First Year Pup

The glory time has arrived…hunting season.  How sweet it is.  And the good news is that the grouse and woodcock numbers are very promising from Minnesota to Maine.  Several professional trainers who began training dogs on wild birds in late July have reported two or three times the flushes compared to the same time last year. 

The season is here; however, is that young pup ready for birds?  I’ve had dozens of folks email me in the past several months with news of a new puppy in the household.  They’re all excited about hunting over their pup. From setters to pointers to versatile breeds, everyone feels they have the next grouse or woodcock field champion. 

Depending upon the age and level of training, don’t expect too much from your pup.  Although I know professional guides, who live in the woods and that have never shown their dog a pen raised bird, most of us don’t have that exposure to wild birds.  Therefore, a few steps should be taken to help the pup through their first season of hunting birds.  Let’s assume your pup is six months or younger.  Even if you’re heading to bird camp in just a few weeks, there is still time to prepare your pup for maximum benefit from their first season.

Your author is a firm believer in puppy obedience classes.  They offer the pup an opportunity to socialize with other pups and they’ll learn basic obedience.  Almost every town, small or large, has someone teaching puppy obedience.  This will make the experience in the field more enjoyable for everyone; owner and pup.

Steps should be taken to help develop natural abilities.  This includes the predator drive.  Expose the pup to a couple of pen-raised birds.  I like to put a bird in a small cage and then have the pup approach the cage without a lead or check cord.  The cage prevents the bird from flapping their wings in the pup’s face which could cause bird shyness. Pups typically run around the cage and sniff the bird several times.  This is good. 

A pup should also be run in the woods several times before heading to camp.  Any woods are good…just make sure they’ve had contact with brush and different topography.  If you’ve got a fast-moving, high-energy pup (like most pointing breeds), you may consider a chest protector for the youngster as they learn to move quickly through the woods. And then there is shooting.  Do not take a pup to a shooting range to “break them in.” This could cause a permanent gun shy pup.  Do it slowly.  Begin with a .22 caliber pistol at fifty yards and then a .410 shotgun at 100 yards and then slowly decrease the distance.  It’s best if the pup is pre-occupied with something…like sniffing a pen raised bird in a cage.

Another very important issue is introduction to bells or beepers…or both.  For bells, begin with something very small like something you might find on a Christmas toy.  Without the bell being on the dog, shake the bell while walking around the house while the dog is playing or pre-occupied; like eating their dinner.  After a week of making bell noise, affix the bell to the collar of your pup.  After a couple of days, attach a larger hunting bell.  You should be ready to go.  For a beeper, diminish the volume by putting duct tape over the beeper.  Then, while beeping put it on a carpeted floor and, with a towel covering the beeper, allow it to beep for two or three minutes.  Your pup will probably walk around the beeping noise and be curious.  Expose the pup three of four times to the beeper while on the floor. Then, with the beeper still muffled with duct tape, place the collar on your pup.  There may be a mild reaction; however, if introduced properly, the pup will soon ignore the beep.  On my own dogs, I use a bell for continuous contact and an on-point only beeper function.

Be sure the pup has been introduced to riding in the truck for more than a quick trip to the grocery store.  Bird camp could be a day or two drive and you don’t want a pup that is continuously sick or overly nervous about riding in a vehicle. 

Finally, don’t expect too much from your pup while in the field.  After all, it’s just a pup.  It takes three years minimum to develop a good bird dog.  The first hunting season should be all about having puppy fun.  If you get a bird find or even a flash point, be happy. 

Paul Fuller is host of the Bird Dogs Afield TV program.  Paul’s website is www.birddogsafield.com.

Avoiding Canine Bloat

She became very restless and kept looking at her stomach.  At this time of the evening, she’s typically lying down on a dog bed in the living room. I’m talking about our three year old German shorthaired pointer; a breed that is prone to gastric dilatation-volvulus or most commonly known as “bloat.”  Both my wife and I watched her closely until she finally settled down and went to sleep.  She was okay; evidently just a short-term digestive issue.

Bloat, however, is a very serious issue with many sporting breeds.  In fact, it’s been reported that bloat is the second leading killer of dogs…second only to cancer.  Deep chested dogs are most commonly affected by bloat.  Although any dog could develop bloat, those sporting breeds which are most at risk are Chesapeake bay retriever, springer spaniel, golden retriever, Gordon setter, German shorthaired pointer, Irish setter, Labrador retriever, weimaraner and many breeds from the hound group.

Here’s a more detailed explanation of bloat.  It’s generally felt that bloat is caused by an excessive amount of air which is swallowed and then accumulated in the stomach.  What actually happens is the stomach swells from the excess air and eventually may twist.  In fact, it can twist 90 to 360 degrees.  The twisting will eventually cut off any flow between the upper attachment (the esophagus) and the lower attachment (the upper intestine) which means air, food and water are now trapped in the stomach.  The twisting also cuts off the flow of blood which means very low blood pressure, shock and damage to internal organs.  Add all these problems together and the result can be, very quickly, a dead dog.

The causes of bloat are not entirely defined by the canine medical fraternity; however, it’s most commonly thought that the following contribute to bloat:  stress resulting from unfamiliar surroundings, boarding, new dog introduced to the pack and whelping; eating habits which include eating too fast, eating from elevated bowls, too much water before or after eating; exercise before and after eating; heredity; physical characteristics such as a deep chest, large dogs and male dogs.

Symptoms of bloat are many.  The issue we have here is that from the on-set of symptoms, we often have little time to get our beloved dog to a veterinarian for treatment.  So, understand your dog’s normal behavior and always be alert for symptoms.  The most common symptoms are restlessness, attempts to vomit (unsuccessfully), hunched up appearance, tight or hard abdomen, pale gums, heavy salivating, whining, pacing, licking the air, looking at their stomach, refusal to sit or lie down, eating grass or twigs, fearful or anxious.  

Remembering the old adage that prevention is worth an ounce of cure, here are a few ideas the experts suggest you consider.  Avoid excessive stress, avoid elevated food bowls, feed two or three times daily rather than once, use a bowl that prevents rapid eating, avoid exercise one hour before and one hour after eating, make meals a happy time and avoid a food with brewer’s yeast.

We never know when bloat will occur and, when it does, it’s an emergency.  Be sure to have a 24 hour emergency veterinarian clinic telephone number handy…you never know when it will be needed.  Also, be sure to ask your veterinarian for information regarding bloat.  This column was written from personal knowledge and research from different sources; however, it’s not meant to replace good veterinarian advice.

Paul Fuller is host of the Bird Dogs Afield TV program.  Paul’s website is www.birddogsafield.com.

Conditioning

August means we need to get serious about conditioning…for both the dog owner and the dog.  Depending upon where you live, hunting season may be only one month away. 

First, the dog owner.  To enjoy hunting season, your heart, lungs and legs must be conditioned for long walks and, in certain areas, climbing mountains.  If you haven’t been exercising, begin slowly and then work up to longer hikes.  One mile of daily walking is a good start with five miles your goal within 30 days.  If mid-September is your opener, you’ll be ready for serious bird hunting.

Now let’s talk about your dog.  Your loyal companion should be with you on those walks you’ve been taking or are about ready to begin.  Make your exercise program have a dual purpose.  During hunting season, your dog typically runs three times the distance you walk.  That’s for a ruffed grouse dog.  If you’re hunting prairie birds, then it could be four to five times the distance you walk.  Your dog needs to be conditioned also or you’re heading for serious health issues…maybe even death.

On many of the Facebook gun dog groups, a frequent question is what brand dog food do you feed?  Each time that question is asked, there are at least 30 responses…and most are different from the others.  Food is the fuel that fires up everything in your dog’s body.  The quality of that fuel is important.  Put a cheap, poorly processed gasoline in your vehicle and the vehicle will run rough and most likely sustain damage.  The same goes for your dog.  The following are guidelines for selecting a quality dog food.

First, you want to feed your dog a food that has been formulated for the working dog.  That dog food will contain the highest quality natural meats and grains with no corn, wheat or soy or by-products.  Corn, wheat and soy, and meat by-products, are often used as filler to reduce the cost of production.  Corn, wheat and soy are difficult to digest for dogs.  That means that the manufacturer filled the dog food bag with junk which simply passes through the dog with little nutritional value.  Another ingredient to watch for is Brewer’s Rice.  It’s a by-product of brewing and has only 25-33% of its nutritional value when added to dog food.

For the canine athlete, a food with 30% protein and 20% fat is considered ideal for the dog that is worked 3-4 times weekly.  Check the label to ensure your feed meets that requirement.  As mentioned earlier, both the fat and protein content must come from quality ingredients.  Other ingredients that identify a quality food are the addition of natural oxidants to promote longer and healthier life; chelated minerals (mineral combined with amino acids) for better health; prebiotics for better digestion and Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids to improve the immune system and give your dog that nice glossy coat.

One more key item to check. kCal (calories per cup) is a measurement often used by pro-trainers.  A high quality dog food formulated for the working dog contains about 500 kCals.  Check your current dog food for kCals.

A high quality dog food usually costs more.  However, a well formulated food will mean less food needed for your dog so the end result is about the same as the cost for a junk food.

Your author has fed Native Performance Dog Food for years and has had excellent results.  It meets all the above requirements and also comes in four different protein/fat levels to meet the activity level of your dog.   No other dog food manufacturer provides this flexibility. 

Be ready for hunting season; start thinking about conditioning for both you and your dog.  Do both you and your dog a favor; switch to Native Performance Dog Food today.

Paul Fuller is host of the Bird Dogs Afield TV program.  Paul’s website is www.birddogsafield.com.

What is Line Breeding?

A recent email from Aaron:  Paul, my long time hunting buddy is getting old and I need to get a puppy this spring.  A pointer kennel I’m looking at advertises many years of conscientious line breeding.  What is line breeding?

Your author is not a veterinarian or genetic scientist; however, I can give a layman’s answer to this question. Animal breeders typically talk about two types of breeding: in-breeding and line breeding.  Let’s look at each.

In-breeding is something we’ve all heard about at some point in our lives; it’s incestuous breeding between two immediate family members such as parent-child or between two siblings.  In-breeding prevents genetic diversity.  This means that a puppy could inherit an identical, but undesirable, gene from both parents.  If only one parent has the undesirable gene, there is much less chance of the gene becoming dominant.  The technical term for inheriting two identical genes from the same parent is homozygosis.  The result of close in-breeding could result in many diseases and health issues including hip dysplasia, poor immune system, both male and female sterility, sight problems…and much more.

Line breeding is, amongst purebreds, an acceptable form of in-breeding.  Since the initial genetic pool for purebreds was small, the probability that two copies of any given gene will be identical, within a purebred strain of dogs, will be high.  In fact, the whole concept behind line breeding is to breed good genes into a litter of pups.  Line breeding is the foundation for selective breeding which has given us chickens with large all-white-meat breasts and cows that produce more milk.

For dogs, good breeders have been striving for years, through line breeding, to produce puppies with correct standards, good temperament, and, for sporting dogs, animals that have better scenting ability, locate more birds, stay staunch on point and retrieve reliably.  Of course, harnessing all these wonderful characteristics can also mean harnessing undesirable genes.  So, how does a responsible breeder help ensure that his line breeding captures as many of the good genes as possible but avoids the undesirable genes?  The first step is to make sure the sire and dam are in very good health.  This is crucial to good line breeding; it helps avoid the unwanted health issue gene.  The second step is to breed to healthy dogs that have the trait you want to introduce or strengthen in your line of dogs.  Here is additional information for good line breeding.

The United States, with all of our sophisticated technology, has, in my opinion, lagged behind in helping breeders with smart decisions for line breeding. My father was a veterinarian.  We had a kennel full of English setters and beagles.  Beagles, however, were what we bred and raised for both brace field trials and rabbit hunting.  My father used to talk about an in-breeding coefficient; a method of determining the relationship between sire and dam.  A low coefficient meant very little relationship and a high coefficient meant a very high relationship.  However, the “in-breeding coefficient”, if I recall, was only used in Europe.  Dad said that we didn’t have the record keeping in this country to use the “in-breeding coefficient”.

Here’s the formula my father used.  He felt that there should be at least three generations of separation for line breeding.  He liked five generations or more, but felt three was satisfactory.  Dad recognized that maintaining a good line-breeding program with five generations of separation would be difficult...too many years to reach your objective.  So, my simple answer for Aaron:  check the pedigree of the sire and dam producing the litter and watch for repetitive names in those pedigrees.  If you find repetitive names within three generations, I suggest you look for another litter.

Here’s one final comment on line breeding.  Genetic research is progressing dramatically every year.  Within a few years, I’m sure that there will be a simple and inexpensive method of checking for unhealthy breeding in a sire and dam.  We’ve all seen the ads on TV that say “Show me the CarFax.” This document reportedly lists any accidents in which a used car has been involved.  Someday soon you’ll say to a breeder “let me see the CanineGeneFax”.

In simple and layman’s terms, I hope this article has been helpful.  And, although he’s been gone for years, I want to thank my Dad for allowing me, as a young boy, to sit and listen to his adult conversations with fellow dog breeders.

Paul Fuller is host of the Bird Dogs Afield TV program.  Paul’s website is www.birddogsafield.com.

Correcting Unproductive Points & Creeping

This month’s column is about correcting two common faults with pointing dogs.  

The first fault is a dog that has too many unproductive points.  An unproductive is simply a good solid point but there is no bird.  The most common cause of the unproductive point is that a bird has just left the area…either by flushing or running.  A strong scent cone is still in the air, which causes the dog to point.  An experienced dog recognizes the fading scent cone and will relocate.  No harm here since, for a hunting dog, this is very important.  A dog, however, holding point several times a day over stale scent will cause much frustration for the hunter.   Here’s a good training tool too correct excessive unproductive points.

My good friend Calvin Robinson recently took me to meet the dean of New England pointing dog training…Bob Paucek.  Bob has been training pointing dogs for almost 60 years (he’s 83).  He’s seen it all.  Bob’s technique for correcting excessive unproductive points is fairly simple.  For this method to work, however, your dog must have a release queue such as a whistle to move forward or a verbal release command.  Bob takes a large bird such as a pheasant and will rub the bird on the ground in two or three places and then actually plant the bird.  When the dog points the scent from the first rub, Bob will whistle the dog forward.  The same drill is repeated when the second and third rub are pointed.  When the dog points the actual bird, Bob praises the dog while coming forward for the flush.  The dog soon learns the difference between stale scent and fresh scent from a pinned bird.  Give Bob’s technique a try.

The next fault is that the dog creeps or what many of the old-time trainers call cat-walking.  Some folks confuse creeping with relocating.  They’re two completely different actions.  Creeping is when a dog establishes point, has the bird pinned, and then attempts to stalk the bird rather than stay staunch and wait for his hunter to come up and flush the bird.   Creeping is absolutely forbidden and must be corrected immediately.  Creeping will result in flushes long before the hunter has had an opportunity to locate their dog on point.  This will cause much frustration for the hunter and his guests.

For many dogs, creeping will naturally go away once the dog realizes he can’t catch the bird.  Er Shelley, the original Godfather (1920s) of all pointing dog training, said that if a pointing dog were allowed to run freely on a farm (with plenty of wild birds) during its first year, it would be 90% trained without ever encountering any formal training.  Shelley’s application to the creeping issue is that if the dog is exposed to enough wild birds, he’ll quickly learn that there is no value in stalking a bird.

Very few of us have access to a large farm, with an abundance of wild birds.  So, how do we correct creeping in today’s world?  There are two training drills that must be completed prior to correcting creeping.  You must have a dog obedient to the “whoa” command, and you must have a dog that has been carefully introduced to the e-collar. If your dog meets those criteria, then here’s how to correct creeping.  Put a modern e-collar around the belly…with prongs touching the belly. We use the belly rather than the neck because we’re working around birds.  It’s worth interjecting here that many pro-trainers still feel that an e-collar should never be used when a bird is on the ground.  However, many other pro-trainers have developed an all-around application for the e-collar if used with care and thought.  The care part being the use of low stimulation and the thought part being that we simply move the collar away from the bird…from the neck to the belly.  If you stimulate from the neck with a bird on the ground, the dog may associate the stimulation with the bird and then become bird-shy.  By placing the collar on the belly, the dog will associate the stimulation with a briar scratch or biting fly…but not the bird.

When the dog begins to creep, apply a low stimulation and then quickly give the “whoa” command.  As soon as the dog stops, release the stimulation button.  Then go to the dog, pick it up and return it to the original point location, set it down and then say “whoa”.  This process may take a few repetitions but it will work.

Folks, this is June.  Depending upon whether your hunting season begins in September or October, it means you’re getting short on training time.  Make sure you’re on a schedule to ensure that your dog is both physically and bird ready for opening day.  The investment in time will provide much more enjoyable hours afield this fall.

Paul Fuller is host of the Bird Dogs Afield TV program.  Paul’s website is www.birddogsafield.com.

Puppy Selection

“Make sure the sire and dam have proven hunting experience.  If possible, try to watch one work in the field.”  How many times have we heard or read that advice pertaining to selecting a breeder for that new puppy? You hear it frequently and often in this column.

The theory is that we want to select a puppy from a bloodline of hunters.  If we do that, we increase our chances of bringing home a pup with the prey drive necessary to become a good hunter.  Is this true?  Let’s take a look at behavior and how it develops.

Since your author has no training in this area, I’m going to keep this very simple.  Animal behavior is shaped by both genetic and environmental influence.    Genetic behavior is the result of evolutionary responses by previous generations.  Nature has also allowed behavioral changes due to environmental influence.   Rather than taking thousands of years to develop an instinctive or genetic behavior, an environmental behavior can develop simply in the lifetime of an animal.

For our purpose, we’re dealing with genetic behavior.  All animals have genetic behavior that has developed over hundreds of generations.  How easy is it to lose genetic behavior?  From breeders of hunting dogs, I’ve often heard that a sporting breed bloodline that has most recently been used in the show ring, has most likely had the hunting instinct “bred out”.  A few years ago, a good non-hunting friend called to tell me that he and his wife had just bought an English setter puppy.  I commented that he should bring the pup over to the house in a couple of months and let’s run the little rascal in the fields.  His response: “that won’t work; our breeder told us that there are two distinct blood lines of English setters…hunting and show ring.  Our pup is a from a show ring bloodline.”  “Although I remained a gentleman and didn’t want to embarrass my friend, silently, I said “hog wash.”  The prey 

drive has not been bred out of this dog. 

I believe it was Delmar Smith who said that he could teach any dog to point…it’s instinctive and not that hard to accomplish.  Delmar’s point was that practically all ground predators hesitate before they pounce on their prey…it’s an evolutionary response passed on from generation to generation that has become genetic.  To “breed out” that evolutionary response from a pure bred line of sporting dogs would take hundreds of generations. 

Genetic behavior is not limited to just sporting dogs.  Three times in my life, I’ve watched non-sporting dog breeds grab a snake and shake it so hard that it split into pieces.  That’s genetic behavior.  Each of those dogs had instinct that told them to kill the snake before it killed them.  That behavior evolved over thousands of years but may not have been used for several generations.

What’s the conclusion and how does it affect our breeder and puppy selection?  I think that the old advice to select a puppy from a known hunting bloodline is still valid.  Although it may take a millennium or more to breed-out a pro-hunting genetic behavior, the stronger those genes are, the better.

Paul Fuller is host of the Bird Dogs Afield TV program.  Paul’s website is www.birddogsafield.com.

Battle of the Sexes

Should I get a female or male puppy?  I get this question asked, on the average, once per week.

The battle of the sexes is as active with dogs as it is with humans.  Ask a dozen professional trainers and you’ll probably get a 50-50 split decision.  Here are some thoughts.

Dave Duffy, a well- respected and long-time gun dog writer, often mentioned in his columns that he felt females were easier to train than a male dog.  He also thought they made better house companions.  With the greatest respect for Mr. Duffy, your writer feels that there are too many variables to simply choose a female as the easiest sex to train.  Most experts feel that dog behavior is more a result of a puppy’s breeding and how it was raised and trained.  Personally, I’ve never read or heard of a scientific study that proved one sex to be easier to train than the other.

Let’s take a look at our two dogs.  In our home, we have a three year old female German shorthair and an eight year old male German shorthair.  Let’s look at each as they’ve grown. As a puppy, the male dog was much more destructive.  He chewed and ruined everything he could get into his mouth.  Right from a puppy, he was bird crazed.  As his pointing instinct developed, he would rather jump on a planted bird than hold a point.  He chased deer, turkeys and porcupines.  He eventually, at about three years old, became a very good field dog; holding his point and staying steady to wing, shot and drop.  He has also become a perfect house dog.  He no longer chews, chases and is lovable and gives you his love.  He was neutered at seven months so he has no desire to roam the countryside in search of a girlfriend.

The female in the house has never been a chewer of shoes, electrical cords or any other household material.  She was not as bird crazy as the male during puppy time and had less interest in pointing as a puppy.   Her pointing instincts simply took longer to develop.  This past fall, at 2 ½ years, she had numerous grouse finds, points and pinned birds which resulted in flushes and good shooting.  She is also a better retriever than the male and delivers with a soft mouth.  She is more prompt with recall but took longer to learn “whoa” than the male.  Once having learned the “whoa” command, she’s more compliant than the male. Our female, as is the male, a wonderful companion and house dog.

The bottom line between these two dogs is that the female took longer to learn about pointing and birds, however, once she grasped the desired action, she has been more predictable.  Overall, however, and it may just be experience; the older male will find more birds than the younger female.

From a hunting point of view, your author has had the good fortune to either watch or hunt over many breeds; both females and males.  Some of these dogs have been amongst the best pointing dogs in the country.  I would give a very slight edge to the females.  I’ve seen them locate and pin more birds than their male counterpart.  But, that’s only a slight edge…not enough to sway a potential puppy buyer.

The best advice on this subject is to buy the puppy that makes you happy without regard to sex.  Of course, be sure to do the standard pre-buy checklist; are the sire and dam accomplished hunters, are they well-behaved house dogs (if that is your plan) and they are free of disease.  Once the puppy comes home, the future for your new friend is mostly in your hands.

Paul Fuller is host of the Bird Dogs Afield TV program.  Paul’s website is www.birddogsafield.com.