Common topic from my pup people. When to intro gunfire? My answer…. After as many training bird contacts as possible and just a one week to one month before its first season depending upon the age of the pup come August/September. Next question is how to intro gunfire? I like simple and 99.99% likely to be successful. So the answer is follow the answer to the first question then when the young dog is in pursuit of the bird and is 20-30 yards away from you fire the blank gun while the young dog is in prey drive doing a routine behavior. It’s about as close to a two step fail safe way to intro gunfire. For those that choose to not allow the dog to ever chase… to each their own, we just aren’t in the same camp other methods can help you and that’s fine too. This is the easiest way and the way I’ve done it with many hundreds of bird dogs over the years with a 100% success rate. ‘‘Tis the season for it so I felt a post on it would be of value to some.
Time and place for everything… the last two weeks has been obedience focus time. It may not be the sexy part of bird dog training but it sure is a crucial part of the process. Another week or so and we will be back at it with training birds. Here’s one of our pups we held back. She’s had her near daily 5-7 minutes lessons covering all of our basics. On this Sunday she will be 4 months old. She will be hunt ready sometime between opening day and 5 months old. Looking forward to getting her on wild birds in several weeks and start the final leg of her grouse dog journey. She’s a very nice girl out of Namé. We have high hopes for this kid’s future. One day at a time and every day is looking great.
82 miles for the young bird team at sunrise today.
Summer conditioning is underway which means so is tub time.
Our Ina’amii by Duca girl will be 4 months old in another week. She’s had (5) 5 minute sessions on her basics over the last 7 days. Never wore a collar or leash prior and heck!— I just named her yesterday. Can’t beat soft, intelligent, cooperative dogs as companions on and off the job. Getting these kids rolling on their fundamentals is always enjoyable and it’s what starts taking the bond to the next level. This pup is plugging right in as per our usual to our Warren Way Method. A few weeks and she’ll be stopping in a dead run in the bird fields as asked for her and we will be ready to make the most out of her rookie season. Will get back to birds in a couple weeks once field obedience is solid. Stay tuned! 🙂
Fun highlights this morning when getting Aadi & Maka some nose time. ⬆️ the nose time and ⬇️ the contact frequency. Inching our way closer to the season.
***UPDATE: one pup available as of 8/8/24***
The breeding is a fourth generation PRL on one of the parent’s side and the other side is third generation PRL. On paper as much of my brand of dog as one could have. All inquiries please visit our website for details and follow up with an email. Thank you.
We made it! … my dogs and I that is! August is here and all training dogs are gone, just our pack is here now. Two of four grouse dog handler clinics completed and now we can start to get in shape for the September 15th opener. Other than some lake days my gang has been sitting idly while pups, trainer dogs, clinics and home projects getting done all before showtime!
The dogs haven’t been cut loose since hunting season ended and it felt great today to get back to what we do together that fuels our fire. Very first time out of the gate with the amped up feral hounds running smooth (free of collars). All PRL dogs except our one year old Aadi and Gichigami who has pups right now.
I don’t really run braces much ever these days as supreme grouse dog braces are rare in the sense of maximum function no matter how flawless the dogs. I’ve had several elite combos over the years but I prefer just one great dog on the ground and we go to work. I’ll run my seniors together a lot as a time saver so my prime times and youngsters get their daily shine on.
All that said, it’s always a special day for me to finally take that step towards our season. Out of shape physically but I’m always proud of the dogs’ minds staying sharp as a tack. For dogs that overall haven’t seen a bird in 7 months and generally don’t hunt together much it’s beautiful to experience this day each year.
Natural honoring is about two things in my eyes… respecting the other dogs and knowing their craft. My experience has been that the best braces are dogs that live together and have a relationship far beyond when the tailgate drops. I’m grateful for these dogs and these moments. It might be high noon 80° and cold turkey bird work but the crew always decides to bring their A Game on Day 1. September here we come!
Maka is 8 months old now and he’s ready for prime time. Next step is for Mr. Ruff to teach him the nuances of the Northwoods chess match starting in September!
Our Namé by Max girl we’ve held back is coming along. It should be a very transformative month for this pup as we start working on obedience and maturity starts to shine through more every week at this age.
Sunrise pup training to beat the heat and hustle of the grouse dog handler clinic this weekend. Little Duke turning on his instinctive switches.
Given the heat we took a ride to our closest Lake Superior beach today with the kids and a few dogs. Awful weather for this cold weather guy but a great day to be in the big lake!
Early morning training yesterday with Elsa. Found a bonus bird on the training grounds. Sadly no chicks still on property but a thrill of the flush still enjoyable. Nice job Elsa. Crank up your volume.
Always a million opinions when speaking about dog training and genetics. At the end of the day different strokes for different folks but a ship can be steered with desired genetics much more easily. All puppies are not created equal, no truer statement. Making it fun and having great timing are two components of time spent developing a puppy that enables instincts to turn on. I guess easier said than done with some dogs. Just do your best to see the experience from your puppy’s perspective and you’ll make better decisions in the development process within your chosen exercises.
Ina’amii x Duca girl turning on some switches. Beautiful morning yesterday to set the pup up for success.
Namé x Max pup on the bigger bumpers now and doing very well. Always fun times with simple pleasures.
We normally don’t have summer litters this late in the year but I had an opportunity to do two breedings that are 4th gen one side of my dogs and 3rd gen on the other side of my dogs. We had some big litters so several puppies are available. Gichigami x Cooper pups ready to go 8/28-9/2 & Quinn x Riffle pups ready to go 9/10-9/14. If interested please visit website for all details on dogs and program. Fill out pup app and email it to me @ [email protected]. Look forward to chatting with you. These pups should be about as much of the Paint River brand as a pup can be. Looking forward to their development!
Had a training session this morning and the student had a bonus bird in the backyard. Gotta love you some sprucies. Always nice to see around.
Some girls we are starting to assess out of our Namé x Max pairing. Sitting on the ground doing a bit of fetch play is about one of the most therapeutic things a dog person can do. Looking forward seeing some switches turn on over the next month.
