Dog getting bored in the hide

[Paul T]

Chaps

 

Got a cracking dog and wouldn't swap him for the world and while he's great out working in fields and cover, he's a real pain in a hide.

 

He'll walk around the decoy pattern while I'm setting up, inspect each deek in turn and he won't touch them after that. After I've shot a couple I'll send the dog out and he's generally fine (though still needs a bit of encouragement to pick up feather!). All he wants to do then is go and work the rest of the field, not come back to the hide - especially if I've put shot birds back in the pattern . I'll walk him up the hedge for a bit of interest and then take him back into the hide, but he just won't lay down and settle. I've tried tying him up and being firm, but he'll still constantly paw at my leg - twice yesterday I missed some easy birds 'cos I was trying to settle the dog ! If he's not pawing, he's got his head on my knee, whining. I'm sure he's just bored and wants to do more, but there's not much else he can do in a small hide is there? - unless I can train him to rustle up a mug of tea and a bacon sarnie! In his eyes he's come out to work and all he's doing is sitting in a hedge, which is hellish tedious.

 

I really enjoy days out with him so don't want to leave him behind on hide days. How do I either keep him occupied or settled in the hide ? Suggestions please?

 

Cheers

 

Paul

[Greymaster]

You have an HPR gundog with an aptitude for Hunting Pointing AND Retrieving. In my not so humble opinion on this matter you have the wrong dog to be sitting in a hide watching for the fall of birds. These dogs want to get out there and hunt the wind, find game, point it, flush it and then do your retrieving for you.

 

I am not the least surprised that your dog is going mental with boredom. It is the ideal rough shooters dog. If you must sit in a hide and wait for birds to come to you, leave the dog at home and pick them up yourself. Cut down on pigeon shooting and do more rough shooting. Then both of you can have fun. Less quantity and more quality for both of you.

 

Be fair with your dog.

 

Sorry mate, had to be said!

Edited October 17, 2010 by Greymaster

[Billy.]

My dog whines in the hide, but it's through excitement, not boredom.

 

Who is the alpha dog here, you or him?

[manxman2]

Chaps

 

Got a cracking dog and wouldn't swap him for the world and while he's great out working in fields and cover, he's a real pain in a hide.

 

He'll walk around the decoy pattern while I'm setting up, inspect each deek in turn and he won't touch them after that. After I've shot a couple I'll send the dog out and he's generally fine (though still needs a bit of encouragement to pick up feather!). All he wants to do then is go and work the rest of the field, not come back to the hide - especially if I've put shot birds back in the pattern . I'll walk him up the hedge for a bit of interest and then take him back into the hide, but he just won't lay down and settle. I've tried tying him up and being firm, but he'll still constantly paw at my leg - twice yesterday I missed some easy birds 'cos I was trying to settle the dog ! If he's not pawing, he's got his head on my knee, whining. I'm sure he's just bored and wants to do more, but there's not much else he can do in a small hide is there? - unless I can train him to rustle up a mug of tea and a bacon sarnie! In his eyes he's come out to work and all he's doing is sitting in a hedge, which is hellish tedious.

 

I really enjoy days out with him so don't want to leave him behind on hide days. How do I either keep him occupied or settled in the hide ? Suggestions please?

 

Cheers

 

Paul

 

 

 

 

 

You dont say how old he is.

 

Anyway mine were in the hide from the momment i got them as pups, so the thump thump thump of the guns were experienced, and the norm before they knew any different.

 

Secondly is retrieve training begins, wings around stick etc fun training, throw and fetch jobbies.

 

Then it was bisciut training, and i am talking labs here, firstly they know what fetch means by now, so it starts with the dropped bisciut allow him to sniff but not touch, then flick the bisciut a foot or 2, you will inevitable loose a goodly few bisciuts to your lab doing this but a good scolding and maybe a firm rap across the snout immediately he bites instead of collects the bisciut sorts it out even with a lab, patience on both sides is required.

 

Now you have your dog fetching the bisciut to you from a couple of feet away, and then getting to eat said bikkie for his trouble.

so you extend the range, now he is sat in the kitchen and you show him the bikkie in your hand, then place bikki on sofa or in hallway, but open easy to find, gradually extending the distance and the constant reward.

 

Next your onto hiding the bikki around the house, under a cushion for instance while the dog is sat in the kitchen etc, but blind to the hiding of bikkie.

 

All this is leading to the hide believe me.

 

Ofcourse your moving the dog along now with outside retrieve training on fur and feather now aswell, and letting him have the occasional stroll out of the hide to pick a deadun over an easy surface sowing / stubble ect.

 

The bisciut training has moved on aswell no more bitten bisciuts, he likes the game, find fetch and then eat, what lab wouldnt.

 

Now its coronation street training.{with the whole family in the living room making a fuss when the ads ae on etc}

 

Having already taught the dog about patience with the bikkie, it now goes on the nose as he is sat between your legs, eventually, and it isnt a long time you have him sitting bisciut aboard nose crosseyed and drooling, waiting for he click of your fingers which means he can flick and eat knowing if he doesnt get it first time in mid air, and the bikkie hits the carpet, it goes back on his nose, they dont miss often i can tell you..

 

You then extend the time between placement on nozzle of bisciut and click of fingers to the full lenght of coronation street.

 

Always leave a hole at bottom front of hide so dog can see whats going on, that will keep his interest as long as a few are coming in, keep him well watered, and click your fingers every now and then to let him retrieve.

 

I shot mainly standing crop, and plugged loads of customers in the standing crops, so at the end of a shoot we played the cadburys chocolate button game, this game can like the bisciut game be played all their lives, sit him down in the patch of deeks, put hand over his eyes and throw mudball/stone

into barley, he hears it land and feels you throw, then send him in, he will retrieve an earlier plugged customer from the barley and collect his chokkie.

a packet of buttons goes alongway, as they get older it has less appeal, but they will still collect 10 or 20, you have to remember its mid summer and his tongue is hangin outta his gob like a big pink bed sheet, so keep him well watered.

 

My 3 labs lived full lives and the patience taught to them early like this made them great hide dogs,

Young dogs get bored, an occassional retrieve and a chokkie works wonders, he wants to retrieve the bird you just shot, and will wait interested and patiently to do so, as they get older the know the deal inside out.

Also i never owned a dog lead {bit of old rope when training} to my memory, the wife did for the daughter, but i always had a dog that walked to heel.

 

As you can see i aint no pro trainer, but i needed my dogs to work for ME at close quarters, not for others pleasure or sport.

 

and ps. i only had one dog at a time for shooting and my one lurcher in my late 20s, i got the lurcher to retrieve everything but rabbits unfortunately and gave it away 3 or 4 years later to my uncle as a pet, my labs each one of them spent virtually 24 hours a day with me, and i think thats also important, well it was to me i loved my dogs..

Edited October 17, 2010 by manxman2

[Paul T]

You have an HPR gundog with an aptitude for Hunting Pointing AND Retrieving. In my not so humble opinion on this matter you have the wrong dog to be sitting in a hide watching for the fall of birds. These dogs want to get out there and hunt the wind, find game, point it, flush it and then do your retrieving for you.

 

I am not the least surprised that your dog is going mental with boredom. It is the ideal rough shooters dog. If you must sit in a hide and wait for birds to come to you, leave the dog at home and pick them up yourself. Cut down on pigeon shooting and do more rough shooting. Then both of you can have fun. Less quantity and more quality for both of you.

 

Be fair with your dog.

 

Sorry mate, had to be said!

...and I thank you for your honesty! Yes, you are absolutely correct with all your points, but I got my dog because I admired the breed for many years and wanted to work him as a HPR. Unfortunately, I don't get to do as much rough shooting as I'd like, but I still exercise my dog all the same - 2 deer this morning and 3 pheasant . I am fair to the dog, but occasionally we need to do hide work on the in-laws farm to cut the pigeons down a bit. I think manxman has the answer though...

[Paul T]

Always leave a hole at bottom front of hide so dog can see whats going on, that will keep his interest as long as a few are coming in, keep him well watered, and click your fingers every now and then to let him retrieve.

Genius mate ! He's ok when he can see what's going on, but he can't when I've got him laid in the back of the hide . There were so many coming in yesterday it was like a flippin' arcade game at times. He does love to watch the birds fly...

 

I don't do much hide shooting so feeling my feet as I go, hence the schoolboy error - Stupid dog owners, eh ?

 

Thanks Mate

[manxman2]

paul i also made the mistake of scolding my first pup/dog when he occasionally slipped out of the back of the hide witout permission to retrieve as i was stood up shooting, he would retrieve and i would boll0ck him as he come in the hide with it.

I was wrong the dog thinks its getting a going over because its retrieved, what i did after that was to put my gun down and chase out after him even if there were 20 birds/shots out in front, and sorted him on the plot, not at the hide with a mouthful of bird.

 

Be lucky with him, you will have him along time hopefully.

Edited October 17, 2010 by manxman2

[Paul T]

Thanks, manxman2

 

The dog slipped out the hide a couple of times yesterday, but I can soon get him back and make the hide look more interesting to him (with a dried tripe stick!) - and it works for 5 mins. I'm firm with my dogs so they know the score, but I think patience for us both was wearing thin yesterday. Normally he knows what I am thinking, but we just seemed to be on a different wavelength for some reason - probably because he couldn't see .

 

Ah well, he'll have plenty of runs in the rough (exercise only, not shooting though, unfortunately) before we go again in a couple of weeks and then I'll make sure he can see what's happening. Maybe I should just buy a rotary - if we see a demo one at a game fair it keeps him mesmerised for ages

 

Cheers again

 

Paul

[deeksofdoom]

You'ld be better off with a Lab or a springer for the hide.

[davecooper1]

My springer fidgits in the net for the first 5mins, but then settles down.

I wait till 5 or 6 pigeons are down, then send him out for the retreives, to let him stretch his legs.

I wouldnt worry to much, it will get used to it, just takes time and patience.

 

Dave.

[UKPoacher]

Personally I wouldn't put dead birds out on the ground until he has more experience. Floaters and rotaries - no problem. Birds on the ground are going to confuse him in the early stages.

 

Send him for the first bird and let him keep it. Put it in the hide near where he lays. He will be able to see out of a net hide so no need to make him a peep hole or he might just peep out at the wrong moment. When he goes for the second bird put the first in your bag or on a floater and so on. Always have a bird where he lays.

[manxman2]

Or train him to sit AND WATCH until you click your fingers.

 

PS

I never noticed any detrimental effect on my labs being in the hide from 3 or 4 month old with me, or in my poachers pocket whilst in the pub when they were small.

Edited October 19, 2010 by manxman2