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#6137521 - 01/15/16 03:18 PM
English pointer that has been pressured
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Woodsman
Registered: 11/07/05
Posts: 247
Loc: North Texas
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I picked up a pointer from a guy that told me his buddy was to hard on her with an ecollar. She loves birds and holds point very well but if you try and call her in while hunting she cows down and heads for the truck. She is breed really well and came from a field trial guy. Is there any way to get her confidence back or is she ruined
Edited by coyotehunters (01/15/16 03:19 PM)
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#6137597 - 01/15/16 03:53 PM
Re: English pointer that has been pressured
[Re: coyotehunters]
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Woodsman
Registered: 04/11/12
Posts: 194
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I'm working with a collar burnt and collar sensitive female right now. Lots of "here" or "come" outside of the field, followed by praise or click-and-treat, and then take it to the field. At home and in the field, give lots of praise when she returns/checks in with you without a command to do it.
Run her without the e-collar the rest of the season and in training sessions, providing you can get a reliable recall or she runs well on a check cord, mainly for safety if your grounds are near roadways. Sometimes the difference in demeanor with and without an e-collar is drastic.
Do not pet her if she gives submissive displays upon recall or in general. It can be cute to some who think the dog needs petted, but it is not productive. Encourage her to stand up or even sit tall and be confident. IF she's pointing and holding, sitting is ok at this point. More praise.
Give her lots of bird contact, pen raised or wild, and don't worry about how she handles the game right now, since you are just rebuilding confidence. Worry about that next year.
She is likely to have a lot of flaws and not as well developed as other dogs her age, but she can still be a productive dog for you.
Patience, patience, patience. If you don't have it, move on. It can be frustrating to deal with the doubt and confusion brought on by mishandling in training, physical or electronic.
I'm sure some of the pro trainers on the site will chime in with even better advice. Good luck.
Edited by BAS (01/15/16 06:56 PM)
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#6137666 - 01/15/16 04:26 PM
Re: English pointer that has been pressured
[Re: BAS]
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Tracker
Registered: 03/17/11
Posts: 999
Loc: Rowlett, Texas
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This again....Patience, patience, patience
Go to the field that is loaded with birds and let her point and kill some birds over her....Lots of birds. Be as quite in the field as possible. Do not raise your voice, yell, hack, etc. Easy on the whistle. Let her have fun. I would leave the e-collar on her and use the lowest setting or the tone at first. Then when it is all over, let her ride in the front seat of the truck with you. You and this pup have got to bond as she builds trust and confidence IN YOU. It may take some time, but there is no better solution than birds, birds, and more birds.
Edited by NorthTXbirdhunter (01/15/16 04:27 PM)
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#6137811 - 01/15/16 05:51 PM
Re: English pointer that has been pressured
[Re: coyotehunters]
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Registered: 03/10/09
Posts: 7825
Loc: Bridgeport, Tx
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BIRDS fix a lot of crap.
_________________________
Pee on Photobucket
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#6137884 - 01/15/16 06:42 PM
Re: English pointer that has been pressured
[Re: coyotehunters]
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Pro Tracker
Registered: 06/03/07
Posts: 1430
Loc: magnolia tx
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Keep your mouth shut except for praise, E collar off. And lots of bird contact
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#6137948 - 01/15/16 07:16 PM
Re: English pointer that has been pressured
[Re: coyotehunters]
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Bird Dog
Registered: 07/03/15
Posts: 290
Loc: North Texas
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Not a good situation and heading to the truck is not acceptable. IMO, more birds will not fix a dog not coming. I will assume she is not gun shy. If gun shy, the obedience tip below is still important but we can talk more about the gun.
One of the many mistakes I see with training is that dogs go in the field without enough obedience and the e-collar is used to shortcut the training. Another mistake with the e-collar is using too much heat so the dog vocalizes. It is possible this dog was exposed to both. I suggest going back to the basics. Let's get the dog coming to you on command.
Since she is finding birds I would step back and just work on obedience for a while, It is ok to leave the e-collar on the dog(but turned off) but move to a very long check cord and a pinch collar. Determine what you are using for a call back "here " or "come" and also get the whistle going. 3 short blasts is common. You may want to switch to an entirely new command, since she was burned with the last one.
Let her range and play, find the end of the cord, call her with "here"(or "come"), toot the whistle(3x) and then reel her in using the check cord. Give lots of praise once she gets to you. Heck, give her a dog treat if you want. You can also do this with some fun retrieves, assuming she likes to retrieve. The goal here is to get that callback working. Repeat over and over again, with more and more time, more and more range, until she is solid. I realize that with with a pointer you may need a 200 foot check cord - so be it. Expect your dog to become less rangy during this - that may not be a bad thing.
When you have this working we can talk about how to properly add the collar back in.
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#6139907 - 01/17/16 12:00 PM
Re: English pointer that has been pressured
[Re: coyotehunters]
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THF Trophy Hunter
Registered: 08/19/06
Posts: 7936
Loc: bastrop county
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wonder how many dogs have been ruined with e callers?
_________________________
hold on Newt, we got a runaway
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#6140152 - 01/17/16 03:24 PM
Re: English pointer that has been pressured
[Re: coyotehunters]
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Pro Tracker
Registered: 06/03/07
Posts: 1430
Loc: magnolia tx
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It's not the collars fault. The inexperienced owner is at fault
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#6140323 - 01/17/16 05:38 PM
Re: English pointer that has been pressured
[Re: colt45]
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Tracker
Registered: 04/16/13
Posts: 514
Loc: Longview, Texas
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wonder how many dogs have been ruined with e callers? Sounds to me like the dog described by the OP isn't ruined just untrained. Most well bred dogs (not cheap) with desire that have been properly socialized and not taken from the litter too early could not be ruined by pressure if you tried so I guess it depends what your standards and expectations are.
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#6140338 - 01/17/16 05:53 PM
Re: English pointer that has been pressured
[Re: coyotehunters]
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red bone Bob
Registered: 11/22/09
Posts: 3351
Loc: New Braunfels TX USA
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I screwed up yesterday and hit Jack too hard, he came to the Ranger and wouldn't leave. We took him out this morning and he stuck by the Mule for about 2 minutes then lit out. I will never go above 3 again. I do need to work on "here" command with a check cord. Used the tone then the nic, after about 3 time the tone was all I needed. I worked this morning with someone who knew what he was doing. I hope Tigger doesn't read this, he's already a legend in his own mind 
_________________________
There is time, and you must take it, to lay your hand on your dog's head as you walk past him lying on the floor or on his settle, time to talk with him, to remember with him, time to please him, time you can't buy back once he's gone" GBE
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#6142964 - 01/19/16 10:03 AM
Re: English pointer that has been pressured
[Re: coyotehunters]
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THF Celebrity
Registered: 12/19/06
Posts: 17405
Loc: Ennis, TX
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I would heed tigger's advise any day. I don't care that he is a Democrat.  You don't hunt quail for 50 years and not learn just a tad.
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#6143000 - 01/19/16 10:23 AM
Re: English pointer that has been pressured
[Re: coyotehunters]
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THF Celebrity
Registered: 12/19/06
Posts: 17405
Loc: Ennis, TX
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I would not suggest anything with the collar until I saw her actions. I do know this. You don't get a frightened dog to not be frightened with more obedience training. Take the collar off, and let her learn to trust you. Dogs are not robots. You don't have a dog problem. The dog has a people problem.
Edited by coolie (01/19/16 10:25 AM)
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#6150780 - 01/23/16 04:15 PM
Re: English pointer that has been pressured
[Re: coyotehunters]
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Woodsman
Registered: 11/07/05
Posts: 247
Loc: North Texas
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I had her retrieving dummy in the yard today. I fired a crimped 22 pistol in my coat pocket and it didnt phase her at all. Did this 4 times. Then i fired it out of my pocket just as she picked up the dummy. She flinched but brought the dummy on back to me. Am i on the right track? What should the progression be from here? How long do i keep up what im doing? What signs am i looking for before shes ready to move on. Not trying to rush things just need to know how to not move to fast. Thanks
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#6150808 - 01/23/16 04:43 PM
Re: English pointer that has been pressured
[Re: coyotehunters]
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THF Celebrity
Registered: 11/03/09
Posts: 45348
Loc: Katy-Fulshear
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I'd put her on birds and forget retrieving.
_________________________
Quail hunting is like walking into, and out of a beautiful painting all day long. Gene Hill
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