Teaching a pointer to point

How old is the dog? Has it ever shown any inclination to point any object before?

If I had a dog that liked game but was more inclined to flush birds than point (not sure if this is your situation), I'd gear up with homing pigeons and follow the process detailed in The Perfect Start DVD series by Jon Hann at Perfection Kennels

That’s like training a lab to chew shite up.

They just do I?t.

Tie a wing to a fishing rod with about 3ft of string.

Like a really good friend and long time trainer told me.


What do you know more about birds and pointing than a pointing dog

Guess I wasn't very clear. He's 2 and he does point. I want to learn to teach him (and myself) to hunt. I would love to teach him and take him on a trip like wickowick posted about. So I guess I'm looking for someone to point me in the right direction for that.

You can teach him “whoa” and to hold a steady point when approaching a bird. You’d be surprised how natural pointing comes to a true pointer when you actually get them on still birds.

A few guys on here can really steer you in the right direction. I haven’t done any wild game hunts with mine yet but I’ve done some training with pen raised birds and it’s so cool to see a point dogs natural abilities come out even if it’s a completely new scenario for them.

Here’s my Drahthaar during a training session earlier this year.

You just get them in the woods with birds and they figure it out.

I recommend the same as Tulane...buy a book called Gun Dog by Wolters. A lot of folks here will say the techniques are outdated, but I believe in doing what has proven to work. This is an old series of books and as a result, you should be able to get a copy for $10 - $15 on amazon. I have used his retriever training book called Water Dog and it worked very well.

Pics of dog?