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Opening Day Bird Dog Preparation
As the fall opener approaches our thoughts can quickly drift toward the PF banquets,
new shotguns and the food plots that have turned into a buffet of ripe grain knowing
Mr. Rooster is helping himself.
While all these items and many more seem to mesmerize us each fall, there is one
item that tends to get overlooked, our bird dog. More than likely rover has been
resting happily in the kennel or the kitchen since the close of last season. The little
exercise he has gotten has consisted of racing around the backyard chasing after
robins and maybe a few retrieves with a stick when you get home from work. He is
probably a little overweight and maybe has developed “selective hearing”,{since the
kids yell “HEAR and FETCH ” to him repeatedly, as he runs from them with their shoes
in his mouth}. Hopefully this article can help you get your bird dog in both physical
and mental shape before opening day.
To start with lets address conditioning of your dog, realizing tune-up work can and will
be accomplished at the same time. Many of us have experienced hunting with a dog
that was in mach 1 for the first 15 minutes of the opener and then walked behind us
the rest of the day. The dog clearly had no stamina and to make matters worst he
seemed to have a very poor nose on him. The dog simply could not smell anything
including the crippled bird you shot. This more than likely was caused by the fact that
since the dog is out of shape, he is panting heavily out of his mouth rather than
breathing thru his nose. To make matters worst, opening day is usually the warmest
day of the season, compounding the problem. To avoid both a dog that lags behind
and pants all day long you must get your dog in shape over a long period of time
before opening day. I recommend taking your bird dog on walks where he can pace
himself and you can set the tempo. Start slow and only exercise the dog in the cool of
the morning or in the evenings. Not only can you overheat a dog while hunting in
warm weather but you can overheat them during tune up time as well. Carry water
with you and stop and give fido a drink every now and then. Remember this is no time
for a crash diet. Increase the time of the outings slowly. Many like to take their bird
dogs out to a field and work them as a “mock hunt”. While this seems like a good idea
we have to remember that the air around the dog for cooling and for breathing is
greatly limited by the cover you are in and it is much warmer air than during the
hunting season.
Also, during the early and mid fall weeds are dropping their seed. A hot, panting dog
is much more likely to suck a seed in its nose or down its lungs, during this time
period, which can cause very serious side affects including pneumonia. Seeds such
as Foxtail tend to be the worst of the bunch. If mock hunts are needed for your work
out, try to find a hay field that has only a short amount of re-growth allowing you the
freedom to work the dog in cover without seeds or tall cover restricting air flow.
Next, lets think of this work out time as also a tune up time. Depending on the level of
training your dogs has, use this time to refresh those learned skills. A few examples of
this would be; if your dog quarters off the whistle then work him on this as you go, if
he is whoa broke, see how well he remembers. I think you get the picture. A good rule
of thumb is, only expect the level of performance to match the level of practice. We
would not expect our child to be skilled at soccer or basketball without practice so
make sure to allow your bird dog the same luxury. Also, any unwanted behavior
should be addressed at this time rather then on opening day. No one likes to hunt
with a deer chasing, bird eating, pointing dog. If your dog has a serious issues that
you can not fix seek the help of an experienced, well known and respected
professional bird dog trainer. While it may cost you some money up front it can save
you a lot of embarrassment later on. A professional trainers single word commands
will replace your long barrage of flavorful words used in the past,
making for a much more enjoyable hunt.
Hopefully by following these simple guidelines you will experience the joy of having
rover last as long as you do in the field and enjoy the reward of a well behaved
hunting partner.
Written by Dale Taylor, Dale lives and trains near Hallam, Nebraska.
Dale is a Pro Staff Field Rep. for Diamond Super Premium Dog Food,
DT Systems and Diamond Deluxe Dog Trailers & Boxes
No unauthorized reproduction of any kind
This site protected by US Copyright Law
new shotguns and the food plots that have turned into a buffet of ripe grain knowing
Mr. Rooster is helping himself.
While all these items and many more seem to mesmerize us each fall, there is one
item that tends to get overlooked, our bird dog. More than likely rover has been
resting happily in the kennel or the kitchen since the close of last season. The little
exercise he has gotten has consisted of racing around the backyard chasing after
robins and maybe a few retrieves with a stick when you get home from work. He is
probably a little overweight and maybe has developed “selective hearing”,{since the
kids yell “HEAR and FETCH ” to him repeatedly, as he runs from them with their shoes
in his mouth}. Hopefully this article can help you get your bird dog in both physical
and mental shape before opening day.
To start with lets address conditioning of your dog, realizing tune-up work can and will
be accomplished at the same time. Many of us have experienced hunting with a dog
that was in mach 1 for the first 15 minutes of the opener and then walked behind us
the rest of the day. The dog clearly had no stamina and to make matters worst he
seemed to have a very poor nose on him. The dog simply could not smell anything
including the crippled bird you shot. This more than likely was caused by the fact that
since the dog is out of shape, he is panting heavily out of his mouth rather than
breathing thru his nose. To make matters worst, opening day is usually the warmest
day of the season, compounding the problem. To avoid both a dog that lags behind
and pants all day long you must get your dog in shape over a long period of time
before opening day. I recommend taking your bird dog on walks where he can pace
himself and you can set the tempo. Start slow and only exercise the dog in the cool of
the morning or in the evenings. Not only can you overheat a dog while hunting in
warm weather but you can overheat them during tune up time as well. Carry water
with you and stop and give fido a drink every now and then. Remember this is no time
for a crash diet. Increase the time of the outings slowly. Many like to take their bird
dogs out to a field and work them as a “mock hunt”. While this seems like a good idea
we have to remember that the air around the dog for cooling and for breathing is
greatly limited by the cover you are in and it is much warmer air than during the
hunting season.
Also, during the early and mid fall weeds are dropping their seed. A hot, panting dog
is much more likely to suck a seed in its nose or down its lungs, during this time
period, which can cause very serious side affects including pneumonia. Seeds such
as Foxtail tend to be the worst of the bunch. If mock hunts are needed for your work
out, try to find a hay field that has only a short amount of re-growth allowing you the
freedom to work the dog in cover without seeds or tall cover restricting air flow.
Next, lets think of this work out time as also a tune up time. Depending on the level of
training your dogs has, use this time to refresh those learned skills. A few examples of
this would be; if your dog quarters off the whistle then work him on this as you go, if
he is whoa broke, see how well he remembers. I think you get the picture. A good rule
of thumb is, only expect the level of performance to match the level of practice. We
would not expect our child to be skilled at soccer or basketball without practice so
make sure to allow your bird dog the same luxury. Also, any unwanted behavior
should be addressed at this time rather then on opening day. No one likes to hunt
with a deer chasing, bird eating, pointing dog. If your dog has a serious issues that
you can not fix seek the help of an experienced, well known and respected
professional bird dog trainer. While it may cost you some money up front it can save
you a lot of embarrassment later on. A professional trainers single word commands
will replace your long barrage of flavorful words used in the past,
making for a much more enjoyable hunt.
Hopefully by following these simple guidelines you will experience the joy of having
rover last as long as you do in the field and enjoy the reward of a well behaved
hunting partner.
Written by Dale Taylor, Dale lives and trains near Hallam, Nebraska.
Dale is a Pro Staff Field Rep. for Diamond Super Premium Dog Food,
DT Systems and Diamond Deluxe Dog Trailers & Boxes
No unauthorized reproduction of any kind
This site protected by US Copyright Law
To contact us:
Premier Gundogs Training Kennel