caithness hunter
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retreiving pointed/shot game?im reading at the moment a hpr book by guy wallace, in it he states you should not let your HPR retreive shot game it has pointed and flused until its second shooting season, as it teaches unsteadiness to the shot/flush.
do others follow/practice this? 
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windem bang
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I.M.O. Mr. Wallace is thinking along the correct lines. Just because our breeds are called H.P.R. 's does not mean that our dogs should be allowed to think they can complete the Hunt- Point - Retrieve sequence.
I don't quite agree about waiting until a dogs second shooting season before allowing it to retrieve from its own point but I do think that if you allow it or tell it to retrieve from more than about one point out of 4 then you are probably making a rod for your own back.
It always came as a pleasant surprise to my dogs when they were allowed to retrieve a bird they had pointed. Far more often than not I had another dog walking beside me at heelfree and that was the dog I sent for the retrieve. I alternated my dogs for hunting so both got some hunting and pointing and both got some walking to heel and retrieving. This worked very well for me and not once during any trial ,no matter how "hot " the situation , did any dog of mine try to run in.
I think Guy Wallace is basically correct.
Bill T.
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caithness hunter
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| windem bang wrote: | I.M.O. Mr. Wallace is thinking along the correct lines. Just because our breeds are called H.P.R. 's does not mean that our dogs should be allowed to think they can complete the Hunt- Point - Retrieve sequence.
I don't quite agree about waiting until a dogs second shooting season before allowing it to retrieve from its own point but I do think that if you allow it or tell it to retrieve from more than about one point out of 4 then you are probably making a rod for your own back.
It always came as a pleasant surprise to my dogs when they were allowed to retrieve a bird they had pointed. Far more often than not I had another dog walking beside me at heelfree and that was the dog I sent for the retrieve. I alternated my dogs for hunting so both got some hunting and pointing and both got some walking to heel and retrieving. This worked very well for me and not once during any trial ,no matter how "hot " the situation , did any dog of mine try to run in.
I think Guy Wallace is basically correct.
Bill T. |
thanks Bill, so infrequently is the key, let them think of it as a treat rather than the norm?
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windem bang
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Definetly - Walk out and pick dead birds yourself or invite a friends dog to pick them - he/she can return the favour once a bird is shot from his dogs point or do as I so often did and have another dog of whatever breed walking at heel ready to make the retrieve.
I have noticed again and again how possessive H.P.R. folk are of any bird shot following a point by their dogs. It is the height of stupidity to send a dog for a bird that it is certain it will be sent for...........yet H.P.R. folk do it all the time and then wonder why, despite their very best efforts, their dogs run in !
It is so easy to have an H.P.R. that is completely steady on the flush.........after all the dog has "told" you that the bird is there ! Why waste that nice bit of steadiness by allowing the dog to believe that the retrieve will be his ?
If your dog comes to expect that following a point it will not be allowed to make the retrieve then it will be far less likely to run in.
If you are interested in trialing your dog and that dog firmly believes it won't get a retrieve from a point, then considering that your dog isn't likely to be asked to retrieve more than about 3 times in an entire trial then your previous training will greatly help to diminish any chances of a run in from the dog. - - - - - It isn't keyed up for a retrieve.
It isn't how many birds a dog retrieves that makes it a good ,steady retriever but many quality birds it is allowed to retrieve under the right set of circumstances.
Greedy or possessive handlers make for greedy or possessive dogs - the kind that run in !!!
Bill T.
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