Where to start trainning a upland bird dog?

I had trained labs in the pass. This dog is way out there. I know that the Dad of her had to be force fetch trained. All I know about the mom is that she was train to upland bird hunting.

This isn’t a lab though

My Pudelpointer didn’t immediately take to retrieving but she’s a bad arse now

For sure. Way back many years ago, we had quail. Once farmers started using DDT, that killed them off. My grandmaw tried to induce them back and that didn't work.

I do get some woodcock. That depends on how cold it gets along with how much rain we get. Some years they are super thick, others, not so many.

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My young Boykin

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The itch to finally get a Boykin has been strong lately, need to start the search for a pup

Paging wickowick

He can point in you in the right direction

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Paging wickowick

He can point in you in the right direction

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I have pointing dogs, but I would suggest just getting the dog out and working on woodcock and see what happens

Hey Wick. Dam Black birds in the yard drove her crazy today.

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In retrieving circles I'm sure I would get tarred and feathered for what I'm about to say, but oh well. I got my Boykin when it was close to 1 year old. It comes from a strong hunting background and a good breeder (littermate to highcotton2's Boykin actually). The previous owner wasn't a hunter and never worked with the dog at all. It was extremely birdy and showed tons of drive and willingness to please, but showed no desire to retrieve. I spent a month or two on basic obedience (sit, here, heel) and once that was mastered I force fetched him. He's now a pretty dang good retriever and loves to retrieve/be worked.

Retriever trainers will tell you that you can't force fetch a dog that doesn't have the drive. I don't disagree with this. He showed the drive to hunt, just didn't understand the "game" of retrieving no matter what I tried until I force fetched him, working up to "forced" retrieves.

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People that haven't seen real field bred boykins are stunned when they see my little female roll and our 5 month old puppy...... same for the big male but you can just look at him and see it.

I have a GSP who just made 1. I didn't have the time or resources to train her for birds. From what I heard, try to expose them to birds or their scent as soon as you can. Also, basic obedience is a must. I did a lot of the basic stuff on my own (sit, heel, stay, recall) and then it was all reinforced at a obedience trainer while I went on vacation.

I ended up sending my dog to an older guy in MS near highway 26 and 43. A friend of my dad brought his GSP there back in the 90s. This trainer is old school and has 9 Brittany's of his own. He guide hunts at a quail preserve outside of Poplarville. I believe there is another trainer in St. Francisville, don't know many details. I also stumbled on an ad from a MS newspaper that offered training. Here's the ad: "Bird dog training, $20 per lesson, you decide how much help you need or I can do the full job for you. Walthall Co., Tylertown, 601-818-3445, ask for Zack."

Anyway, the trainer has had her for a month now and should be done with her this week or next. My pup was pointing on her own at pretty much any bird she saw or got a scent on. I'm excited to see her work. Think he was finishing up retrieving with her. She wanted to play with the birds after the shot.

I did have a question for wick, the trainer is using quail for training. Any tips on introducing her to wild woodcock. Saw one last week at the camp and would like to get her on some.