Versatile dog question

I have a DD, but I assume my question will be relevant to all versatile breeds as well as some true pointers. Do you prefer your dog to stay on point, or do you send them in for the flush once you reach the area? I have been hunting by myself in some thick areas, and it seems if I send her in for the flush I have a better chance of bagging a bird or two, If i walk in to flush often times the brush is to thick to make a shot in the direction of the flushing birds.

I've always done the flushing myself.

Some train to flush on command.

This

always to stay on point

It's good if you can get away with it, and keep your dog steady until you give the command, but the theory is that it makes them more difficult to train.

I just got back hunting blue quail. Many times I hit the bird, feathers fly, bird goes down into the dirt tumbling. Then it takes off running. If your dog is sitting back 40 yards away waiting for you to release him you won't find that bird.

Let dog break at the gun shot so he is on top of the bird when it goes down

I don't think that is what this question is about. Do you let your dogs flush the birds?

Yep I re read it. My bad

I hear those blue quail can run!

I have had dogs that would flush on command. As long as they waited for my command, I saw nothing wrong with it. I used the same dogs on pen birds (where that little trick came in handy) and wild birds without a hitch...but be advised, if you do go that route, and hunt with someone else, and their dog is not supposed to flush, they are likely to be offended when your dog busts in on the covey while theirs is "steady".

I don't think that's what the question is about either. I've hunted blues for 35 years and never even saw a Bob until the late 80's. Dogs used to Bobwhite quail will get worn out when they first encounter Blues. A good Blue quail dog will have a walking point and you better be getting up there when they get birdy. I still never let my dogs flush the birds and even had a few great ones that would get out I front of the Blues and herd them back to you and get staunch on point. We had a neighbor that didn't hunt who owned a pointer we trained in Crane when I was a kid. That dog was so great at getting in front of the birds they did a write up on him in the Odessa American Newspaper. He was a once in a lifetime animal that we started hunting when he was 5 years old just to see if he would hunt.

I've also never understood people who want their dogs to stand there after the shot. I have always wanted my dogs running after the "dead" birds when they hit the ground. In West Texas they'll run down a rathole as soon as they hit the ground. I have had several dogs that would dig until they got to the bottom of the hole. For some reason they would usually get a mouth full of tail feathers and come up for air. Once they got those tail feathers and got a breath the next dive they would come up with a bird even if they got deep enough that you couldn't see the tip of their tail.

We used to have a shorthair named Bozo that did that when I was about 14. He would make a big sweeping circle and point them back to you. He also had other habits like whipping a pup or another dog that tried to steal his point. He sure was good at teaching dogs to back. He also would find and kill a skunk before he would ever point a bird. Dad said he was a pointer with a cut off tail. I now know he was most likely a shorthair.

We had a neighbor that didn't hunt who owned a pointer we trained in Crane when I was a kid. That dog was so great at getting in front of the birds they did a write up on him in the Odessa American Newspaper. He was a once in a lifetime animal that we started hunting when he was 5 years old just to see if he would hunt. [/quote]


Gawd I love that story. One of my favorite

Bobcat 1 and scalebuster, you guys are good. Those stories prove a big point I don't understand when people handle there pointers telling them when to turn, how far to run, when to whoa, etc. keep your mouth shut and let them figure it out. They will soon learn more how to hunt birds than you do

I've been training my GSP to flush on command. However, just let him run as far he is comfortable with in a given terrain. It's better exercise for me to go where he is finding the birds, not where I would rather walk.. A beeper with point indicator is a great tool. The dog learns almost to train you when he is on the birds..
We are going to shoot some pen birds with my father-in-law to work on some serious holding power..

I do both. Sometimes I want to do the flush, other times I need the dogs to do the flush. If it is in a field, I usually walk in and kick once or twice then send the dogs in. If it is in brush, I almost always send the dogs in first.

Very interesting discussion. When I had my Brit on live quail for the first time this weekend my dad and I were having this same debate. While I worked the dog, my dad was the shooter and flusher. He quickly figured out that it's very hard work to flush and stay balanced/keep a good line of sight for shooting.

By the end of the day, I was keeping the dog on point and releasing him to flush when we were in position. I think this is the direction that I'd like to continue. It still certainly needs more work, but we've now got a good start.

S