When the conversation turns to training bird dogs, hunters usually assume they'll need to use of released or planted birds, such as quail.
Although released birds are an important part of the complete education of a hunting dog, we all too often overlook another obvious option--wild birds. After all, unless you spend all of your time on preserves, you are only using released birds as a preparation for hunting the real thing.
If you live in halfway decent bird country, training possibilities on wild game may be more numerous than you think. Let's take a look at what might be available, from now until next spring.
Summer
As the day's hot weather turns cooler, especially right around sunrise and just before dark, dog owners begin thinking in earnest about getting their animals ready for the fast-approaching season.
Late summer undoubtedly offers more opportunities for dog training than any other season of the year. It also has some potential problems.
Perhaps the most important of these is the threat posed by warm weather. Dogs, especially long-haired ones, can overheat quickly. This is particularly true for those dogs that may have put on weight and haven't been worked much for the past several months.
The best way to avoid heat problems is to work early in the morning or late in the evening, and to keep your training sessions--especially the initial ones--quite brief. Half an hour is more than enough to start. Of course, make sure that your dogs get plenty of water, and avoid working them immediately after they've been fed.
Young birds are at their most plentiful in the summer--a real plus for inexperienced dogs. And, in the case of some specifies such as pheasants, the birds of the year are likely to run a lot less than those that survived the previous season.
However, if you start training too early in the summer, the birds may not yet be strong enough fliers to escape a partly trained dog. Catching a bird or two can retard training efforts. Always carry a check cord when training, and if you find yourself in this situation, get your pup out of the field and wait a couple of weeks before returning.
In my neck of the woods (Iowa), crops used to be a real hindrance to summer training. In August, virtually everything in sight was in corn or soybeans--nearly impossible situations in which to work dogs, even assuming the landowner would give you permission.
The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has changed that, giving us a lot of ideal, grassy training fields. Stick to those and stay away from cropland. I once lost a pointer who decided to follow some running pheasants out of the grass and into the corn. I was lucky to get my dog back several days later. An electronic collar or a check cord will probably keep you from having a similar problem. A bell or beeper can be a good idea when working, especially heavy summer vegetation. ( I prefer shorter cover for summer work--it's cooler, both for me and the dogs.
In addition to the training and conditioning benefits that your dog will gain from summer bird work, you will also profit from the effort. To start with, you may need shaping up as badly as the dog does; summer training is a pleasant way to do your own conditioning.
Summer outings will also give you the opportunity to do pre-season scouting. Early in the morning, when there is a lot of dew, birds often leave the cover to dry out. This gives you the opportunity to assess the population.
In general, late summer is a slower time of year than fall for farmers and ranchers. This is a good time to knock on some unfamiliar doors. If you can get permission to do some summer dog training, chances are you can also return to hunt in a few months.
Winter
Almost everywhere, bird seasons close by at least mid-winter. This leaves you several weeks, or maybe even several months, when you can continue to "hunt," even if you have to leave your scattergun home.
For example, I live in Iowa, where the last bird season closes at the end of January. This leaves me all of February and March to continue working my dogs on wild birds without fear of disturbing them during the nesting season.
(Before you start off-season training on wild birds, be sure to review your state's regulations. My state, for example, prohibits working dogs on public areas from March 15 to July 15, and only blank pistols may be used when training while hunting seasons are closed.)
A young prospect you just didn't hunt enough during the season will benefit greatly from this immediate post-season period. Even, where winters are long and cold, there are usually at least a few nice days during February and March when training will not be an exercise in survival.
My main concern at this time of the year is to avoid stressing the birds. Their condition is at its poorest before spring; it's a good idea to leave them alone after they've been subjected to the rigors of several successive days of heavy snow, ice, or bitter cold. Avoid late-afternoon training sessions too. You may break up a covey that won't have time to regroup before dark, or push individual birds away from this best roosting habitat. None of us wants to add to game mortality at this time of year.
Spring
Many states like mine have regulations prohibiting or limiting training when nesting activities might be disturbed. Even though I could work my dogs on pheasants on private ground in the spring, I won't take the chance of flushing a hen that may have started to lay early.
One option however--at least in the eastern part of the country--is catching flighting woodcock as they return from their wintering grounds in the South.
Timing the flight north can be just about as tricky as zeroing in on the fall migration. Generally, snow cover is a pretty good barometer. Not many woodcock are likely to show up until after most of the snow melts.
In addition to the dog work you'll get on spring timberdoodles, there is another bonus. The coverts they use going north are likely the same ones in which they will be found again in the fall. That will probably be true whether the birds are transients headed for destinations further north, or whether they are residents setting up housekeeping for the summer.
Some state game agencies, often in cooperation with the Ruffed Grouse Society (RGS), also do woodcock banding in the spring for research purposes. Much of this research relies on the noses of well-trained pointing dogs to find the hens and their broods. If you are interested in banding, contact your state wildlife agency or the local RGS chapter.
Sometimes I think that there are so many secondary advantages to off-season training that they almost outweigh the primary reason you're out there. But, above all else, your dog will be learning about wild game in its natural surrounding--the same coverts where you'll hunt together in the fall. Because you're not hunting, however, you have the advantage of being able to concentrate on your dog's performance.
When hunting season finally arrives, the way your dog handles wild birds will convince you that spending those off-season days afield was worth it.
Copyright (c) 1996 Larry Brown. All rights reserved.
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