Posted on Friday, September 18, 2009 by Richard in 1 Different Types Of Gundogs and Their Uses |

Also known as quartering, teaching a gun dog how to run a beat is an important part of training a dog for flushing. If the gundog does not get it right, then the hunter is going to miss out on some great opportunities for shooting. Before I go into training your dog to beat, I want to mention the distance of shooting.

Traditionally, many trainers will recommend that your gundog runs a beat that takes them 25 yards from you. Although this may not seem like much, if your dog is flushing that far away, they are actually doubling the distance, making the beat a 50 yard run (25 in one direction, 25 in the other), and 25 yards out. At the greatest distance, the flushed game would be too far for a successful shoot, and that is if you even saw it. For this reason, it is recommended that you keep the beat only 10 yards in distance so you have more opportunity to shoot.

Now that you know the distance, let’s look at teaching your gundog to beat. First, your gundog should already be trained to take directions from you off lead. If he doesn’t, you will neeed to move with your dog to teach a beat. The very first time you beat with your gundog, make sure you have your dog beating upwind.

Next, set up the environment. Create a few piles of sticks and debris to simulate the bushes that he will encounter in the field. Place a cage with a rabbit or bird in one of the piles. After you have the first area set up, walk in a straight line across the field and set up another area. Repeat until you have a line of piles on either side that your dog can run back and forth to.

Once your environment is set up, start to lead your dog through it. Direct them to the first set of piles. Let him sniff around the clump before you direct him to the next pile in the set. Make sure that he checks each pile until he finds the penned animal. It is also important that your dog is moving in front of you when you do this, even if you have to lead him to the pile since he will need to be ahead of you when you are in the field.

After he has checked all the piles, give the whistle to turn and then direct him across the beat to the next pile of sticks. Repeat until he has checked all the piles and then send him to the third series of piles. Repeat for each pile that you have so that your dog is moving back and forth across the field in front of you. Move forward yourself in a gradual manner, mimicking what you would do on an actual shoot.

If your dog diverts from the beat, draw him back with the whistle and redirect him. If he doesn’t listen, draw him back again and then physically move him towards the piles you want him to go. Make sure you give the whistle again as you redirect him so he is sure of the way you want him to go.

When you first start training your gundog for flushing, it is important to start small and to work in a secure area where he can’t run off. As his skill and knowledge increases, you can increase the size of your workspace and can start to move into an actual field that will present him with distractions.

Below is a chart of a classic upwind beat.