as featured in the Quail Forever Magazine
Foundation Training
as featured in the Quail Forever Magazine
By Dale Taylor
Owner of Premier Gundogs Training Kennel Hallam, Nebraska
Probably the most common question I am asked is on the subject of puppy training. There is probably more
disagreements and differences in training techniques concerning this topic than any other. The reason I feel
there is such a difference, is that trainers tend to teach different styles to their dogs, on how to hunt and it
varies from region to region. An example of this would be a Georgia Field Trial trainer using the same
techniques in foundation work as a pheasant hunter would use in South Dakota. The last thing the Field
Trial trainer would want to see is there prize big running quail dog quartering 30 yards out and checking in
repeatably during a hunt. Hopefully, this article will help you in understanding how to accomplish teaching a
Midwest Style Upland Dog.
Dogs are pack animals and puppies imprint at a very young age how to be a predator and to hunt as a pack.
When you take the pup from the litter it then “bonds” with you and becomes part of your pack, with you
becoming its new pack leader. It is during this time period, what I call “Foundation Training”, that our new
bird dog pup learns how to be a hunter. While there are many ingredients in making a solid gundog, the
proper introduction to birds, retrieving and gun fire are the most important. The foundation for other skills
such as quartering, hunting in range, hunting in cover and tracking will also be taught during this time
period.
First, I can not emphasis enough the importance of getting your new pup “birdy”. For Pointing breeds this
means pointing a wing on a string at a young age then continuing on to pointing quail, pigeons, and then
pheasants. We always start small and work our way up. The wing and a string accomplish several things.
First, it develops pointing ability and bird drive where the youngster is not intimidated by a big wing beat or
the actual sound of the flush. Second, it develops what is called “staunchness on point”. Staunchness is
best described as a dog that looks frozen solid while on point, with full attention on the bird. It is achieved by
making the pup think that if he moves toward the bird, it will fly away. Staunchness should not be confused
with “steadiness”. Steadiness is a term used to describe an older dog that has been taught not to move by
using a command such as, “WHOA”. It is similar to using a command of “SIT” to achieve steadiness in a
retriever.
The wing and the string allow you to flush the bird (so to speak) if the pup moves in by lifting the rod up. The
pup then imprints that if he creeps or jumps in the bird will fly away creating a strong desire to stay on point
and creating staunchness on point. You can continue this as junior gets older by using a fresh killed quail on
the string, not only are getting larger but now you are adding scent to the exercise. The pup now is learning
that what he is pointing has a certain smell to it. This new smell triggers a strong bird drive response that is
genetically hardwired into your dog. Next, you can start to drop the fresh killed quail in cover and teach the
pup to point off scent only, again flushing the bird if the youngster jumps or creeps in.
Now we have a young pup pointing off scent alone and he is conditioned to the flush( lifting the rod tip up) of
the dead quail if he moves. As junior develops more and more boldness toward the flush of the dead quail
you can advance to a live quail. Use only flight conditioned or liberated quail for this. Liberated quail can
usually be found in thickets next to the bird fields at your local hunt test or field trial grounds. Most states
allow dog training in these same areas giving you access to good flying birds. Flight conditioned birds can
be purchased at game farms but are not the same as just a pen raised bird. Pen raised quail that are not in
large flight pens generally do not work for this. They are not wild enough, usually do not have good enough
feathering and do not fly good enough to use with your young dog. We do not want the pup to catch the
quail but to learn to point staunchly. If he repeatedly runs down or jumps in and catches the quail you will
take the point out of him and develop a pup that wants to flush it with the imprinted thought off, “If I can get it
in the air it will come down and I can catch it”. While this is fine for a Retriever or Springer it is not what you
want in a pointing dog.
During this stage you can plant the quail in somewhat heavier cover like a food plot, taller CRP type grass or
basically the same type of cover you will be hunting. If you want a pheasant/quail dog you need to train in
the same cover where these birds are found. This imprints in the pup where to find birds. It can also be
used to imprint in the pup the range in which to hunt. This is accomplished by you, the pack leader, knowing
where the birds are. Your young pup will learn to hunt as a team thinking, “Dad always can find birds, and I’
m going to stick with him”. If you have to, walk in the heavy cover to help him find the birds. Use suggestions
like “find em”, as you get close to the planted birds. This will imprint the suggestion means a bird is close. If
junior is a run away, you can help teach the pup to stay in range by carrying the birds with you in a game
bag rather than planting the birds ahead of time. Simply wait until he turns back and is headed in. As he
approaches start releasing a few quail from the bag, again using flight conditioned birds. This will entice
junior to come back in range. Also, have a few birds planted close by for him to find, continuing to imprint
that birds are by dad. He will quickly learn from this drill that you found birds and he did not.
Next, after the pup is used to pointing and hearing the flush of a quail we go on to pigeons. While pigeons
are not a game bird you are going to be hunting, pigeons are usually easy to find, very hardy and are strong
flyers. Continue to plant in heavy cover by dizzying them up. This continues to let pup get used to a larger
wing beat while the pup is still imprinting to hunt heavier cover. Once pup is hunting for, finding, pointing
and then chasing pigeons you then go onto hen pheasants. The reason we use hens is that they do not
have the loud cackle like a rooster does with the flush, do not run as bad as a rooster and are cheaper to
purchase. You can purchase hen pheasants from local game farms and they are easy to plant by tucking
the head under a wing and putting the hen to sleep. She will only stay asleep for a little while then begin to
move around creating a large area off scent like a bird out feeding. Make sure to check your states
regulations before training with both quail and pheasants so you do not violate any game laws.
The time line between an 8 week old puppy pointing a wing to a young gundog pointing a hen is dependent
on the dog but generally is accomplished in about 4 months, or by 6 months of age. If I had to set a time
table it would be as follows: Starting at about 8 weeks of age we work the pup on the wing once a week
letting the pup have 3-5 points in the session. The session should last no longer than 5 minutes or so.
Then by 12 weeks of age we start the pup pointing the fresh killed quail on the string about once a week and
again the session should last no longer than about 5 minutes. We then are up to the 16 week of age mark
and are now pointing the liberated quail twice a week, and by 20 weeks of age pointing the pigeons. If you
can get out to the field twice a week with the pigeons in heavier cover that would be great, and generally by
the 6 month of age mark we are up to the hen pheasants, You will need to not overdue the wing and the
string as the pup may start to point the rod instead of the wing or quail. After that, the more birds the better,
again remembering we do not want pup to catch any birds.
Second, we need to develop the pup as a retriever. Bumpers are the standard tool used to start the
process of retrieving but failing to allow your pup to get a bird in its mouth at a young age can cause the pup
to not want to pick up a bird later on. We start both the bumper and bird retrieves at about 8-9 weeks of age
using a fresh killed quail for the bird. A hallway works great to get the thing started as junior will try to run by
you but ends up in your lap. This starts the process of teaching him he has to come to us. We then go
outside we use a light checkcord on the pup so we can gently pull the pup in with the bird. This will
accomplish two things. First, it keeps the pup from running off with the bird. Second, it continues to teach the
pup that we as the pack leader get to eat first and that you need to bring the bird to us. This will help to
establish us as the dominate pack leader in a gentle handed way. Retrieving a fresh killed quail also builds
prey drive which will be used later on in gun breaking. If he does not come with the bird, we gently pull him in.
Let the pup hold the bird for 30 seconds or so as this will start the process of teaching junior to hold with no
command. Some pups will not hold the bird when they get to you but will drop it in the hope the can play with
it. If the pup drops the bird just pick it up. This is not the time for any force hold or fetch so do not try and
make the pup hold.
As pup gets older move onto fresh killed pigeons, fresh killed hen pheasants and then clipped wing live
pigeons. He should progress as he gets bigger and be used to the wing beat of the live pigeons from the
pointing drills. Once he will bring in the birds without you having to pull him in take a chance to see if he will
start to retrieve the birds without the checkcord. We generally do this in a fenced alley way to guide the pup
to us like the hallway did. If pup gets away from you with the bird at anytime do not chase him that is what he
wants you to do. It is his way of trying to establish dominance over you. Simply walk away from the pup and
act like you do not care about the bird, he will come running to you. We like to play fetch daily with the
bumpers building retrieving skills but only use birds about once a week. Make sure not to overdue the drills,
just two or three retrieves at a time is needed. Always end with junior wanting more. In all my years of
training, I have seen only a limited amount of pups that would not pick up a fresh killed quail or pigeon.
Even in breeds not known for great retrieving skills I have seen very few that did not want to retrieve a bird
at this young age. Remember our pup is a canine and in nature it would carry the dead game back to the
den or run with it to try and keep it away from the pack leader.
During the point and chase stage of the quail work, or 14 to16 weeks of age we like to start the gun breaking
process. Now, assuming the pup likes to chase after and /or retrieve a fresh killed quail/pigeon or bumper,
we can use his desire to retrieve as a distraction to the sound of the gun. We like to gun break by going to
the field were we normally work pup on retrieving bumpers and/or where we take the pup to run and play. It
always is a place where the pup feels safe and is familiar with. Have a helper take a cap gun or small gauge
shotgun out to the field with you. We get our helper about 75 yards downwind of us and when the pup is on
hot pursuit after the bird/bumper thrown into the wind we have our helper fire the cap gun. Noticed I said
“hot pursuit”. I want junior’s attention chasing after the bird/bumper and not the sound of the cap gun.
Once the pup is used to the gunfire at that distance have the helper move in closer. Be careful not to
overdue it the first several times out and always work in slowly. If your pup has no desire to chase after and
retrieve a fresh killed bird or bumper you will need to develop that desire before gun breaking.
Once he is comfortable with the gun at a close range while chasing after the bumper or dead quail you can
do the same drill while chasing after a flight conditioned quail. If your pup is not socialized to being in the
area or in the field do not try and gun break this way until the pup feels safe in that setting. Once the pup is
chasing after flying quail with a gunshot, you then can incorporate the gunfire while he is chasing after the
pointed birds when flushed.
You now have junior hunting heavy cover, pointing quail and hen pheasants, are able to shoot the shotgun
in the air while he is chasing birds and he is retrieving birds in the yard and in the field on a dead bird
command with a shot being fired. I think you know what comes next.
Shooting the first bird your dog points will be one of the most rewarding times in all your training. Start slow
and only shoot a few. Do not shoot every bird he points, even during the season. We do not want the pup
to imprint the thought of, “IF I get it in the air I will hear the bang and down it comes”. This will keep the pup
guessing. If he jumps in and flushes the bird do not shoot the bird. Let the wild birds flush staunch him up
like the drills from the wing and the string. If he points a covey do not shoot any but wait and shoot a few
singles to him. Also, he will point more hens than rooster’s making it easy to help keep him staunch on
pheasants.
Written by Dale Taylor, owner of Premier Gundogs Training Kennel
Hallam NE
No unauthorized reproduction of this article
Owner of Premier Gundogs Training Kennel Hallam, Nebraska
Probably the most common question I am asked is on the subject of puppy training. There is probably more
disagreements and differences in training techniques concerning this topic than any other. The reason I feel
there is such a difference, is that trainers tend to teach different styles to their dogs, on how to hunt and it
varies from region to region. An example of this would be a Georgia Field Trial trainer using the same
techniques in foundation work as a pheasant hunter would use in South Dakota. The last thing the Field
Trial trainer would want to see is there prize big running quail dog quartering 30 yards out and checking in
repeatably during a hunt. Hopefully, this article will help you in understanding how to accomplish teaching a
Midwest Style Upland Dog.
Dogs are pack animals and puppies imprint at a very young age how to be a predator and to hunt as a pack.
When you take the pup from the litter it then “bonds” with you and becomes part of your pack, with you
becoming its new pack leader. It is during this time period, what I call “Foundation Training”, that our new
bird dog pup learns how to be a hunter. While there are many ingredients in making a solid gundog, the
proper introduction to birds, retrieving and gun fire are the most important. The foundation for other skills
such as quartering, hunting in range, hunting in cover and tracking will also be taught during this time
period.
First, I can not emphasis enough the importance of getting your new pup “birdy”. For Pointing breeds this
means pointing a wing on a string at a young age then continuing on to pointing quail, pigeons, and then
pheasants. We always start small and work our way up. The wing and a string accomplish several things.
First, it develops pointing ability and bird drive where the youngster is not intimidated by a big wing beat or
the actual sound of the flush. Second, it develops what is called “staunchness on point”. Staunchness is
best described as a dog that looks frozen solid while on point, with full attention on the bird. It is achieved by
making the pup think that if he moves toward the bird, it will fly away. Staunchness should not be confused
with “steadiness”. Steadiness is a term used to describe an older dog that has been taught not to move by
using a command such as, “WHOA”. It is similar to using a command of “SIT” to achieve steadiness in a
retriever.
The wing and the string allow you to flush the bird (so to speak) if the pup moves in by lifting the rod up. The
pup then imprints that if he creeps or jumps in the bird will fly away creating a strong desire to stay on point
and creating staunchness on point. You can continue this as junior gets older by using a fresh killed quail on
the string, not only are getting larger but now you are adding scent to the exercise. The pup now is learning
that what he is pointing has a certain smell to it. This new smell triggers a strong bird drive response that is
genetically hardwired into your dog. Next, you can start to drop the fresh killed quail in cover and teach the
pup to point off scent only, again flushing the bird if the youngster jumps or creeps in.
Now we have a young pup pointing off scent alone and he is conditioned to the flush( lifting the rod tip up) of
the dead quail if he moves. As junior develops more and more boldness toward the flush of the dead quail
you can advance to a live quail. Use only flight conditioned or liberated quail for this. Liberated quail can
usually be found in thickets next to the bird fields at your local hunt test or field trial grounds. Most states
allow dog training in these same areas giving you access to good flying birds. Flight conditioned birds can
be purchased at game farms but are not the same as just a pen raised bird. Pen raised quail that are not in
large flight pens generally do not work for this. They are not wild enough, usually do not have good enough
feathering and do not fly good enough to use with your young dog. We do not want the pup to catch the
quail but to learn to point staunchly. If he repeatedly runs down or jumps in and catches the quail you will
take the point out of him and develop a pup that wants to flush it with the imprinted thought off, “If I can get it
in the air it will come down and I can catch it”. While this is fine for a Retriever or Springer it is not what you
want in a pointing dog.
During this stage you can plant the quail in somewhat heavier cover like a food plot, taller CRP type grass or
basically the same type of cover you will be hunting. If you want a pheasant/quail dog you need to train in
the same cover where these birds are found. This imprints in the pup where to find birds. It can also be
used to imprint in the pup the range in which to hunt. This is accomplished by you, the pack leader, knowing
where the birds are. Your young pup will learn to hunt as a team thinking, “Dad always can find birds, and I’
m going to stick with him”. If you have to, walk in the heavy cover to help him find the birds. Use suggestions
like “find em”, as you get close to the planted birds. This will imprint the suggestion means a bird is close. If
junior is a run away, you can help teach the pup to stay in range by carrying the birds with you in a game
bag rather than planting the birds ahead of time. Simply wait until he turns back and is headed in. As he
approaches start releasing a few quail from the bag, again using flight conditioned birds. This will entice
junior to come back in range. Also, have a few birds planted close by for him to find, continuing to imprint
that birds are by dad. He will quickly learn from this drill that you found birds and he did not.
Next, after the pup is used to pointing and hearing the flush of a quail we go on to pigeons. While pigeons
are not a game bird you are going to be hunting, pigeons are usually easy to find, very hardy and are strong
flyers. Continue to plant in heavy cover by dizzying them up. This continues to let pup get used to a larger
wing beat while the pup is still imprinting to hunt heavier cover. Once pup is hunting for, finding, pointing
and then chasing pigeons you then go onto hen pheasants. The reason we use hens is that they do not
have the loud cackle like a rooster does with the flush, do not run as bad as a rooster and are cheaper to
purchase. You can purchase hen pheasants from local game farms and they are easy to plant by tucking
the head under a wing and putting the hen to sleep. She will only stay asleep for a little while then begin to
move around creating a large area off scent like a bird out feeding. Make sure to check your states
regulations before training with both quail and pheasants so you do not violate any game laws.
The time line between an 8 week old puppy pointing a wing to a young gundog pointing a hen is dependent
on the dog but generally is accomplished in about 4 months, or by 6 months of age. If I had to set a time
table it would be as follows: Starting at about 8 weeks of age we work the pup on the wing once a week
letting the pup have 3-5 points in the session. The session should last no longer than 5 minutes or so.
Then by 12 weeks of age we start the pup pointing the fresh killed quail on the string about once a week and
again the session should last no longer than about 5 minutes. We then are up to the 16 week of age mark
and are now pointing the liberated quail twice a week, and by 20 weeks of age pointing the pigeons. If you
can get out to the field twice a week with the pigeons in heavier cover that would be great, and generally by
the 6 month of age mark we are up to the hen pheasants, You will need to not overdue the wing and the
string as the pup may start to point the rod instead of the wing or quail. After that, the more birds the better,
again remembering we do not want pup to catch any birds.
Second, we need to develop the pup as a retriever. Bumpers are the standard tool used to start the
process of retrieving but failing to allow your pup to get a bird in its mouth at a young age can cause the pup
to not want to pick up a bird later on. We start both the bumper and bird retrieves at about 8-9 weeks of age
using a fresh killed quail for the bird. A hallway works great to get the thing started as junior will try to run by
you but ends up in your lap. This starts the process of teaching him he has to come to us. We then go
outside we use a light checkcord on the pup so we can gently pull the pup in with the bird. This will
accomplish two things. First, it keeps the pup from running off with the bird. Second, it continues to teach the
pup that we as the pack leader get to eat first and that you need to bring the bird to us. This will help to
establish us as the dominate pack leader in a gentle handed way. Retrieving a fresh killed quail also builds
prey drive which will be used later on in gun breaking. If he does not come with the bird, we gently pull him in.
Let the pup hold the bird for 30 seconds or so as this will start the process of teaching junior to hold with no
command. Some pups will not hold the bird when they get to you but will drop it in the hope the can play with
it. If the pup drops the bird just pick it up. This is not the time for any force hold or fetch so do not try and
make the pup hold.
As pup gets older move onto fresh killed pigeons, fresh killed hen pheasants and then clipped wing live
pigeons. He should progress as he gets bigger and be used to the wing beat of the live pigeons from the
pointing drills. Once he will bring in the birds without you having to pull him in take a chance to see if he will
start to retrieve the birds without the checkcord. We generally do this in a fenced alley way to guide the pup
to us like the hallway did. If pup gets away from you with the bird at anytime do not chase him that is what he
wants you to do. It is his way of trying to establish dominance over you. Simply walk away from the pup and
act like you do not care about the bird, he will come running to you. We like to play fetch daily with the
bumpers building retrieving skills but only use birds about once a week. Make sure not to overdue the drills,
just two or three retrieves at a time is needed. Always end with junior wanting more. In all my years of
training, I have seen only a limited amount of pups that would not pick up a fresh killed quail or pigeon.
Even in breeds not known for great retrieving skills I have seen very few that did not want to retrieve a bird
at this young age. Remember our pup is a canine and in nature it would carry the dead game back to the
den or run with it to try and keep it away from the pack leader.
During the point and chase stage of the quail work, or 14 to16 weeks of age we like to start the gun breaking
process. Now, assuming the pup likes to chase after and /or retrieve a fresh killed quail/pigeon or bumper,
we can use his desire to retrieve as a distraction to the sound of the gun. We like to gun break by going to
the field were we normally work pup on retrieving bumpers and/or where we take the pup to run and play. It
always is a place where the pup feels safe and is familiar with. Have a helper take a cap gun or small gauge
shotgun out to the field with you. We get our helper about 75 yards downwind of us and when the pup is on
hot pursuit after the bird/bumper thrown into the wind we have our helper fire the cap gun. Noticed I said
“hot pursuit”. I want junior’s attention chasing after the bird/bumper and not the sound of the cap gun.
Once the pup is used to the gunfire at that distance have the helper move in closer. Be careful not to
overdue it the first several times out and always work in slowly. If your pup has no desire to chase after and
retrieve a fresh killed bird or bumper you will need to develop that desire before gun breaking.
Once he is comfortable with the gun at a close range while chasing after the bumper or dead quail you can
do the same drill while chasing after a flight conditioned quail. If your pup is not socialized to being in the
area or in the field do not try and gun break this way until the pup feels safe in that setting. Once the pup is
chasing after flying quail with a gunshot, you then can incorporate the gunfire while he is chasing after the
pointed birds when flushed.
You now have junior hunting heavy cover, pointing quail and hen pheasants, are able to shoot the shotgun
in the air while he is chasing birds and he is retrieving birds in the yard and in the field on a dead bird
command with a shot being fired. I think you know what comes next.
Shooting the first bird your dog points will be one of the most rewarding times in all your training. Start slow
and only shoot a few. Do not shoot every bird he points, even during the season. We do not want the pup
to imprint the thought of, “IF I get it in the air I will hear the bang and down it comes”. This will keep the pup
guessing. If he jumps in and flushes the bird do not shoot the bird. Let the wild birds flush staunch him up
like the drills from the wing and the string. If he points a covey do not shoot any but wait and shoot a few
singles to him. Also, he will point more hens than rooster’s making it easy to help keep him staunch on
pheasants.
Written by Dale Taylor, owner of Premier Gundogs Training Kennel
Hallam NE
No unauthorized reproduction of this article
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