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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
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
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