Thread: Dog training advice wanted

Hi guys, after abit of advice on my dog.
Ive got a Vizsla about 16 months old, finished training her as a deer indicating dog and shes doing great. Have got a few deer over her already bush stalking, im wanting to use her for pheasants this upcoming gamebird season. Havnt done any training with her relating to gamebirds yet.
Am I best to leave her solely as a deer dog for the moment until thats well and truly cemented before I transition her to game birds as well or is it best to start early?

I dont want any training or hunting gamebirds to negatively impact the training shes already had as a deer dog, as this is what she will be used for 90% of the time. Has anyone out there done this and have any advice on how to go about it?
Cheers

ok..lets attack this from different angle.

to indicate deer,
dog uses nose to find deer and lets you know they are there so you can shoot them

to indicate pheasants,
dog uses nose to find game and lets you know they are there so you can shoot them

dog is asked to flush on command.....or not. nothing to stop you kicking them up yourself.

after shot on deer
dog is asked to sit on arse and not move until told to

after shot on bird
dog is asked to sit on arse and not move until told to

on deer when dog told to move
its job is to take you to dead animal

on birds when dog told to move
its job IS TO BRING BIRD TO YOU...or not,dog can lead you to it and you pick it up...the finding is 99% of the battle.

after shot and after told to go get the game,if deer is alive,hopefully dog will anchor it/bail it...bird still running,not hell of alot different but mates may look sideways if dog starts to bail!!!!!

so really,not a hell of a huge ask for dog to do both....mine have all done it,current bitch pretty good at both jobs.

basically what Im saying is that if you dont put too much pressure on dog to achieve blue ribbon results on gamebirds WHY the hell WOULDNT you want to take her with you???worst case,she stays at heel and enjoys a walk with the boss and gets to sniff some feathery stuff.its all controlled outings,all exercise all good in my book.

Dog will learn difference eventually but for most people they want deer dog to remain close where as for me I expect my pointer to range about 200+ meters anywhere in my vicinity. Both very different, train for what you do most
When I take my pointer on deer all I expect is her company and her to be closer to me (we are still working on that)

so.....if he keeps dog to his deer imposed range-----30ish meters tops he will still keep same control just wont have as much range as dedicated bird dog....
or like your last sentence and mine above say...at worst dog gets an outing and stays at heel...still a win win.

Thanks, sounds like I'll take her along for a wander but keep her real close like I do in the bush.
I'd be happy just with the company and also if she'll retrieve birds from thick stuff so sounds like I'll start with some training on that.
Was worried about her hearing with the shotgun but I doubt I'll be firing heaps of shots over her anyway

Every one is different when it comes to dog training. From an aussie. He lets his dogs find the deer and then sneaks in, kinda like pig hunting in silence

Having spent considerable time hunting Sambar in Aussie, I can say the guy above would be able to let his dogs range far as generally the Victorian 'high country' is a lot more open cover, often with visibility of 100 plus metres. It's certainly not the Kaimais. Love the tail set on the first pointer in the vid.

As for training a dog to both, remember, how a pointing breed finds and handles game doesn't change. It's the range at which she hunts, and of course the retrieve are the only differences. If you have good control on her go shoot some pheasants with her. If you can stop and recall her you're already there.

I have an imported Gwp that came from a bird preserve so hunted birds all the time and he is good on deer, it took him a couple of trips to work out there were no woodcock. I can hunt feathers in the morning and fur in the afternoon without any issues. Just take your dog out and see what happens