Random question about dog training for upland game

[Tim Donaldson]

Anyone know a good spot where I can take my pup outside and do some training drills with blanks and bumpers?  Anywhere within a 1 hour drive of Arlington?  Despite my wife's skepticism I am going to see how my 8 month old labradoodle does this fall with dove hunting.  He's whip smart and well trained, but I haven't exposed him to live fire drills yet.  Picked up some 12 ga blanks this weekend and eager to see how he does.  I was going to ask a fish and game officer but thought there might be some wisdom on these boards.  

Tim

[Joseph Kowalski]

Is McKee Beshers too far? Check out the MD DNR website for the WMA for retriever training rules.

[Carl Z.]

There are also some dog training clubs that do trials at McKee Beshers.  If you are a member (or can tag along with a member) of one of the Izaak Walton League chapters, they are good go just take a dog and walk around while people are firing guns.   And if you are interested in Hunting, they are good for going out to practice.

Carl

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Carl Zmola

On Tue, Aug 16, 2016 at 7:40 PM, Joseph Kowalski <joseph.c...@gmail.com> wrote:

Is McKee Beshers too far?  Check out the MD DNR website for the WMA for retriever training rules.

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[Tim Donaldson]

Thanks Carl!  Just emailed IWL about membership.  

Tim

On Wednesday, August 17, 2016 at 4:24:22 PM UTC-4, Carl wrote:

There are also some dog training clubs that do trials at McKee Beshers.  If you are a member (or can tag along with a member) of one of the Izaak Walton League chapters, they are good go just take a dog and walk around while people are firing guns.   And if you are interested in Hunting, they are good for going out to practice.

Carl

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Carl Zmola

On Tue, Aug 16, 2016 at 7:40 PM, Joseph Kowalski <joseph.c...@gmail.com> wrote:

Is McKee Beshers too far?  Check out the MD DNR website for the WMA for retriever training rules.

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[ALarge]

McKee Beshers, hands down. 

For gunfire training, I cannot express enough how important it is to make baby steps in acclimating your dog to gunfire. DO NOT USE THE 12ga BLANK RIGHT AWAY -*YOU WILL RUIN THE DOG.  It should take a few weeks of acclimating to work up to a 12ga blank. Start by banging your least favorite pots and pans over his head every time he is fed. once he's comfortable with that get a play cap gun, the ones with the red circular rings, and fire those over his head while he eats. The idea here is to associate loud, abrupt noises with pleasure. If you skip this step and fire a blank over your dog without working up to this, you will ruin your dog forever. Think outside the box. If you have a jackhammer working in your neighborhood, safely walk him near the sound and feed him treats for stopping at heel, whoa-ing, etc. Again, you want him to get excited every time he hears any sort of loud *bang*. After your dog's ears don't so much as prick up when you bang a pot over his head while eating, then and only then should you move to a 12ga or .22 blank. They are louder than you think and will scare the living shit out of a dog if you don't take the time to acclimate him. 

McKee Beshers is the only public land made available specifically for dog training. There is a small annual fee to use the fields ($20), but the land is well managed by Maryland DNR, the Potomac Chapter of NAVHDA (North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association, which you should definitely consider joining for mentorship opportunities and testing) as well as the Potomac Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society.  There are upland fields of milo designated specifically for training and also ponds for duck and water retrieve training. The sorghum fields can get lots of briers late in the season, but it's usually fine going into fall.   It's the only place I found around here to fire blanks and release live pigeons on public lands around here. I live in DC proper so I also spent time breaking the rules by training my Brittany off-leash in certain remote areas of the National Arboretum, also. Every once in a while you could hear gunfire, however it didn't come from me. I usually chalked it up as an exercise in steadiness training. Check the dates for dog training, though. Come dove season, you can close your eyes and you'd swear you're listening to range day at Quantico. 

Once you've got him started with gunfire training, you could also bring your dogs to local skeet and trap ranges. I know Bull Run will allow dogs to tag along on leash and I think PG County Skeet and Trap will allow dogs -but i'd check on  that. 

IWL is just also around the corner from McKee Beshers and also has great fields and facilities for members.

[andrewm...@gmail.com]

I second ALarge. Start very slowly or you it will take months, money, and lots of hotdogs to fix. I made the mistake of putting my Lab on the big gun too early and paid for it. However, with lots and lots of consistent and more incremental training, she is now awesome, if not a little too eager. You need to start far away from the dog and move your way closer over time with loads of positive reinforcement (hot dogs are a great cheap reward). Who knows, may be your dog will be perfect at 8 months without ever hearing a gun, especially a dove hunt with lots of rounds going off, but maybe not. 

I will say hunting with a dog that I trained is one of the most rewarding experiences. They were bred for the stuff and have the most fun doing their job. Good luck Sept 1 !!!!  

[Carl Z.]

Hunting dogs are like boats.  Its really nice to have a friend that owns one.

Carl

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Carl Zmola

On Tue, Aug 23, 2016 at 1:41 PM, TurbineBlade <doubl...@gmail.com> wrote:

Agreed.  Watching dogs work is truly an awesome experience.  I got to go out a couple of years back with a German shorthaired pointer and was amazed at his (the dog's) dedication.  He literally was 100%, full-on the entire day we hunted, and then collapsed and slept in the truck just minutes after we finished and slept the entire drive home. 

Gene

McKee Beshers, hands down. 

Carl

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[Tim Donaldson]

Thanks for the info everyone.  I'm hesitant to spook pup while he's eating...he's a grazer and easily distracted.  I was planning on going with a friend and having him shoot blanks from 1000 feet away, then slowly move progressively closer.  I'll be sure to have lots of his favorite treats on hand.  He has yet to get spooked by lightning or construction noise so I am hopeful.  

Another question while I'm here...pup is really good at staying, sitting, coming.  He does chase birds and rabbits but they quickly disappear so he never gets far.  He did chase a deer recently and got away from me.  It's like I wasn't even there.  Is the only cure for this a shock collar?  We've been training with positive reinforcement (although I had to put him down a few times when he was trying to climb the pack hierarchy at 12 weeks).  My wife is not going to be a fan of me using a shock collar on the family pet.  

Is chasing deer despite me calling him something he'll outgrow with age and training, or am I fooling myself?

On Tuesday, August 23, 2016 at 12:27:16 PM UTC-4, Andrew M wrote:

[Alec Strong]

Tim,

No....they will always chase.  We have one of the Garmin collars and it is great.  You can beep, vibrate, and shock.  We rarely (1-2 times/year) use the shock feature.  The way I look at it, I would rather shock my Brittany than lose him.  I think he agrees.....

McKee Beshers, hands down. 

Carl

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[Tim Donaldson]

Which Garmin do you have?  

McKee Beshers, hands down. 

Carl

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[Alex Large]

I run my Brittany on a Garmin Delta Sport. Works great, never had a problem with it.

McKee Beshers, hands down. 

Carl

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[Carl Z.]

You could get a tracking collar so you can find him later. :)

Yes they can outgrow this type of thing, but not always. I don't have a hunting dog, but by 4, my dog was able to not chase deer too far.  

1) you have to be consistent in your training,  having a household pet that you get rambutious with and an excellent hunting dog are, while not mutually exclusive, very hard to accomplish and you are dealing with a compromise.  Just accept some of that.

2) Part of the deer issue is you being attuned to his signals and getting his attention before it is completely zoned in on the deer.  It's also training the dog handler.  

Carl

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On Wed, Aug 24, 2016 at 9:56 AM, Tim Donaldson <timdon...@gmail.com> wrote:

McKee Beshers, hands down. 

Carl

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