Teaching Bird Dogs to Quarter Ahead of the Gun
Training Pointers and Retrievers to Hunt Close
Apr 15, 2009
Once a dog catches on to the great fun of finding and flushing birds, his natural inclination is to race far ahead in his search. The problem is, the two-footed hunter simply can’t keep up a fleet, four-footed pace. The result can be a frustrated master whose dog ranges far ahead, out of control, flushing birds the hunter has no chance of shooting. Training the dog to quarter ahead of the gun solves this problem, resulting in a dog that moves back and forth across the hunting field rather than racing along in front.
Persistent, Consistent Training Yields Results
Dog trainers agree that the key to training a good hunting dog is teaching him that the master is in charge. The dog must believe that the master is in control of the hunt, and that by responding to the master’s whistle or voice appropriately, he will find birds.
Jerome B. Robinson, in his book, The Ultimate Guide to Bird Dog Training, (The Lyons Press, 2000) advises dog owners to take the pup into the field with a check cord and a slip collar. The trainer should begin walking into the field, and just before the dog reaches the end of the check cord give two short blasts on the whistle and make an abrupt turn at a 45-degree angle. This process should be repeated for the length of the field, checking the dog and turning him so that he proceeds in a back-and-forth pattern, with each turn preceded by a whistle signal. This should be repeated until the dog will turn at the whistle, without needing to be checked by the cord.
Beth Ann Amico, in her article, “Take Your Pup for a Walk on the Wild Side,” Women in the Outdoors, Spring 2009, gives instructions in teaching a pup to quarter to a voice command. She advises the trainer to place five pigeons in mesh sacks at intervals along the side borders of the field. The owner then takes the pup to the center of the field and walks toward the first bird. After the pup finds the first bird, the owner praises him and then moves diagonally toward the second bird, continuing in like fashion to the end of the field. The next time, the second and fifth birds are removed. When the pup does not find a bird, the owner moves him on with a “hup” command. This will teach the pup to respond to the voice command at the same time it reinforces the quartering pattern.
Patience and Reinforcement Help Dogs Learn
Robinson advises a fifteen minute training period each day until the dog automatically turns whenever he hears the whistle signal and settles into a natural quartering pattern. This may take longer with some dogs, and the lessons may have to be repeated after the dog is tempted out of his pattern by a flying bird or other distraction. However, the effort will be well worth it as the dog and master hunt much more productively when the dog stays within gun range.
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