New Setter pup!

[atfrith]

Hey guys, so we are the proud new owners of a now 12 1/2 week old english setter pup and I\'d like to start getting him introduced to live birds. Anybody have experience training dogs for upland bird hunting? I\'d like to do some waterfowl as well, but we do mainly pheasant when we get the opportunity. I was thinking of buying some birds from one of the game bird farms and taking him out to an SWA and starting with that. Ideas?

Oh yeah, i\'ll be sure to post pics of the new pup but they\'re on my phone and that\'ll take be a bit to figure out! haha

 

[OldMan]

Can\'t have enough pics of pups. My favorite.

 

[atfrith]

Let\'s see if this works....here\'s Waylon

 

[OldMan]

What a cutie. Enjoy the little guy.

 

[Deertick]

Very cute!

We used to use chickens with our labs. You can \"hypnotize\" them by tucking their head under their wing, laying them on their back, and then rubbing their bellies 10 times. Hide \'em in the grass, and then let the dog go find them. Reusable, and they would give us eggs!

But ... owning live birds is expensive. The other thing I\'d use was wings and even whole \"pelts\" of pheasants. When you shoot a pheasant, skin it like you would a furbearer ... and put salt on it. It\'ll dry up. Store the dried skins in the freezer. Then take them out and use them for retrieving practice or for hunting practice. You can even \"case skin\" the birds and use them to cover retrieving dummies. Sometimes that takes a well-placed zip-tie.

Don\'t forget to train your dog to track wounded big game, too, if legal where you are. Use blood from a recent kill, again, stored in the freezer.

 

[cnelk]

Anthony
There are many training aids available these days.
Pheasant skins and scent for all kinds of birds
Look on eBay and see what\'s there

 

[bnsafe]

now that brings back some great memories. i grew up with english setters hunting quail. quail are basically gone in mo so no dogs anymore, but man was it fun.
anyway, i had a gsp for a little while when i was out there. there was a game farm that put birds out for training purposes. cant remember the name but one was just east of ft collins an the other towards denver so not far from you. do a search for game farms an they should pop up. good luck, an heres hoping he doesnt chew your house in to.

 

[cnelk]

That\'s a good looking pup.
Many years ago I had a half English setter and half golden retriever.
He was the best bird dog ever. Smart as a whip.
We would go duck and goose hunting and throw the dekes out in the water.
Shoot birds that he would go get and then when we were done I would tell him to get the decoys.
Upland birds he would point them and that was fun stuff

His life ended at 5 years old due to cancer. Much too soon

 

[atfrith]

Thanks guys! Bnsafe, yeah I think i know exactly who you are talking about east of Ft collins. He\'s been reccomended to me at least a few times now. Also, i found out there is a puppy class every saturday morning at Valhalla Kennels, just east of Denver in Bennett, where they slowly get introduced to guns, birds, etc.

If I didnt\' have a doe tag to fill this weekend that\'s what we\'d be doing, but i\'ll be sure and post pics of his first birdy adventure in the next few weeks when we get a chance to get him out there.

He\'s really been a great pup, easy to house train, calm demeano, just plain awesome. My parents have a GSP and a brittany, both are fricken crazy dogs, the gsp especially. I\'d blame that mostly on their obedience training (or lack there of), but I knew I wanted something different, yet still a bird dog. All in all, I read great things about setters; he shouldn\'t get TOO big, calm/relaxed demeanors, couch potatoes at home and great hunters in the field. And he\'s shaping up to be just that. :mrgreen:

 

[otcWill]

Congrats! I currently own two Llewellins and have trained a handful of setters. There are a few preserves which offer birds/hunts around Strasburg that I train at occasionally. He\'s a little young to get going this season IMO but I\'d get him some pigeons and let him tear em up, chase em, whatever he does. Also use the \"wing on the string\" with a fishing rod to encourage pointing. I\'d be glad to help you with formal training if ya need it. Pm me if interested. Good luck!

 

[atfrith]

Figured you guys wouldn\'t mind some more recent puppy pics from this past season. :mrgreen: It\'s been a blast training him, but Will, I may need to take you up on your offer next season, I\'m sure we could use pointers! Having a second set of hands would surely be helpful in releasing those pesky chukar.

I basically went into this not knowing a darn thing about bird dog training, just a couple phone conversations from a co-worker and online forums. Applied for my bird release permit with the CDOW, bought a few chukar at Field Game Bird trials up near Wellington, and took the pup to Cobb SWA to test what we\'ve learned. Did that a few times throughout the fall. Some successful trips, some not so much. But each provided both the pup and I a learning experience that\'s for sure! But anyway, it\'s been a blast and here are a few pics of Waylon!

 

[bnsafe]

gorgeous dog, congrats and many years of good huntin

 

[iccyman001]

Great dog! Looks like you have an awesome new friend, Anthony. :upthumb: