Pandemic Bird Dog Training: a review of basic skills
Apologies for a little break in posting of late. While I’ve had a post ready to go covering some of the things Lincoln and I learned this past season, I’ve been holding it for possible publication in another venue. Looks like that may be on track, so stay tuned! I’ll post a link to it here when it is published.
In the interim, while we’re all a bit limited in what we’re able to do in the evenings and weekends, thought I’d put together a series of virtual walks with Lincoln and me as we review some of the things we’ve learned together over the past three years and some of the things we’re about to tackle for our 2020 spring training goals. I’m hoping this series might give first-timers coming after me a realistic gauge for their own goals in bird dog training, introduce curious family and friends to what Lincoln and I have been doing together, and provide just one example of a fully socially-distanced activity that can be enjoyed outside even during this crazy COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to every other day runs, time with Lincoln in the field has been a real sanity saver and release for me. My thanks to Orapax Hunting Preserve and their bargain Monthly Dog Training Membership for what has become for us a regular escape in one of the most beautiful parts of our Commonwealth as we get a break from all things pandemic while at the same time getting a chance for extra time to hone bird dog skills.
Whether you’re a first-timer with a pup and you need no convincing to try your hand at bird dog training yourself, or a bird dog owner suddenly with less access to professional trainers but more time on your hands to try it yourself, I hope the following provides some inspiration and a frame of reference for what you can achieve on your own. We largely use the Huntsmith training program, which we’ve learned from the Huntsmith four DVD set, Huntsmith seminars, and lessons at Orapax, with ongoing coaching by our friend Neal Kauder, Orapax co-owner and dog trainer, and even Rick Smith himself, who we’re fortunate enough to have living right here in Central Virginia.
This first virtual walk with Lincoln and me is something of a review and covers some of the basic skills that are important for handlers and their bird dogs to master in the first three years to establish the foundation for a dog’s lifetime career as a bird dog, as a hunter, a trial dog, or both, and as a household family member. I can take no credit for the lessons themselves, other than following the guidance and direction of our terrific mentors and teachers and then passing them along here. Some of these skills represent literally hundreds of hours of work and practice, breaking down each finished goal into digestible parts, slowly building each skill from basic components before chaining them together into more complex behaviors. Lincoln’s demonstration of many of these behaviors and skills represent goals any new bird dog handler can achieve on their own, with some consultation with experts and, in our case, even a few weeks spent with professional trainers to help establish initial associations. But they are 100% achievable for any first-time handler with the requisite diligence and patience and almost any bird dog with a decent nose and innate prey drive. Bird dogs are some of the smartest dogs and I’m convinced that what they can achieve is only limited by their handler’s willingness to put in the time and guidance necessary for them to achieve their potential.
Without further ado, here’s our first Pandemic Bird Dog Training virtual walk with Robb and Lincoln: