Ranging Dog

[qballs]

Hi everyone.
I have a 7 month old Springer, and have taken him out several times for partridge and preserve pheasant.  He has been awesome, except that he tends to range too far, flushing birds up out of range.  I am not sure how to prevent this.  Any suggestions?

[myronman3]

here is a trick i was shown, seems to work.  get a lead and fasten to your dogs collar.  then go out and when your dog gets to that distance,  hold it tight without warning.   change directions without warning,  each time letting the dog hit the end of the lead with his own force.   act like nothing is up, or he will blame you.   after a few times he should be paying closer attention to what you are doing and be less prone to range on you.  

another thing i have always done is train the dogs to come straight to me when i whistle a certain way.  always have a tasty treat when you do it, given when your dog reaches you.   i start in my yard.  when the dog is relaxed,  i go to the other end of the yard and do the whistle, very loud.  the dog should come fairly quick,  when he does,  give him his treat.  keep up with this,  doing it whenever.   several times a day at least.  

when in the field, it is really nice to have a whistle that will bring your dog in,  no matter what.  

thats my two cents.   for what it is worth,  that is why i dont like flushing breeds.

[Don Fischer]

This is pretty old but there is a trick to holding in your dog, birds. Lots and lots of birds. Use pigeons and pull the flight feathers. Then put down so many that they are everywhere. A month or so then start planting less and streaching them out a bit.

Teach the dog to turn on command with the check cord. As he reackes the end, give him a command to turn, and walk the other way. Takes lots of turns and PROPER use of a shock collar works wonders. Remember that a shock collar is best used at a lower setting.

Don't try to teach your dog to turn with birds down. Forgot another old trick. Carry birds with you and when your dog looks at you, give a whistle and drop a bird he sees. After a while drop it while hes not looking and whistle. He'll come back looking.

Let a flushing dog catch birds on the ground, it'll make them charge a game bird harder. Don't let them do that and they may well develope a "blink", thats hesitating befor flushing.

[qballs]

I appreciate all of the help.
He is starting to get better!  I can make him turn with a peep on the whistle.  And we have been getting enough birds lately