Bird dogs need preseason conditioning as much as the hunters
Bird dogs are tough and have a passion to go, but they’re not invincible.
Dogs need a handler’s attention before, during and after a hunt to get the most out of a day and maximize the animal’s years in the field.
A hunting breed is like any other athlete, said Dan Hoke, pro trainer and owner of Dunfur Kennel near Cheney. They’re more likely to rip tendons, tear muscles and run their feet raw if they haven’t been conditioned.
“We started conditioning our dogs for the hunting season at the beginning of August,” he said. “But there’s still time to get reasonably tuned up for seasons that open in mid-October.”
Here are more dog management tips from Hoke, who’s learned a few things after dealing with bird dogs and bird dog hunters month after month for decades.
• Practice with electronics, such as training collars, tracking equipment and beepers, prior to using them in the field. “Having tracking equipment and not knowing how to use it is a waste of money.” Check batteries and do range tests before going hunting.
• Contact information should be on every dog’s collar before turning it loose in the field for training or hunting.
• Gun shyness prevention is critical. Work with shooting gradually through training. “It’s a lot easier to prevent gun shyness than to try to fix it.”
• Train with real birds, not with scents. “Shooting preserves work quite well. Homing pigeons or pen-raised chukars work fine. Wild birds are best whenever you can get your dog onto them in a controlled manner.”
• Use succinct commands in the same intensity during training as well as in the field. “The dog isn’t going to know dog commands just because it’s a dog. … Dogs don’t respond well to rambling rants or conversations.”
• Trim toenails . Don’t let them get long and break off.
• Upgrade food to higher protein and calories as activity increases.
• Snakebite inoculations should be considered. Ask your vet.
• Keep hunts short , especially in warm weather. Even fit dogs can suffer heat exhaustion, which could set them back for weeks or months – or worse.
• Check dogs for seeds in eyes and be wary of cheatgrass and other seeds getting between toes and into ears. Cotton stuffed in ears can help prevent trouble. Q-Tips and saline solution used by contact lens wearers can be squirted to irrigate and extract stubborn seeds that get under a dog’s inner eyelids.
• Field food supplements help balance a dog’s energy level through longer days. Purina Pro Plan Sport Bars work. Experiment with them in training. “Break them up and give little portions during the day. Don’t give the dog the whole deal at once or he’ll go nuts.”
• Carry water , leash, forceps for cactus spine and quill removal, and Nutri-Cal or honey in case the dog runs critically out of juice.
• Keep expectations in check. If the dog didn’t get any training during the summer, don’t expect it to have improved since last hunting season.
• Keep in mind that usually the only thing keeping a good bird dog from being great is the hunter who owns it.