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spaniel hunt command


ips
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interesting, I use "out" for a retrieve.

this is why I asked the question as it seems that there is no set criteria for commands....(not that it matters of course as long as dog knows what it means ?) 

no particular point to my post I am just intrigued.

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Get them out,Fetch them out or find them. If i want him in a particular bit of scrub ill direct him him and tell him get in.   The command word isn't really important so long as your dog knows what to do when its issued. You could just say Hunt or Flush but i like to keep talking  to my dog as he is hunting to encourage him, i also use a pip on the whistle to turn him when covering ground.

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All commands should be kept to single syllable words or sounds if possible, ones that are clear and the same every time they are issued, 

If you are using 'out' to make a retrieve surely the dog has to hunt for the fallen bird so in effect she or he is already hunting for the scent. so it is plausible to just use the same command to send her out to hunt.

I trained mine to 'Fetch' for retrieve and 'find' to hunt but it is effectively the same thing, however one thing I did do was train her to  look back at me on command, which was calling her name, when she looked up I would indicate with my arm either move left or move right, or reissue 'Find' for her to move further out in front.

When I started to train her to hunt I used a long washing line tied to her collar and once she was hunting I could stop her at the max distance I liked her to work but also to move her right or left , so she quickly learned to quarter efficiently, once trained she would automatically search left and right quarters without being asked,and almost always staying within the desired range.

The most difficult control was stopping her jumping at birds rising from the ground , an auto response for her but very dangerous if the gun is already coming onto the bird.but thankfully there were no accidents and eventually she became very proficient at flushing birds without responding .

This worked very well for me and although I spent 3 years training her (12 months obedience then two more years of fairly intensive gun dog training) there would be times when she would lose concentration or misunderstand a particular command , I never hit her or chastised her, but always rewarded quick and obedient response to command, she was my best friend for many years and was the envy of many shooting companions who often commented on her ability .

Its a long time since she died of old age but I still miss her 

 

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I also only use 'out' if its a marked retrieve. When hunting close to me and a beginning level of quartering (just started this 2 weeks ago) I've been using 'seek' which means he hunts to in front of me to my right/left, then I beep twice and he changed direction. When I've placed dummies at a bigger range/distance away from me (for example on a pheasant day picking up and need to sweep the area) I've been using 'find them'. Also use this command for the lab when sweeping the end of a drive so made sense to use the same for my spaniel but hes only 7 months so will see how he goes :lol:

Nice to see others use the similar, as I just made mine up as what seemed ideal. What do you use IPS? 

Edited by Pigeonshooter22
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I use "out" for a retrieve

"get in" to hunt cover but also click my fingers

"dead" for let go of the bird you little beeep ? 

two pips for turn

one pip for sit

one long peep for stop (normally followed with expletives if she doesn't ?)

four pips for recall

directions with arm and body command

oh and "gone now" following a flush or if I just want her steady such as when at the flush point

 

does anyone still use the old spaniel terms

hie lost 

&

hie on

??

Edited by ips
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1 hour ago, old'un said:

Does not matter what you use, so long as you always use the same word/sounds.

What gets me is the amount of people who follow the sit command with the word stay, why?

We've always done sit followed by stay with all of ours.. to be honest not sure why but sat or stood when told ours know stay means stay.  A chap on our shoot said its totally wrong and once sat they should stay there without any 'stay' but everyone does it differently 

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28 minutes ago, Pigeonshooter22 said:

We've always done sit followed by stay with all of ours.. to be honest not sure why but sat or stood when told ours know stay means stay.  A chap on our shoot said its totally wrong and once sat they should stay there without any 'stay' but everyone does it differently 

I can see that technically there is no need for stay following sit but if it reinforces the need to stay sat can't see any harm. I rarely if ever use "sit" i use "sit hup" which in effect is sit stay, and i only use "stay there" when I chuck her over a fence before me. 

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21 minutes ago, Sprucey said:

The command is yours to choose.

One day I would like to have a pup, and the commands i'd like to use are numbers. Just to prove that any word can be used if the association has been done right. 

Think we know you can use any sound/word/number and associate that with a command, but why would you use numbers? Seems pointless.

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43 minutes ago, old'un said:

Think we know you can use any sound/word/number and associate that with a command, but why would you use numbers? Seems pointless.

Must admit I think ur right but I also think its the same wit the old fashioned spaniel commands (huup, hi loss) Althou I think it is just to prove a point.

The stay command is a classic more for the owner than the dog, if it makes u happy saying it and have trained it that way does it really matter??

As long as ur dog does sit and stay it doesn't really matter wot commands u use, biggest thing will be to constantly not repeat it all the time.

 

I have 2 search commands for both my labs/springers.

1 for general hunting, 'where is it' which if my dogs are sweeping/free hunting well away from flushing point, esp in thick cover/woods so my dogs know where I am (quite easy for doogs to get lost when hunting hard) and repeatedly more exciteadly if I think some cover looks gamey.

But I also use a 'steady' command if I know there is definately a bird down in that area.

I like to keep the separate so if the dog hears the 'steady' it knows to trust me they're is a bird in there

 

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21 hours ago, old'un said:

Does not matter what you use, so long as you always use the same word/sounds.

What gets me is the amount of people who follow the sit command with the word stay, why?

When working dogs in the obedience ring the command sit is used as the dog comes to heel and waits another command like heel when setting off at a walking pace, but the command sit stay is used when the handler needs to walk away from the dog in order to turn and call the dog in as if retrieving, these are not something I would use in the hide or when out hunting but if the dog is trained in obedience it can be a useful extra command for example if you wanted to move out of the hide but did not want the dog to follow .but in truth just using 'stay' would have the same result.

When doing my training as a dog trainer we were always taught it is not the words you use so much as the tone or pitch of your voice that gets the dogs attention, low and growling for chastising or reinforcing a command and high and excited for praise , I would say though that as most of my early training was done for ring craft , agility and showing we never used whistles so as I progressed into gun dog training I tended to use voice only and only carried a whistle for log distance recall as the sound carried better than a raised voice, as the dog was trained to work within a 30 yard radius it was rarely necessary to even raise my voice, just simple spoken commands were enough to get results. 

Edited by lakeside1000
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If the dog is hunting a normal beat or pattern why would you need to use an extra command to get it into cover if the cover is on the beat? 

Bit confused ?

I click my dogs off to hunt and I expect them to hunt whatever's in front of them be it thick brambles or open woodland (tried to find a 'pondering' emoji but cant)

Oh unless in the case of getting a shot bird you've marked but the dog hasn't so essentially a blind I guess? 

Sorry to sound like a dim female ?

Edited by bigbird
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