Thread: My wirehair hunting with me today.

Originally Posted by Twoshotkill

Wow... so different to my dog. I have many hours of training to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nah. You will be right. Once you have got the basics on them for deer like stopping, sitting, keeping in the rest comes down to the dog getting experience. Its better to have no brakes than no motor, its just about getting the discipline balanced.

A good command to get on them is "steady". That settles them when they are in close and encourages them to stalk forward quietly. Any break after the steady, and she gets a sharp "ah" command. It can all be whispered. I taught it by soothing and stroking when she was in high stress situations like having spotted a cat, and pointing rabbits. Best taught on a rope. Another command she has is "wait" if she gets ahead, then she will slow and maintain about the same distance.

The other thing is they need to know when to range and when to not. "Go on" means she can range and hunt for rabbits and birds. In the bush I tell her to get in, and then have to use a few "steadies" and the odd "ah" until she settles. She quickly gets the hang of it.

Lastly, don't be afraid of making a bit of noise to discipline your dog. Its better than letting them get away with something. Especially ranging. If she doesn't listen and ranges in the bush I sit her, go and get her, and drag her back to where I was. Then we start again. Its constant work, but the rewards are great.

There are plenty of far better dogs than my one. She's just an example.