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John's Journal... Entry 94, Day 2

Next Step of Puppy Training

click to enlargeEDITOR'S NOTE: Many different philosophies exist on how to train a bird dog puppy. But John Cameron of Cameron's Hunting Preserve and Bird Dog Training School in Panola, Alabama, considers instilling in a dog the desire to find, chase and catch quail at an extremely early age the quickest and most-efficient way to train a bird dog puppy. Cameron never has known a time when he hasn't trained and hunted with bird dogs. His father, Bubber Cameron, trained and hunted bird dogs all of his life and had his two sons, Rush and John, always at his side. This week, John Cameron will explain why he believes the old way of puppy training is the best way.

click to enlargeQuestion: After the first week of puppy training, what do you do next with the young dogs?
Answer: I take an 8-week-old quail that can fly a little and pitch the live quail into the grass in front of the puppies. I want to throw the quail in the deep grass so the puppies can see the bird in the air, but can't see it when it falls in the grass. Remember that the puppies have been playing with the quail for a week. They know that a live quail is fun to play with and good to hold in their mouths. If they can get to that quail and catch it, they can play keep-away from the other puppies. Once the puppies get into the high grass, they already know what a quail smells like. So, then they start relying on their noses to find the bird. This game also teaches the puppies to move away from the hunter and out into the grass to find the quail.

click to enlargeQuestion: What else are the puppies learning from this training session?
Answer: Remember that I told you that during the second week I leave the gate to their pen open at all times. Now that the puppies have learned that the quail are in the grass, they'll start hunting for quail on their own. And because we keep the puppy pen close to where we keep quail feeders and our quail pens, the puppies find and flush a lot of birds during this week.

click to enlargeQuestion: I've noticed that sometimes you put quail in a pen and set the pen down in front of the puppies. Why?
Answer: The puppies want to get their mouths on that quail. When they see and smell quail in a small pen, they're going to do everything they can to get that quail out of that pen because they've learned that quail are fun. When they can't get the quail out of the pen, they have a much stronger desire to find quail that they can get to. The desire to find quail is the single most important ingredient that a bird dog must have. And using the quail in a pen technique helps to build that desire to find and catch the quail. This tactic is especially helpful for puppies that are slower at learning what quail hunting is all about. I've seen slow learners really brighten up and become much more aggressive when they try to get the quail out of the pen. God is the only One who can give a dog the desire to hunt. And some puppies don't have as much of a desire to hunt as others. This technique increases the desire to hunt, regardless of the God-given ability in the dog.

For more information about puppy training, contact John Cameron at 1001 Rockway Rd. # 4, Aliceville, AL 35442; call (205) 455-2420 or (205) 455-2268; or, email cameron@froglevel.net.

TOMORROW: Hide and Seek with the Puppies

 

 

 

Check back each day this week for more about How To Train A Bird Dog Puppy ...

Day 1 -Puppy Philosophies
Day 2 -Next Step of Puppy Training
Day 3 -Hide and Seek with the Puppies
Day 4 -Solving the Gun-Shy Problem Early
Day 5 -Choosing a Bird Dog Puppy and Finishing a Dog

John's Journal