For the Birds

So what breed of “bird dog” are you training? What? You’re not training a “bird dog” because you have a Lab, or a golden, or a Chesapeake? “Bird dogs” are pointing breeds; you are training a “retriever.”

Okay, you better change your thinking - just because your dog’s last name is “retriever,” he is still a bird dog. And half of the name “bird dog” is “bird.” So, if you want to take a giant step toward achieving that high level of success training your retriever, it only makes sense to use birds as often as possible.

Have you ever thought about why professional and serious amateur retriever trainers enjoy such a high success rate? Sure, they can train every day, they have helpers to throw marks for them, and they also often have access to some outstanding training grounds and water. But have you stopped to think that a huge part of their success is the fact that they have a seemingly endless supply of birds? Don’t get me wrong, they all use bumpers; but I’ll bet, on average, that most pro trainers’ dogs see about 75 percent more birds in training than do amateurs’ dogs. And birds are a major factor that contributes to their success.

But there are two problems with using birds for training: First, you have to be able to find birds to use; and second, you must have a place to keep them.

Let’s talk about each of these problems and then learn how to handle birds for training. But before we get started, there is one piece of advice that I give to every person who comes to my kennel and trains with us, and I want you to always remember it: Always wash your hands when you finish handling birds - particularly pigeons. I never really gave this much thought until an acquaintance in Colorado nearly died from some “fever” that she contracted from handling pigeons without washing her hands - histoplastnosis. Pen raised game-birds and even pigeons that you might catch in a barn are extremely dirty (And, I need to keep all the readers I can get!) So, remember to wash your hands after handling any birds, dead or alive.

Retriever trainers teaching marking setups commonly use pigeons, ducks, and pheasants as “flyers.” For flushing training, you can’t beat pheasants and chukars; pigeons are certainly the least expensive of the training birds and can often be purchased or captured. Good places to find pigeons for sale are to check your local “Bargain Hunter” type newspaper or contact an exterminator. In some cities, exterminators are probably getting paid to remove pigeons from buildings or public areas, and they usually capture them alive; they are going to have to kill the pigeons anyhow, so the exterminator may see the profit in getting paid twice.

If you feel ambitious and know any farmers, you might ask him about catching pigeons at night in his barn. By shining a bright light on a pigeon when on the roost, it will likely freeze in place and you can simply grab it.

If you contact someone about purchasing pigeons that he has advertised for sale, be careful about telling the seller that you are going to use them for dog training - some people who raise pigeons don’t want to sell them to dog trainers.

Ducks, pheasants, and chukars can be relatively expensive depending upon the area of the country. Usually they must be purchased from a gamebirdraising facility.

Whenever you use any birds for training (particularly gamebirds), it is important to acquaint yourself with your local regulations. You may find that you live in a jurisdiction that has rules against the use of any live birds or animals being used for training dogs. It is possible that these rules are the result of abuse of animals used for the underground training of fighting dogs. But if the rules are on the books, you better make yourself aware of them. Your state game and fish office or your local game warden will have the answers about the rules regarding using live birds for dog training.

Something else that you might consider are the regulations as to specifically what gamebirds can be used and if there are certain times of the year when they can’t he used. You might even find out that you are required to get a state-issued permit if you plan to possess gamebirds or that you might have to have a special hand on the birds and a receipt showing where they were purchased. And he careful to make sure that if a small-game or bird-hunting license is required to shoot birds while training, that everyone who is going to he shooting has a license.

If all of this sounds like it is too much aggravation and not worth the effort just to train with birds, trust me, training your dog with birds will pay dividends that will, in the long run, far outweigh most of the hassles.

You must have a way to house and handle training birds. Unless you have a nearby source and can purchase birds as you need them, you will find it necessary to build or buy some sort of a simple coop for pigeons, or build a flight pen to house pigeons and/or gamebirds. Something to be aware of: Pigeons that have been “imprinted” on a particular home (coop) will often return to that home when flushed and allowed to fly off (or if you mean to shoot them and miss). So, when you plan a coop for housing pigeons, it is a good idea to install a one-way door (well above the ground to keep varmints out) so that the pigeons can get back inside. One-way doors are available from most suppliers of pigeon or bird-handling equipment and some gun dog training suppliers. (For another article involving pigeons, plus the plans for a coop, see “One on One. RJ” May/June 2003.)

For containing larger gamebirds such as ducks, pheasants, and chukars, a flight pen is the best plan. Most training birds that are housed in a modest coop-type pen for very long, where there is little or no opportunity to fly, will eventually lose their ability to flush hard or fly long distances. Although this might not seem like a problem on the surface, weak flushes and short flights can over-tempt a dog that is being trained to be steady, and entice him to leap in the air in an attempt to catch a slow-moving bird. Or, it can encourage a dog into breaking to chase a bird that has fluttered only a short distance. A flight pen allows these hard-flushing and living birds to keep their muscles exercised so that they will fly well.

If you or you and a few friends choose to build a flight pen, there are a few things to consider. First, if you build a flight pen that is low and long - meaning just tall enough to walk around in - the birds that you use for flushing training will he conditioned to fly low to the ground. This can present a problem when working with inexperienced or unsteady dogs, because often the birds barely get much above the level of the dog when they flush, possibly creating a difficult or downright dangerous shooting situation. On the other hand, if you build a high flight pen by using a couple of tall poles to hold up the netting, the birds will have more of a tendency to shoot skyward like a rocket when flushed.

Something else that you must take into consideration are predators. There are predators of some sort in every part of the country that would love nothing more than to make a meal of your valuable gamebirds. These may he something as simple (but nonetheless deadly) as a neighbor’s housecat or as difficult to deal with as skunks, weasels, or foxes. hawks and owls are particularly nasty predators because they will sit on top of a pen or in nearby trees and dive at birds hanging around outside the pen or inside close to the wire or net. And all of these birds of prey are federally protected species.

So it is imperative that you make your pen as predator-proof as possible, not only from the ground but also from above. It might he a good idea to spend some time talking to a local gamebird breeder or someone at a nearby hunting club where they release pen-raised birds to pick their brains about their thoughts on building a flight pen that is predator-proof.

Now if I haven’t scared you off from building a coop or flight pen for containing your training birds, let’s discuss how to best incorporate live birds into your training.

If all you are going to do is use live birds as “flyers” in marking setups, there isn’t much to know The birds are normally thrown into the air from an underarm toss and killed, generally trying to get them to fall in a predetermined area of the field. For teaching marking, don’t forget to save any birds that aren’t too shot up and freeze them to use for throwing as marks in future training.

Planting live birds may he more art than technique. Consistently planting birds that remain in the place where they were planted, ready to flush and fly hard when located by the dog, can only come with experience. I will try to help you learn some of the tricks by describing the mechanics involved in planting the more common birds used for training.

After you've spun the pigeon or pheasant, tuck his head under his wing.	Place the bird down on the ground on the wing under which his head is tucked.

First, pen-raised ducks are useful as flyers in marking setups and for teaching tracking. They are also terrific for teaching youngsters to plow into cover and dig out a cripple. however, ducks are not a flushing bird, and even when tossed from a trampoline-type launcher, have a rather feeble flight. But for tracking practice, there is no bird that surpasses a duck; pheasants and chukars leave a scent trail that can be tough for an inexperienced dog to follow. A duck will leave his scent on everything as he waddles away. For flushing training, you are better to stay with the flushing and hard-flying birds such as pheasants or chukars. Save the ducks for marks and for water training (or trailing as George Hicox suggests elsewhere in this issue) and use the upland birds or pigeons for flushing practice.

It is common practice to dizzy both pheasants and pigeons for planting by holding the bird’s body firmly and spin the bird’s head like a cowboy twirling a rope. Another method of planting is by tucking their head tucked under a wing and placing them with their full body weight down on that wing in cover. A mature rooster pheasant requires quite a lot of dizzying, and they don’t stay disoriented nearly as long as a pigeon. Sometimes, if you simply tuck a rooster’s head under his wing and put him down on the wing, he will jump up and run or fly before you can bring the dog up.

I prefer using a combination of the two methods for planting pheasants. I spin a pheasant’s head in the same manner as a pigeon, and when he has lost his equilibrium and is disoriented, I tuck his head under his wing, placing him down on that wing in fairly heavy cover. By planting the bird in this manner, it gives the dog a few minutes to hunt before closing in for the flush.

Chukars are not dizzied like a pigeon or pheasant. Hold the Chukar on his back and stretch his legs out behind him for about 30 seconds or so, until he appears to be in a trance.	Even without his head under his body, a chukar will generally stay where he is placed until kicked out b y the dog or hunter.

Personally, my favorite birds for training flushing dogs are chukars. They are about the size of a pigeon, so they are easy to house and maintain in a flight pen of moderate size. But where pheasants can handle almost any weather conditions, chukars must he kept fairly dry. So it must be possible for chukars to get out of the rain and off of overly wet ground. Chukars are very explosive when flushed and are not nasty like roosters when handled, making them safer to use around young dogs. Chukars are also easier to plant than pheasants, and there is a better chance that they will still be there when you bring the dog up.

To plant a chukar, hold the bird in your hand, belly up, holding his wings firmly against his body. Pull on his feet to stretch his legs straight out behind him for about 30 seconds or so. When the chukar seems to be dazed or in a trance, gently place him down in cover with his head underneath of his body, and move away. Most wake up after about a minute or so and stay where they were placed for a while. This generally allows for more than enough time to hunt the dog into the area. And usually the chukar will flush hard in the direction that he was facing when you put him down.

So, if you want to take your training to the next level, start using more birds. And, one last thing: Be sure to save the dead ones that aren’t torn up too bad in plastic grocery sacks in the freezer for training another day. But don’t you dare tell your “significant other” that it was my idea. Like I said, I need to keep all the readers I can.