Pretty Fun Sunday Morning......Finally got my 7 month old setter,Gringo, out on some live birds. I Had a couple pigeons and a couple release traps. I'd let him work his way to the bird. Try my best to make him hold point while I released and flushed the bird. Then reset the bird in different area to come back to it later while we worked up another spot. rinse and repeat several times. Does that sound like the right formula for Step 1. Any advice is appreciated.

Looking good. You asked. I whoa break and collar condition them first.

I'd start putting the bird in cover so they don't learn to only sight point.

Bingo.

Put the bird in cover makes them use there nose. When you know he smelled it and wanted to creep in release the bird. Teaches them not to crowd and no reward for not pointing. If you keep letting him creep in he will be hard to get him to point. Let him get older and then whoa break. Don't over work on pigeons for me they get bored.

Once he points,,, he holds ------ you are teaching him to creep, not point. ( basically the same thing everyone else has said)

If he takes one step after being on point the bird is released.

Some pups like to watch them fly away.

I put the first birds in cover and release them before the dog is aware that they are there. Usually after a couple of these releases, the dog becomes more cautious. Then I release birds when the dog is in the scent cone, before the dog points. Usually this brings out the point in the dog. After that when the dog goes on point I release if the dog moves, even one step. I never let the dog get close enough to see the bird as you did in the picture. I want the dog to understand that if it gets close enough to see the bird it is likely to flush. The idea is to put the dog in a situation where it learns to point on its own. Whoaing the dog on a bird with a check cord teaches the dog to wait for you to command it to point. You get a much stauncher dog if they understand getting too close to the bird means a flush.
I do give the dog the whoa command before I flush the bird if they are too close and not on point. My dogs learn to whoa before they are introduced to planted pigeons. I teach whoa with a whoa post and collar using the Smith method.

He could be a little young for what we are suggesting.

Work dog crosswind of the pigeon. When he turns his head toward the pigeon you know he is in the scent cone.