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Steadying and Honoring – The Finishing Touchesby James B. Spencer
BACKGROUND
What Is It?
This article covers the finishing touches in bird handling, namely steadying to wing and shot and honoring (or backing). Although treated separately throughout the article, the two are closely related, as you will see.
Steadying: The steady birddog, often called "steady to wing and shot," not only holds point until his handler flushes the bird(s), but also remains in place through all the ensuing excitement, namely, the flush, the shot(s), and the fall(s). He remains in place until either sent to retrieve or sent on to hunt again. What's more, the steady dog does not perpetrate a delayed chase. When sent on to continue hunting, he does not take off after the birds that flushed. Instead, he hunts in the direction indicated by his handler.
Honoring: A birddog honors (or backs) the point of another dog by stopping and assuming a pointing pose when he sees the other dog on point. The honoring dog does not move forward to pick up the scent of the birds himself-that is a fault called "stealing a point"-but stops wherever he happens to be when he first sees the other dog on point.
The honoring dog remains in place until sent on to hunt again. He does not break at the flush or when the pointing dog is sent to retrieve.
Why Do It?
Steadying: Many experienced pointing dog trained birddog owners say that steadying to wing and shot is unnecessary, which is true; that, in fact, most birddogs hunt a lifetime without being steadied, which is also true. They also claim that an unsteady dog retrieves more reliably because he gets to the downed bird more quickly-a claim that is open to debate.
However, anyone who has ever owned or even shot over a steady birddog will tell you it is very handy, even if it's not an absolute necessity. How so? In the words of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, "Let me count the ways."
First, the steady dog offers a safety advantage afield. When you flush birds in front of him, he won't-in his mad rush to chase them-take your legs out from under you as you mount your gun. Granted, an unsteady dog doesn't do that often because the hunter is seldom directly in its path, and even when he is, the dog often darts around him. However, it can happen, it does happen, and when it does, it causes gun accidents.
Second, the steady dog doesn't flush birds out of gun range while chasing fly-aways. This is a common problem with unsteady dogs. Every hen pheasant, every missed shot initiates a long chase. A dog chasing full-tilt through the cover is not hunting, so may well charge through other birds, thereby flushing them out of range. What's worse, he will probably then chase those birds in a new direction, perhaps flushing even more birds, and so on.
Third, the steady dog doesn't keep you from shooting at low-flying birds. Quail especially tend to skim the top of the cover. A chasing dog may be too close to such a bird to allow you to shoot safely. Some hunters don't hold their fire due to imperfect vision, excessive excitement, or poor judgment, so veterinarians around the country treat canine birdshot wounds every fall. Many of these dogs do not survive, and some of those that do never regain their full capabilities.
Fourth, contrary to the claims of many, the steady dog marks falls better than the chasing dog. Absolutely! Standing still, he can see where the bird comes down much better than he could if he were bouncing up and down while chasing. Granted, the chasing dog gets to the easy retrieves-the ones that any dog will get anyhow-more quickly, but he frequently mismarks the difficult falls. The steady dog drops many more of those birds into his boss's outstretched mitt than does the freewheeling chaser.
Want more reasons to steady your pointing dog trained birddog? Okay, here are three more quickies: The steady dog is easier to handle afield, the steady dog is easier to cure of chasing deer and livestock, and the steady dog retains his staunchness on point more reliably.
Had enough yet? Well, just in case you haven't, here's another: Steadiness is required in the higher levels of most dog games-field trials, hunting tests, and so forth. If you plan to do anything with your dog during the eight or nine months when you can't hunt, you must steady the beast.
Oh, yeah, I almost forgot to mention that steadying is so easy that anyone who enjoys messing with birddogs will enjoy doing it. Although it takes a lot of repetitions of a few drills, it is conceptually no more difficult than, say, teaching a dog to heel.
Honoring: When two or more dogs hunt together, they can untrain each other quickly unless each dog will honor the points of the other dog(s). The non-honoring dog steals points, frequently crowding and flushing birds in the process. It doesn't take much of that to induce the pointing dog to crowd and flush his own birds before his bracemate beats him to it. Before long, they are just wide-running flushing dogs out of pointing breed stock.
Of course, if you never hunt your dog with another dog, you needn't teach him to honor-unless you want to participate in off-season dog games (which you should).
Prerequisites
Steadying: Before you can steady your birddog to wing and shot, he must be staunch on point, and he must stop to flush reliably.
Honoring: Before you can teach your pointing dog trained birddog to honor, he must be staunch on point and must stop to flush reliably. Although not absolutely necessary, you should consider delaying this training until you complete steadying your dog to wing and shot.
Equipment and Facilities
For steadying, you need no additional equipment. However, for honoring, you should have at least one silhouette of a birddog on point. You will use this in combination with your remote release trap to induce your dog to honor as an extension of his stop-to-flush training.
Some dog supply catalogs offer these silhouettes for sale. A couple of companies make electronically operated silhouettes that lie flat on the ground (out of sight) but can be popped up with a remote transmitter. These are ideal, but they are also expensive. If you can afford one, buy it. If not, either buy a plain stake-into-the-ground model or cut one out of a piece of plywood with your trusty jigsaw. Rig it up so you can stick it into the ground easily. Then paint it to represent whatever breed you prefer.
For the final stages of steadying, you also need another steady dog. This is one of those training areas in which a small group is almost essential.
Schedule
You can start steadying any time after your dog is staunch and reliable at stopping to flush. You can start teaching him to honor as soon as he is steady to wing and shot.
How long does it take? In one sense, it takes the rest of your bird-dog's life, for you will have to give him touch-up training occasionally throughout his active life. However, it shouldn't take too long to do the initial training. I can't give you a precise schedule, for that depends on your dog's temperament, your temperament, the frequency of your sessions, and so on.
Handling Techniques
I cover handling techniques as necessary in each training section below.
TRAINING
If you have done a thorough job of teaching your birddog to stop to flush, steadying him and teaching him to honor are almost trivial. You simply extend his stop-to-flush training to a couple of new situations: when you flush a bird he is pointing, and when another dog points a bird in his view.
Even so, this training does take time. As usual, you train your dog by rote drill, repeated frequently over a period of time in a variety of places.
However, remember that the entire process is conceptually much simpler than, say, dressing yourself in the morning. So hang in there and you will have a beautifully mannered birddog, one your buddies will rave about.
Steadying to Wing and Shot
Because of your stop-to-flush training, your birddog now understands that he should stop in his tracks every time he sees a wild-flushing bird go up in front of him. However, you discontinued pointing work while you taught him this.
Now, in steadying him, you simply teach him that he must also remain in place when a bird goes up in front of him-after he has pointed it. Before you discontinued pointing work while you taught the stop-to-flush, you allowed him to chase pointed birds when you flushed them. Naturally, he still thinks that is okay, so you must convince him otherwise-which you can now do without undue pressure.
I will offer separate instructions here for steadying to wing and shot. The two are identical, except for how you correct your dog when he breaks. Follow whichever applies to your situation, although you should read both.
Without the Electronic Collar: You should make the transfer from stopping to flush to steadiness as obvious to the dog as possible. You can do that more easily with your remote release trap and pigeons on your club's lease than you could with 10,000 acres of prime bird cover at saturation level with wild gamebirds.
Plant a bird (preferably a homer) in your remote release trap. Snap the Flexi-Lead or checkcord onto your birddog's collar, and lead him to the bird from the upwind side, where he cannot scent the bird. Do a normal stop-to-flush. Fine; now put him up while you plant another bird in the trap-without moving the trap. Now use the Flexi-Lead to bring him to the trap from the downwind side, where he can scent the bird. After he points, style him up, praise him and so forth, as you usually do.
Holding the Flexi-Lead or checkcord firmly, walk in front of your dog. Tell him to Whoa, but do it softly. Kick around quite a bit-put on a theatrical performance-as if you were trying to flush a tight-sitting bird. This should tense your dog up to make him at least think about breaking when the bird goes up. Now, release the bird with your remote control. If he remains in place, great! Praise him lavishly.
However, he may break. Fine, let him break! But, when he almost hits the end of the Flexi-Lead, command Whoa!, and brace yourself. When he hits the end of his rope, he will flip over and go splat. Say nothing, but haul him back and Whoa him where he should have remained. Style him up and praise him-that's right, praise him-for a few moments. Now heel him back to your vehicle and put him up while you plant another bird in the trap-again without moving the trap.
Repeat the entire procedure, stop-to-flush and all, right there until he remains in place as the pointed bird flies away. With all the preparation he has had, and with the sudden stop after his initial break, he should figure out what you want very quickly. He will also make the connection between his stop-to-flush training and what you are doing with him now.
In your next session, repeat the entire lesson, but with the release trap in a different location, even in a different field. Keep working this way until your dog remains reliably in place through the flush anywhere. Then you can dispense with the stop-to-flush warm-up.
The rest should be obvious. Switch from homers to commies. Have your assistant shoot the birds, but keep your dog on the Flexi-Lead. If he remains steady, let him retrieve about half of them. If he breaks, use the Flexi-Lead to keep him from getting to the shot bird.
Don't remove the Flexi-Lead for several sessions after he has convinced you that he no longer needs it, and go back to it immediately any time he breaks.
With an Electronic Collar: Plant a bird (preferably a homer) in your remote release trap. Bring your dog near it on the upwind side where he cannot scent the bird. Release him and do a normal stop-to-flush drill. Now put him up again while you plant another bird in the trap, without moving the trap. Bring your dog near it on the downwind side, where he can scent the bird after running a little distance. Release him to find and point the bird. Style him up and praise him. Walk in front of him, telling him softly to Whoa. Kick around theatrically, pretending to flush the bird. Then release it. If he remains in place, great! Praise him.
If he breaks, do nothing until he has run a short distance. You do not want to zap him too close to where the bird was, at least at first. When he has gone a few yards past the trap, give him a series of momentary stimulations until he slows down and stops-or starts back to you. Take him back to where he should have remained, Whoa him there, and praise him. After a few moments, put him up while you plant another bird in the trap. Repeat the entire lesson, stop-to-flush and all, but start zapping him a bit sooner this time if he breaks. After a few such lessons, he will begin to see the light.
The rest is obvious. Repeat this lesson in each session, changing locations often. When he remains steady reliably, eliminate the preliminary stop-to-flush, switch from homers to commies, have your assistant shoot the birds, and let your dog retrieve about half of them.
Honoring
Many birddogs have a natural inclination to honor. Others don't. Either way, if you plan to run your dog with another dog, either in hunting or in off-season dog games, you should train your dog to honor or back another dog's point-on sight, without a Whoa command.
You can do this easily by transferring your dog's stop-to-flush training into honoring. However, you should wait until you have also steadied him, so he will remain in place through the flush and retrieve by the other dog. To help him do this, you should give him a quiet Whoa before the flush.
In the initial work described below, you teach your dog to honor your silhouette of a dog on point. In the finishing touches described thereafter, you introduce other (real) dogs to the program.
Initial Work (With or Without an Electronic Collar): The only difference in this work for those with and those without electronic collars lies in how they correct the dog for making mistakes-which should be few here for dogs that are steady to wing and shot.
If you have an electronically operated silhouette, set it up (lying flat) anywhere in your training area. If you have a stake-out silhouette, set it up in a location in which your dog will not see it until he gets quite close to it. In either case, plant a bird (preferably a homer) in your remote release trap immediately in front of your silhouette.
Now snap your Flexi-Lead or checkcord on your dog and lead him around to where you set up your silhouette,-from the upwind direction, where he cannot scent the bird. If you have an electronic silhouette, pop it up and almost immediately release the bird. If you have a stake-out silhouette, release the bird almost as soon as your dog sees the silhouette. Either way, insist that he stop to flush (which he should do without help by now, for crying out loud).
If you have two or three silhouettes and release traps, you can set them all up and lead your dog from one to the other, giving him an honoring lesson at each. If you have only one set-up, you will have to put him up while you move your silhouette and release trap and reload the release trap.
After a few lessons, your dog should stop as soon as he sees the silhouette-because he expects the flush. When he stops this way, praise him to high heaven, for that is what you are trying to teach him. However, don't release the bird immediately when he stops automatically. Wait him out. He will eventually creep forward. Great! Release the bird. He will stop, thinking he somehow caused the flush. After enough lessons like this, he will come to believe that if he moves forward after seeing the silhouette, he will cause the bird to flush.
Gradually increase the distance between your dog and the silhouette, so that he honors from farther and farther away.
Finishing Touches: Your birddog honors the silhouette on sight at any reasonable distance. Now you should bring other dogs into your program so your dog will learn to honor them on sight and so learn to remain in place through the shot(s) and retrieve(s).
Do not ask your dog to honor the points of an unsteady dog, lest the other dog teach your dog (by example) to start breaking again. For this work, you need a fully steadied dog, preferably one with at least some experience in running braces. If you can't find one any other way, contact a pro and pay to train with him.
Start out simply. Get the other dog on point, then lead your dog to a position in which he can see the dog on point but cannot scent the bird. He should stop automatically. If he doesn't, stop him with the lead. Don't proceed until he stops automatically and reliably.
Next, with him honoring (on lead), say Whoa softly. Then have the other handler walk in and flush the bird. Have an assistant shoot it. Keep your dog in place-with the lead if necessary. The other handler should send his dog to retrieve, and you should insist that your dog remain in place. Praise him for doing so, even if you have had to help him remember with the lead.
After that, you should let your dog point and retrieve a bird of his own. In fact, you can rotate dogs between pointing and honoring for the entire session.
The rest should be obvious. Continue working with other dogs in various locations. Discontinue using the lead when your dog convinces you he no longer needs it.
When your dog is steady and honors, you have joined an elite group of trainers. You have a fully-broke birddog, one you can hunt anywhere and take pride in, one that will be the talk of the town in your circle of hunting buddies. Congratulations!
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