Proper Introduction to Birds and Gunfire - An Interview with David Lauber
Last month we spent time talking with David Lauber, regarding the proper way to introduce dogs to birds. This month we will continue that discussion as he explains moving from yard work to fieldwork with birds and introducing gunfire to young dogs. (Continue)

Training Tips for the Weekend Warrior
Would like to see an article about teaching quartering with no assistants? Also, maybe incorporate how to get a dog to turn "down the course" when quartering and not backwards towards the handler. Also, maybe on how to get a dog that is a little sticky to range out a little farther. My young little ball of fire sometimes goes behind me in our quartering training. I am having trouble with a young pup that is doing some of these things.(Continue)

The Value of Steadiness
I must admit to having many fond memories of days spent hunting over dogs unsteady to wing and shot. Yet, I cannot deny that I am a strong proponent of training dogs for steadiness. In presenting my case, I must assert that a dog cannot be considered truly finished unless it has mastered this ability.(Continue)

A Rough Shooting Spaniel
“Dear to me for his stout heart, faith in me, and an absorbing devotion to the gun.” This line from Nash Buckingham’s essay “Not Unsung” in his classic book “Tattered Coat” about his Springer “Chub,” has for me, always summed-up the essence of the English springer spaniel.(Continue)

Wild Pheasants and Field Trial Dogs - Good or Bad?? – Part I
Here in North Dakota we have 3.5 million acres of CRP. CRP, for anyone unfamiliar, stands for Conservation Reserve Program. Through CRP, the Federal Agriculture Dept. contracts with farmers to place highly erodable cropland into a set aside program. CRP acres are planted to grass and left out of production for a minimum of ten years. This has created a boon to wildlife of all kinds, especially pheasants. Imagine hundreds of thousands of acres of knee to waist high grass-crawling with wild pheasants, sharp-tail grouse and Hungarian Partridge. Sounds like a dog trainer’s/field trialer’s/hunter’s dream? Well, it is, most of the time. (Continue)

Introducing Guns and Birds
Properly introducing a dog to guns and birds is of paramount importance. A dog that blinks birds, turns off at the flush or heads for the truck at the first shot is not worth a tinker's damn in the field. Purposeful avoidance of birds, flush problems and gun-shyness are environmental or trainer-induced problems. Dogs are not born gun-shy; they are made that way. (Continue)


 

Hunting with your Spaniel....Putting it all together
You have finally made it through the dog days of summer with your spaniel. Maybe you have a young pupil who you have worked all summer with preparing him for fall bird season. Or perhaps you have a seasoned veteran who you have brushed up his skills. Now is the moment of truth, hunting wild birds in wild bird places. Let's face it. Bird hunting trips are only as fun as the dogs and people we are with. A dog soon separates when it is training and hunting and a disobedient dog can make a hunting trip just downright miserable. They are worse than bad company. (Continue)

Training Spaniels for Waterfowl
With modern society’s hectic scheduling and the constant rivalry of the rat race, many of us professional trainers are being asked to train gun dogs to handle many different varieties of small game. The modern small game hunter has limited time, resources and space in the family setting to allow them only one hunting companion. Thus, we, as professionals are asked to teach our students how to work and handle various types of small game. Turning our pupils into a multi-purpose sporting dog in the field, educating and refining them to become very productive “all around gun dogs” is the expectation of our clients.(Continue)