Brittany bird dogs are the all-rounders of the sport dog set. They originated as a poacher's dog; they looked like an innocuous pet, but could assist their masters in locating birds, setting or pointing to them to show their owners the location of quarry, flushing and even retrieving downed game. While many sport dogs are bred and trained to excel at one aspect of hunting, Brittanys are so versatile they are capable of learning and performing multiple tasks related to bird hunting. They are also versatile as both pets and sport dogs, known for being hard working, intelligent, independent, trainable, willing and friendly to people.
Training a Brittany to hunt birds can involve focusing on one behavior or task you want your dog to assist you with while bird hunting, but the versatility of the Brittany lends itself to performing many bird hunting tasks. Most Brittany dog people enjoy their multitasking hunting dogs and train them to perform several useful bird hunting behaviors.
Many sport dogs are bred and trained to excel at one specific task, either tracking game, locating it and then freezing (setting) or pointing to the quarry, flushing game for a shot to be taken or bringing back downed game to their masters, Brittanys can do it all! They are great at plowing through dense underbrush to scent and locate game, have great instincts for the hunt, and are trainable so they can be taught a variety of commands and tasks that are useful in bird hunting. Hunters that use Brittanys work with their dogs to get them familiar with and motivated to hunt birds, which is not difficult for these naturally prey driven hunting dogs, but the Brittanys also need to learn when to stop after locating a bird, so as not to flush it too early, before hunters are in place to harvest prey. Brittanys are also taught a release command to rush in and startle birds to take flight or rush into the open so hunters can take a clear shot, and sometimes Brittanys are even taught to go pick up harvested game in their mouths and return them to their owners. All these tasks require that your Brittney work closely with you, stay focused on his handler, and take direction in the form of verbal commands or hand signals.
Because Brittanys are such all-rounders, they are often trained together with older dogs that help to school younger ones, so having access to experienced Brittany hunting dogs is an asset. The use of an enclosed wooded area or a tracking collar to ensure that a young inexperienced dog doesn't become lost during training is recommended if working off leash. Many hunters keep game birds on hand for training purposes to familiarize their dogs with the sights and sounds of birds, scents, and hunting. Before initiating training for hunting birds with your Brittany, you should ensure your dog has a good handle on obedience commands and especially good off-leash recall.
My french brittany is an amazing hunter as he is able to find birds very well. the problem he has is showing an interest in the dead bird after it is shot and he really doesn't want to retrieve it. Any advice on how to fix this would be great!
Hello! The process to train a dog how to hunt is a very long one. There is no one easy step or piece of advice to give. So I am going to provide you with an article packed with great information. If you have questions after reading the article. Please feel free to message again. https://wagwalking.com/training/hunt
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It's more about age appropriate introductions to specific field training.
Hello! The process to train a dog how to hunt is a very long one. There is no one easy step or piece of advice to give. So I am going to provide you with an article packed with great information. If you have questions after reading the article. Please feel free to message again. https://wagwalking.com/training/hunt
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how do I tech him to fetch birds and work closer
Hello Harley, Look up Bill Hillman and StandingStoneKennels on Youtube. Bill Hillman has DVD's that can be purchased with more in-depth information on things like force fetching. Gun Dog Magazine is also another good resources for learning to train a dog for pheasant or duck hunting. You first need to increase pup's bird drive by introducing dead bird wings and bodies. Letting pup sniff, hold and play - but not eat or tear apart. Make this experience really fun. Pup also needs to be taught a basic fetch using something like a bumper or "dummy". At some point in the training most dogs are "force fetched" where they are taught to retrieve something even when they don't feel like bringing it back - and would rather run off with it and chew. The need for force fetching depends a lot on your dog's obedience without it and how advanced you want your dog's skills to be. To teach pup to stay close you need to work on things like an off-leash heel (starting with a leashed heel if you haven't done that first, then using a long leash to work up to off-leash and possibly e-collar heel eventually), a reliable Come around distractions (often taught using a long leash, sometimes with an e-collar added in at the end of pup's recall training to increase reliability), and generally working on following by rewarding pup for checking in and paying attention to where you are on a long leash - without pup having to be told. Whether you want to encourage natural following partially depends on whether pup will have to be far ahead often for other parts of training - you want a dog that will pay attention to where you are, go out into the field to track or pick up a bird, and come back reliably - partially depending on what all you plan to hunt and what jobs you want pup to do (track, flush, point, retrieve, ect...). Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
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