It Takes Birds to Make a Bird Dog
by Chuck Johnson

Tiger Woods is the dominant PGA touring pro golfer. As any of the pro golfers and they will tell you that Tiger spends more time on the practice tee than any other pro. The same principle holds true in training pointing dogs. If you want to have an outstanding bird dog, you have to make sure that he gets a lot of actual live bird contact.

Your dog will be working wild birds during the hunting season, but most seasons last for only two or three months in the fall. You can extend your season by visiting your local shooting preserve during the winter, but most preserve seasons end in March or April. That leaves the crucial summer months without a wild bird or preserve season. These are the very months when it is most important to be working your dog on birds.

There is an economical solution to the problem. Most states have a dog-training season that will allow you to release and shoot birds during a training session. Check with your state fish and game department for the regulations; as a rule, the state will require you to have a license or permit that will allow you to train your dog on birds. Normally, they’ll require you to have a designated grounds or area where you intend to train; in many states, they will allow you to train on state land. If you have enough land or know someone who does, you are in good shape.

So in locating a place to train, how about checking with the farm or ranch where you have permission to hunt? NAVHDA – North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association – can be a big help in your search for training grounds. Check with NAVHDA, and find out the nearest chapter that is active in training. As a member, you can train with them and probably use their training grounds.

Another good source is the National Shoot-to-Retrieve Association. They have a number of local bird dog clubs that run trails, and you can bet that the members who actively run their dogs are constantly training. Again, check with your state fish and game department or the outdoor editor of you local newspaper for nearby clubs.

Whether you train with a club or do it yourself on state game land or private land, you still need birds, and quail fit the bill perfectly. A combination quail living quarters and callback pen is often referred to as a Johnny house and is an economical way to keep quail for training purposes. You can build one in less than a day with minimal tools and for very little money.

A small quail pen holding up to 24 birds is 4’ x 4’ x 6’ high. The bottom part is made of 3/4-inch exterior plywood. Above the plywood is a screened area made of ½-ince hardware cloth. There is a shelf around the top of the plywood where the birds can sit and sun themselves. One side of the top has a 24” x 24” door that opens out, enabling you to reach in and catch quail. You can also open the door and let a few fly out.

The top of the pen is covered with galvanized steel. The roof is built on a slant so water and snow will slide off, and the bottom of the pen is a frame covered with ½-ince galvanized wire to allow bird droppings to fall through. The wire also helps prevent predators from digging in and getting at your birds.

The front side of the house has a small trap door that can be cropped down to use in recalling birds to the pen. When the door is open, the birds can re-enter through a tapered cone, a foot-long funnel attached to the front wall and made from the same wire mesh that is used for the floor. The cone has a fine-inch outside opening while the other opening inside the pen is only three inches in diameter. The smaller opening is to deter the quail from trying to escape. The end of the funnel inside the pen should be slanted up at lease 12 inches from the floor. You can this opening to be above the head of the birds. If the birds can see the opening, they will try to escape. I like to cut a piece of plywood about 30” x 36” high and attach is on a slant against the side wall away from the cone opening. This shelter allows the quail to get behind it and use this area to hide and to roost during the night.

I have kept quail alive and healthy through a Montana winter where the temperatures often drop to 20 below zero during the night. The quail pen protects the birds from the wind and snow and keeps their food dry. As long as you have enough quail to form a tight covey, normally eight to 10 birds, they can generate enough heat to survive.

I put a large door on the back of the pen. This door allows me to reach in and refill their feeder, water container, and grit pan. I also use this opening to catch quail.

I located by Johnny house in my backyard – eight acres that I leave in native prairie grass. It’s there that I start all of my young puppies on birds.

After the birds have been in the pen for several weeks, you can release some of them. Make sure that you keep at lease one male in the pen, although I prefer to keep two or three. The penned males will call the release birds back to the pen. I leave the trap door open and put some quail feed on the open door leading into the cone. The released quail will head back to the pen and enter through the door. In the morning, I close the door to make sure they do not get back out.

You will need a plastic waterer, a grit pan, and a steel feeder for you Johnny house. I find that I need to check the pen, rill the feeder and give them fresh water on a weekly basis. However, during the heat of the summer, I give them fresh water twice a week and new grit every other week. I also find a small hand-held fishing net handy to catch quail.

Now you are ready to order birds. Almost every state has a number of gamebird breeders. In order to raise gamebirds commercially, you need a state license; so when you contact your fish and game department for information on training with birds, ask them to provide you with a list of breeders. Most are members of the North American Game Bird Association. They have an excellent website that lists all of their members by state. You can also contact any of the field trial organizations in your area – you can’t run a field trial, Shoot-to-Retrieve, or NAVHDA test without gamebirds.

Most bird breeders have all of the business they can handle, and they only raise a certain number of birds each year. It pays to contact them early and reserve your birds in advance. This spring, I ordered 25 quail for late-August delivery. I knew that I was going to have a litter of puppies and would need quail for them and my older dogs.

Quail are very reasonable in price. I am currently paying $5.50 a bird, plus shipping. Shipping on 25 birds runs less than $10. My breeder ships his birds via the post office, and you’ll get your birds in one or two days. I have never lost a bird this way. You will want to check with your post office in advance to let them know when you are expecting a shipment of live birds.

I feed my quail Purina Game Bird Flight Conditioner. It comes in a 50-lb bag and costs $9.50. The grit also comes in a 5-lb bag and costs $7.25.

You can build your Johnny house and buy all of the equipment for around $250. I built my house 10 years ago, and it is still in good condition. During the spring and summer when I’m working young dogs, I will often use 50 to 100 quail. Let’s compare the costs with sending your dog to a professional trainer. A good pro will charge you $500 a month and up, and they are worth every penny. For the same amount of money, you can work your dogs on over 100 birds a year. I am not suggesting that you should not use a pro; however, if you have the time and enjoy training your bird dog, you can do it at a very reasonable cost.

Now you have a quail house and a supply of birds on your own yard that you can use for training. If your property is too small to train on, you can still keep the Johnny house there. If you must train elsewhere, buy a portable quail callback pen. These are made of steel mesh and are about 15” x 30” x 8” with a cone that lets quail back in the pen. You can use this pen to transport your birds to the training area.

If you want to recapture your birds after training, make sure that you leave a male call bird in the pen. The birds will usually start to come back to the pen several hours after the training sessions ends.

How to Bold-Up Your Pointing Dog
By Stephen C. Rafe

For decades now, we’ve heard professionals talk about “bolding up” a dog on birds. We’ve seen them stroke the tail up and heard them “sweet-talk” a dog on whoa or point. We’ve seen them apply just enough pressure to a dog’s rump when it’s on a bird to get them to resist and become even more solid. And I remember Paul Long telling me and showing me how to take a dog with a low-slung back (lack of confidence) and “pump ‘em up like a bicycle tire.” Best of all, these tricks of the trade worked - and they continue to work.

You can actually change a dog’s disposition through tactics like these. I’ve done it with a dozen of dogs and taught hundreds of owners the methods. First, a bit of history behind the method.

In 1961, psychologist William James demonstrated the connection between body language and behavior in his book, Psychology, the Briefer Course. He pointed out that when you change the body, you also change the mind. To get technical for a moment, nerves travel from all parts of the body to the brain, and messages travel both ways along the nerve (neuronal) pathways. For example, if you assume the postures of confidence, the mind will “conclude” that you feel “confident.”

Testing Strength/Confidence

In my seminars, I sometimes do a demonstration to show the strong relationship between physical postures and the emotional states of the individual. I test the strength of volunteers first by having them assume confident postures. They hold their heads high and their chins up, they pull their stomachs in, expand their chests, square their shoulders, look straight at me, and so on. While they do this, I have them hold out their strongest arm and resist me while I pull down on it. Then I repeat the test but have the same people assume insecure postures. (The opposite of those described.)

The result? They become much weaker when they assume insecure positions – just seconds after they have shown high strength levels while assuming confident postures. To prove the validity of the demonstration, I then following up by having the same volunteers re-assume confident postures and let me test them again. In seconds, their strength is restored.

Now, what does this mean for dogs? Well, what if you can turn a timid dog into a bold one just by putting it in confident postures – and reinforcing the dog for those postures? Here’s how it works: If, for example, a dog’s ears are back and its tail is down, the dog if likely to be exhibiting submissive, insecure, or even timid behavior at that moment; but one must take into account the positions and actions of all the dog’s other signaling body parts (back carriage, leg angulations, chest width, shoulder spacing, mouth articulation, eyes, etc.). However, we all know such a dog when we see one.

What causes Submissiveness?

Some pups may have been submissive or low-ranking going all the way back to the litter. In other cases, something could have happened to make pup more submissive at one of the critical learning periods that have already passed: age 11 to 13 weeks, and five and a half to six and a half months. (The first one is at approximately six weeks.) In addition, some of the dog’s interactions with humans in the household could be creating or maintaining the submissive behavior. That could range from humans’ voice tones and body language the dog interprets as “dominant,” to what is called “inadvertent reinforcement” of the behavior (submissiveness or other), which occurs when the owner tries to “reassure” the dog through petting (of voice, such as saying, “It’s okay”) when the dog is displaying the behavior.

Changing a Dog’s Disposition

To a certain extent, you can change a dog’s disposition just by reinforcing the desired confident positions when they occur naturally. A simple, soothing “good” will anchor the process. However, this is a time-consuming approach when used alone and would be better used in conjunction with physical manipulation and reinforcement. Simply by stroking, massaging, or applying light pressure that doesn’t evoke resistance, we can get the dog to assume bolder postures. Then we can lock in the gradual changes through positive reinforcement (praise, treats, and so on). Gradually, the dog’s entire body can b e moved into positions that display the style we’re looking for.

Step-by-Step

When starting with a very submissive dog, at first, present the back of your open hand (fingers curled under), and pet the dog lightly for about five minutes wherever it’s comfortable. It is most likely to tolerate being petted if you keep your hand low and pet its haunch or shoulder first.

Once the dog accepts this, gradually ease your hand, still palm down, under its chin and pet the dog there for a few minutes. Use only one hand to avoid causing the dog to perceive your “clasping” as a threat. Stay low to the ground and continue to avert your eyes.

The Head. As you pet the dog under the chin, gradually try to ease its head slightly higher. If the dog raises its head even an inch at this stage, that is an improvement. Reinforce with, “Good.” If the dog resists firmly, you may be applying too much pressure. Relax the dog more with petting and then try again. If the resistance is extreme, you will have to go back to an earlier stage at which you both can be successful and then move up again.

The Ears. Once the dog accepts being petted under the chin, start easing your hand gradually around to the side of its neck. With one finger, feel the direction in which the ear is pointed. Most likely it will be directed toward the back of the dog’s heal. Your goal over the next several sessions will be to massage each ear upward from the “root” and ease it forward. For each improvement, no matter how slight, be sure to say, “Good.” Of course, you should alternate the ears periodically.

The Mouth. Over the next several sessions, gradually pet the dog’s mouth away from the submissive grin (corners of the mouth pulled back) and toward a more relaxed, confident posture. Remember to reinforce even slight improvements. Don’t be surprised if the dog’s ears start assuming a more timid position again as you first start dealing with its mouth. Just be patient and work primarily on the mouth, but give occasional attention to the ears.

The Chest. Next, go back to petting the dog under the chin. This time, work lower in the chest area. Your goal will be to get the dog to willingly spread it legs wider apart – a more confident stance. Reinforce even slight improvements.

The Groin. By now, the dog should be ready to accept further, non-threatening physical contact. Start petting the dog down its side. From time to time, brush your hand lightly against the inguinal area (where the dog’s back legs meet its side). Contact with this area can soothe and relax a dog that is clearly ready to accept it.

The Tail. Many timid dogs will have begun to relax their tails from the tucked position after this much contact. Over several more sessions, move your hand across the dog’s haunches as you continue petting. Gradually ease your way down to the dog’s tail.

However, if the dog is still fearful and the tail is still tucked, you will need to relax it gradually. We have generally found dogs to accept this if you make the first contact about three inches or so from the root of the tail and work with that area. You should ease a finger or two under the tail if it is pressed tight, and apply only enough pressure to encourage the dog to relax it slightly.

With some dogs, you may have to divert their attention to cause the tail to loosen. If so, give the dog a treat each time it assumes a more confident posture with one of the other body parts. Then, while the dog is consuming the treat, start easing the tail up slightly. Be sure to reinforce even small improvements with, “Good.”

Standing Taller. Until now, you have remained crouched at the dog’s side for each session. Form this point on; you can start becoming more upright until the dog can tolerate you standing over him. Continue to improve and maintain the dog’s confidence postures. If your dog has been sitting or lying down at any time during previous sessions, this is acceptable. However, he must be standing in the sessions that follow.

Approach the dog in a non-threatening way, or allow it to approach you. Reinforce this acceptance with, “Good.” Now, pet the dog in the chest area first. As you are able to widen the dog’s stance, occasionally pat the chest area. Eventually, you will be able to “thump” this area in a friendly way.

The Back and Legs. Over several more sessions, shift the petting to the dog’s back. As you stroke the dog, press just firmly enough to cause him to resist your pressure. You will trigger what is called the dog’s “opposition reflex.” Just be careful not to press in such a way that you cause the dog to lie down or sit. Reinforce the dog when he pushes back because that will encourage him to stand taller. This is part of the posture of confidence.

If the dog has carried his shoulders pressed together, this is a good time to start helping it widen the space between them. Apply hand pressure against the muscles on the outside of the shoulders as you pet the dog. Again, you want the dog to resist. This will help cause the shoulder blades to open a bit wider each time.

In Conclusion

It stands to reason that we can influence a dog’s disposition through physical manipulation of its signaling body parts (primarily the ears, head carriage, mouth, shoulders, chest, back, legs, and tail). The good news is that if this is repeated on a regular basis and we don’t reinforce submissive displays, over time the dog’s changed disposition tends to become its new personality.

This article was written by Steven Rafe for the Pointing Dog Journal May/June 2006 Issue

When training a dog, there will be times when it doesn't respond quite the way we thought it should. It's entirely possible that the dog is simply being deliberately disobedient, but it's much more likely that the dog is uncertain of what it should be doing. In other words, the dog is confused; and any time there is a student and a teacher and a learning process, there is probably going to be some confusion. Confusion is part of the learning process, but it's a part we'd like to keep to a minimum.

The Important thing about confusion is recognizing it for what it is and then eliminating it. How do we tell if a dog's confused or is just plain being stubborn or defiant? One way is to read your dog's body language and attitude, as a dog that is confused will show it very easily. Extreme confusion can manifest itself as fear, resulting in the dog bolting, crouching, crawling, slinking around, and even, if pressured too hard, biting. Simple confusion is read by noticing little changes in body posture, such as acting tentative or less bold than normal; drooping or pinning back it ears; tucking its tail; stopping and looking at you from a distance; dropping its shoulders; and sometimes tilting the head to the side slightly while giving you a puzzled look. A defiant dog may ignore you completely while it does what it wants; have its tail and ears up; and have a confident body posture with a raised head. A confused dog will not.

Confusion means the dog is unsure, and whether it's unsure about what it's supposed to do on its own or unsure of what you’ve asked or how you've asked it, the problem needs to be addressed. In most training situations, confusion stems from an unclear message from the handler. This means we haven't explained things well enough or given adequate information for the dog to work with. We haven't provided the dog with the mental tools to do what we're asking. Remember: All training is based on repetition and association; our human impatience is what leads to confused dogs.

It's far easier to avoid confusion than to have to fix it later. Any time a dog is confused, ask yourself if you've laid the proper groundwork for whatever it is you're asking. Has there been enough repetition to form an association? Are there steps missing or perhaps hurried through? Have you asked the dog to do something it has never done before just because the situation presented itself?

Often, A young dog will show confusion when it is pushed too fast and isn't mature enough to do what you're asking. Immaturity is a big cause of confusion and can be eliminated by taking things more slowly.

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Let's assume we're noticing signs of confusion in a dog. What do we do next? First, we'll assume we are the Alpha dog and that the dog in question knows that - If there is any question about who’s in charge, it only serves to intensify confusion because the dog doesn't trust you enough to take your direction. The next step is figuring out where the confusion entered into the training. Did it start when we were introducing something new? Or was it something the dog has done and understands, only with added distraction or in a different location? From there we can figure out how to handle it and help the dog succeed.

If it’s a new training concept, the best way to work through it is to break the training down into smaller steps. Find a way the dog can do half as much as you were asking, and see if that helps. If not, break the halves into quarters and try again. Continue breaking the steps down until your dog does what you were hoping for, and then stop.

At this point, you've determined where the confusion came in - it was just past the step where your dog had success. If it's a familiar concept only with added distractions, you'll need to backtrack a few steps and solidify the foundation leading up to what you were working on.

A good example of this would be "whoa." Let's say you've worked thought the whoa-post in your yard training and now have the dog stopping reliably with the flank collar. So you decide to take your dog to a large field to run and suddenly, "whoa" doesn't happen. The dog may show some signs of confusion and slow down, hesitate, look back at you or at its flank, drop the tail, pin the ears back, or even bolt. Remember: It's a new place, and the dog may not relate "whoa" to anywhere but your backyard at this point in the training.

So, how do we proceed from here? Bring a whoa-post or three to the field and work through the foundation for "whoa" again. Back up and work through the steps until your dog understands that "whoa" happens anywhere, not just in your backyard. Go at the dog's pace, and take your time with the training as well as the fixing problems part.

A big part of curing confusion is making sure we're not confused ourselves. If we don't go into each training session with a game plan, we're likely to confuse the dog because we aren't confident about what we want to do. If we aren't focused, the dog senses it and we lose some of that dog's respect for us as leaders. Always go into a training session knowing what you want to work on, and be confident. This inspires confidence in your dog as well.

Another piece of the puzzle that is a common cause of confusion is over-doing the "here" command. Overusing "here" tends to cause confusion and encourages the dog to run to you whenever it feels uncertain or confused. Obviously, when a dog is on a tentative point and then breaks it to run to you, the "here" command has been overdone. Having a dog that's overly dependent on the handler is not going to create a confident bird dog.

Rushing a dog's training too fast can also be a cause of major confusion. For example, asking a dog to be steady on birds when they haven't been taught to stand still is a recipe for disaster. Keep the steady part for later, and first teach them to stand still when birds are not around. Any confusion around birds is counterproductive and can create more problems, including blinking and bird shyness. A huge part of the preliminary training for a bird dog is developing pre-chase drive. This gets a dog excited about birds and builds a fire that is hard to put out. The higher you can build the prey drive, the less likely you are to have problems later on.

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There are some other kinds of confusion we'd like to address. Let's say you're hunting with someone who is constantly hollering at their dog and blowing a whistle. If you’ve trained your dog to work with a minimum of handling and then run it with someone who is screaming and hacking on their dog, it's likely to cause confusion in yours. And since they don't make doggy earplugs, your only choice is to not hunt your dog with people like that. Some dogs can learn to ignore it while others can have a meltdown and quit. Again, know your dog and be able to read it, and then act accordingly.

The same goes for hunting with an untrained, out-of-control dog. If your dog has been taught to be steady and then is hunted with a dog that is constantly busting birds, not handling, and being a general nuisance, your dog may well be confused and learn to do the same thing. The older and more confirmed a dog is in its training, the more likely it will be able to handle other dogs misbehaving like this, but we'd never recommend hunting a young dog that is just learning to be steady with an out-of-control, maniacal dog.

Be careful with retrieving as well, since it can be a turnoff for your dog and be very frustrating, intimidating, and confusing when another dog keeps trying to take the bird out of its mouth. After all the work we go through to get a dog to retrieve well, confusing it by allowing another dog to take its retrieve away is not a good thing.

One more form of confusion found in retrieving is switching, which is when your dog is brining back one bird and another bird is shot before your dog delivers the first one to you. Often, the dog will drop the bird it had and go for the new one, so be ready to enforce the retrieves all the way back so there is no confusion in the dog's mind as to which bird to bring in.

Some dogs will get confused when being handled by someone new. By having different people work with your dog and teaching the people the correct cues, this confusion is quickly and easily worked through.

Most hunting confusion can be handled by more experience. For example, if your dog has only been on pen-raised birds, it will have to learn how to handle wild birds. This just takes time and patience, plus a little help from the handler. Different species have different scents and mannerisms, and only experience can teach a dog how to handle them. An experienced dog is not one that's been hunted four or five times, two dozen would be a closer number, and even that can and will be built upon. Let experience take over that kind of confusion (plus it's a great excuse to take more hunting trips, which is never a bad thing).

Simply, confusion can be handled by taking your time, going at the dog's pace in learning, and having realistic expectations. Don't expect a one-year-old dog to hunt like a three-year-old. If you haven't tuned up your dog before hunting season, don't expect it to hunt like a tuned-up dog. And during the season, if your dog starts to come unraveled, don't expect it to do much until you take the time to go back and tune it up. If you allow the dog to come undone, you've confused it, since it doesn't know what to expect.

Time, patience, and common sense can cure most any kind of confusion you may run into. Take a deep breath, slow down, and find the root of the problem; it will become a non-issue. Then you can move forward and enjoy that finely trained bird dog you're so proud of.