Hide and Seek with the Puppies

EDITOR'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.

Question: After you've thrown quail in front of the dogs and they've had the opportunity to flush quail on their own, what's the next step in puppy training?
Answer: I teach the dogs the game of hide and seek. Up until this time, the pups have been able to roam outside the pen all they to. But now, when I go to the pen each day, I call them into the pen and pet and play with them. Then I lock them in the pen. While the pups are in the pen, I take live quail and hide them in places where live quail normally will be coveyed-up or feeding. Next, I go back to the pen and open the gate. The pups like to stay around my feet because I pet them. So, I'll begin to walk with them toward the places where I've hidden the birds. As we get closer to the birds, the pups will smell the quail and run away from me to find and flush the quail. Many times they'll not only find the birds that I've planted, they'll also discover other quail that have been out in the field for awhile.

This tactic not only teaches the dogs to use their noses to find the quail, it also teaches them that they have to get out from under my feet if they're going to find the quail. The dogs are also learning that when I take them out of their pen and out into the fields, the time has come to go hunting. The petting and playing is over. For more information about puppy training, contact John Cameron at 1001 Rockway Rd. # 4, Aliceville, AL 35442; or call (205) 455-2420 or (205) 455-2268; or, email cameron@froglevel.net.

TOMORROW: Solving the Gun-Shy Problem Early