I posted this in the gun dog section but had no response so maybe I will get answers here.

I have a 9 month old lab that will be experiencing his first bird season this year. He will be dove hunting with me in sep and then teal/dove after that. He is at the trainers getting force fetched and can run marks without a issue. He has done great with live quail and plenty of frozen ducks and dove out of the shooters.

How should I go about his first season? People have told me to not shoot a gun until he gets the hang of it so I have been planning to work him next to a buddy sep 1st.

How did you guys handle your pups first season?

Try to make it as fun as possible. Pups aren't very patient and it shouldn't be forced on them. Just my opinion.

If the dog is steady running marks you can shoot. I think it helps the dogs put it all together when you do the shooting. A lot of people will say let someone else shoot and you handle the dog which works as well but the dog needs to get used to hunting beside you and marking off your gun. So here is what I did and it worked great with my dog his first season. After one hunt he knew what was expected and never broke again the entire season.

Put a stake in the ground so that it is positioned on the side the dog will be heeling on. Put the dog on a 6 foot lead/rope and attach it to your tie out stake. Have the dog sit at heel beside you and go about your hunt. When the dog breaks he will hit the end of your lead and then you can give him a nice firm correction and sit him back where he was. It shouldn't take more than 1 or 2 corrections for him to start to understand.
I like this method better than holding on to your dogs lead the entire hunt and nagging him with a bunch of little corrections. With this method the dog makes the decision to break and he gets a firm correction for it. Everything is very black and white and he will understand faster than if you held on to him and gave him a bunch of little nagging corrections. Just my opinion based on my experiences.

Thanks for the help guys, the stake sounds like a great idea huck. I want him to hunt with me and learn as much as he can but I don't want to start him off with bad habits.

I think I'll be trying that stake idea also. I was just gonna stand in her lead but that sounds more effective.

How's he gonna get the hang of it if you don't shoot?

Your dog needs to be steady (your dog is not steady if you require a stake to hunt with them) and shot over before you take him hunting. Start shooting a .22 50 yards away and slowly transition to shooting over the dog with a shot gun based on the dogs attitude. You don't want to take a dog that hasn't been exposed to gunfire to opening day.

That's exactly why I like the method I described, the dog is staked out so you can have both hands free to hunt/shoot. And you are still in control and correct him for breaking when he hits the end of his 6 foot lead. But this way the dog can make the mistake and get corrected rather than nagging him before he makes the mistake.

It's very effective and I think the dog will learn a lot faster than you holding him while someone else shoots.

[quote=TrackQuack]

His dog has been running marks with a trainer so I assume he is conditioned to gun fire. Also a dog can be steady as a rock in training but no doubt he will try to break on his first hunt when the action gets heavy and multiple birds are falling from the sky. There is no amount of training that will truly give the full experience of a real hunt. So that why you use the stake after a couple corrections the dog will learn and you won't have to use the stake in the future.

It's a process, a dog doesn't go from training to super steady hunting dog without a little on the job training and a few corrections.

My advice is don't take him to a field where there are fifty people firing away. Make his introduction in a nice controlled environment.

Take him and have fun! Use common sense and work him in real life situations.
This was Jack's 1st hunt and he was not quite 9 mos. I let him screw around and play when times were slow and made him sit w/me when birds were around.
He had a great season. After season we gave hunt tests a try and he got his started title.
My thoughts were, that I wanted him to be fired up about birds, guns, etc. and start reeling him in on steady and deliver to hand.
We're getting there...enjoy your buddy!!

Im not sure how letting your dog run 6 feet out in front of you while you are shooting live rounds makes any since. It seems to me what your dog will learn from that is he can creep 6 feet in front before a correction is made which will put him in the blast zone of your shot.

Seeing that the dog will most likely break on the first shot puts him at the end of the lead jumping around in front of you while you fire shot 2 and 3.

I think I will teach my dog steady before I have a disaster on my hands.

Don't miss so he does have fun.

No one said anything about the dog running 6 feet in front of you. If you put your stake 3 feet behind you and just to your left the dog should be able to sit comfortably at heel beside you. That leaves him with just enough room to actually commit to breaking without being out in front of you. Hell use a 4 foot piece of rope if that's an issue. As soon soon as he commits to the break you correct. If he breaks on your first shot obviously you don't shoot shot 2 and 3 you correct the dog after the first shot. As with most things you must use common sense.

As far as creeping goes you correct as soon as it happens as you would anything else. The dog should never get to the end of lead because you would have corrected him as soon as he started.

And all of this is assuming your working with an already steady dog in training that is seeing the real thing for the first time.

Hot dove field is bad place for a young dog. Old falls, hot and dry weather, a bird that doesn't have a lot of scent all will add up to a confused pup if you aren't real careful.

all great advice guys, I am excited of course and I want to get him out hunting but I don't want to start bad habits.

Nothing in your originals post said to stake him 3 feet behind you. You then say as soon as the dog commits to break you give a correction. What are you going to do drop your gun with 2 live rounds in it to correct the dog. Are you going to yell at the dog or are you going to hit him with the gun barrel. If you steak your dog 3 feet behind you and the dog breaks to the left now he is 9 feet from you and you will have to get up and move at least 3 feet to correct him. How can this be done safely with a loaded shotgun.

Recurring theme...common sense.

No kidding! 90% of all this stuff should be done in a controlled environment, not in the dove field.

+1 I learned the hard way that training shouldn't happen on a hunt when I over heated a half broke dog.

I cleaned this thread up. Not directed to any one person, but keep it clean. Help the man with his question if you can, debate the suggestions backed up with facts if you wish, but keep the personal problems, smart remarks, and name calling off the forum.

To the OP if you want me to post a short video of the process, I can in a couple days. That way it cant be construed into something it isn't. Just let me know I don't mind doing it.

Huck, I think I am understanding what you are saying. With the lead the dog will get a correction the moment he breaks without me chasing him. I think it sounds like a great idea and will work.

Yes sir. It really is no different than holding on to him for the entire hunt except your hands are free and you have an insurance policy in place if the dog does break and your hands are not on him. If you want to wait and let your buddy shoot for a while at first that's great you can focus on your dog. But when the time comes and you do pull up to shoot you have that insurance policy in place just In case, so the dog can't be rewarded for breaking.

Im sorry for all the BS earlier I was just trying to help you out with what has worked the best for me. I have tried it both ways and this way worked the best for me. Again this is just my opinion based on my experience training and hunting with two different dogs.

Huck, I am new to dog training so I am all ears and I appreciate the help.

This will be my first year with my dog as well. I was warned that in training he has been around a lot of shooting, but it's 1 shot, 1 bird fall. It's a different situation with mulitple people, shooting multiple rounds. My trainer said it shouldn't be an issue, but to be cautious of it. I intend to start out about 30 yards from my brother and grandad and see how he reacts, and slowly ease my way towards their shooting, or back off some if necessary. My thoughts are that he and I have a lot of seasons to hunt together. Doesn't hurt to be cautios on the first few hunts. Good luck and let us know how you turn out.