Thread: Pre-season training

I was just interested to know what (if anything) people are doing to get their dogs ready for the upcoming bird season?

My older dog is almost 8 and has had a lot of training and has done a lot of hunting and so doesn't really need any pre-season sharpening. Instead I just focus on maintaining his fitness and weight throughout the year. My younger dog is 22 months and she just had an introduction last year and came out on about 8 hunts. I have decided that I will hunt her for at least the first half of the season as a non-slip retriever, I do a lot of walked up and rough hunting so normally have my dogs working just out in front of me. So with her she is heeling on every walk, I try to go somewhere with game once a week so she is used to seeing the pheasant flush, but remains by my side.

Thought this was going to be how to get rid of Christmas dinner before the roar

You are from the Stewart island you don't have to worry about that. Every time I have been down there for a hunt the locals just seem to be cutting down a bunch of feed and then waiting for the deer, so you don't need to worry getting fit.

Originally Posted by Hautapu

You are from the Stewart island you don't have to worry about that. Every time I have been down there for a hunt the locals just seem to be cutting down a bunch of feed and then waiting for the deer, so you don't need to worry getting fit.

Very true... Then I go to the mainland and they have these things called mountains with more interesting four legged game at the top of them

I just take my lab magpie shooting and Chuck a ball around and go swimming 2 times a day