Posted on Friday, April 10, 2009 by Richard in 6a Advanced Training 20 Weeks Plus |

Charlie My Cocker Hunting Dog Is Exellent At Flushing Phesants

I have had many emails from you who are having problems learning how to train your hunting dog to flush out birds. Some dogs are better than others at this. Spaniels are the number one choice for beaters who I known. They sometimes have to stop their dogs from hurting themselves. Not all spaniels are good at this though,

Charlie my cocker is OK at flushing but would have been better if I had him before he was 14 months old. I have known Labs who excel at flushing but they must be trained young. So whatever breed you have, you need to start training the art of flushing young.

6 Steps To Train Your Gundog To Flush

Step 1
When your dog has learned recall start introducing him/her to a little rough. Before you let her out of your car place 4-5 treats in a rough area about 20yards square.

Step 2
Let your dog have a few minutes play before you take her to the rough area where you put the treats. After about 5 minutes put his/her lead on and lead him/her over to the rough area.

Step 3
Tell your gundog to go-on or find while leading her to the first treat. Repeat with the rest of the treats keeping her on the lead and giving her a idea where the treats are hidden. Give her a fuss when she finds each treat.

Step 4
The following week repeat the exercise but leave her to find the last 2 treats herself. If she has not found the treat after about 3-4 minutes help her, but do not get annoyed. Your dog may get this the first attempt or it may take weeks of practice.

Step 5

Over the next few weeks give her less and less help hopefully after a few weeks you should let her off her lead to play and she will find the rough to get her treats. Cut the number of treats down but keep giving her fuss.

Step 5
If possible get some dead birds or rabbits and put them in socks then in the rough. This will give a smell for your dog to scent. Introduce your dog to the smell before you leave the car to place them. Place a few treats also.

Step 6
Take your gundog somewhere where there is some game and through a couple of treats around the edges. Tell her to go-on and your dog should start to use its nose to find the birds. As long as you have been giving a fuss and encouraging in the training, she should have no problem adapting to flushing on the shoot.

Warning

Do not rush your dog when training, if it takes 6 months don’t worry it will be worth it. If it takes 3 weeks you are lucky but on another discipline like retrieving your dog may take longer to learn.

If you want more info on how to train your hunting dog from start to finish we can help you. At present we are filming our new training program , which you get a 10 minute video each week taking you step by step through the training process of training your new gundog. Plus you get a training chart to follow and fill in as you go. Click Here to get on the early bird’s hotlist Now! You even get free Pre Training Preperation Videos