Steady till sent

I’ve been working on this with my vizsla. Very close to getting there, other than those dancing feet. She’s not moving forwards, just small up and down feet movement. Or sometimes a tiny bounce in place, at the shot while watching the bird fly. Looking at ways to correct this, while having to remember Vizslas are softer on training, than a lot of the other breeds.

Been there done that until the birds started falling. The best I could do is what NSTRA required. Steady until flush.

I’m just trying to get her one step above what’s required for her SH hunt title. After that title, she will go back to being my hunting dog, and steady till shot is fine. She’s fast, and loves to do the flying leap to catch flushed birds. Otherwise steady till flush, would be okay with me for hunting.

Less is more. Simplify. Go back to the yard and firm up OB. Proof with heavy distractions. Then de-chase with live flyers while under command. Then link it together with shot flyers. The dog does not get the retrieve unless it does everything right. Set the bar where you want it. Then be consistent. Once a clear line of communication is established and communication is crystal clear, using birds as motivation is powerful. It will close the deal with a positive influence on style and pay dividends with brace work.
This is what it should look like when the dog has the mark. If OB in the yard is not good enough to sit motionless without distraction, there is no point in asking it of the dog in the presence of birds.

This is putting it together on pointed birds. The dog is already steady to shot and fall and has been de-chased. It has a bird pointed. I have walked up and snapped a lead to a pinch collar. A helper is going to flush the bird. If the dog breaks it will correct itself. If it remains steady, the helper will shoot the bird. Again if it breaks it will correct itself. If it remains steady, it is released to retrieve. Building a strong foundation with baby steps and drawing on the dogs love of birds is the path.

These pics are my Pudelpointer which are wired very similar to your Vizsla. There is more than one way to get where you want to go but that is the readers digest version of how I go at it. Good luck with your steadiness training.

I’ve already brushed her back up on yard work at home. I had caught myself slacking. Went back to yard work in the field with checkcord, overlaped with ecollar, with and without birds. Next step was without the checkcord, and just the collar. I’ve been using a lot more pigeons, than quail.
Thank you
Plan is to work more on de-chase/delayed chase this week.
Was just trying to make sure, I was not missing something.

After reading your post I added a little more to mine. Good luck

You’ve got a pretty dog.
I don’t have plans of duck hunting much with this one. She has been dove hunting, and after her SH pointing title is in the books. I might work towards her JHR title. She went through FF, this summer.
Two Vizslas that have long passed, were duck, and goose hunters. We have a male vizsla that duck, and dove hunts with my husband.

Will she tolerate hobbles? Put the sleeves on her back legs. When she points, put the clip in place. She moves, she falls. Simple old style technique that has always worked well for my dogs. After a few times, they catch on. To make sure they don't "outsmart" you, the first few times you don't put the clip in place, bend down and click it near the dog before the flush. Most dogs think you just hobbled them. After a while I just run them with the sleeves on their legs. Then if they are doing it right the sleeves come off and we see how it goes.

That does sound like old school dog training.
I’m not knocking it. If it worked for you, I’m happy for you.
Its not something I would ever do to a vizsla.
They take things personally, and it can take tons of time if they ever shut down on you.
She’s FT bloodlines. A lot more prey driven than your normal vizslas, but she’s still a vizsla.

She is getting there.
Standing through the shot about 90% of the time, without a correction.
She’s not a natural backer. I’ve owned a couple that were, and it sure was nice.
So we have also been working on backing, and Stop to Flush.
Both of those still need more work, but better than when I first made the post.

Congrats! It sounds like you are turning the corner.