New bird dog- do i aim for steady to shot?

[Kansas Bound]

Brook to shot

 

[johnnycake]

I'm in the "steady until I release you" camp. It's safer for the dogs, no risk of accidentally shooting a dog that runs forward. I also lose a lot of shooting opportunities when I hunt with people whose dogs are only steady to flush or steady to the shot.

Personally, I don't buy the "cripples will get away if the dog doesn't get after it immediately". I think that's just an excuse to justify not putting in the work to finish steadying up a dog (and yes, for some dogs that is a LOT of work), or not training a dog to be a diligent and disciplined tracking dog on wounded birds.

 

[Ecampbell25]

So when I had my first shorthair a wise old timer told me teach your first dog 2 commands. ( here) and(whoa) yes it is nice to have a fully finished gun dog but at the time I had no clue what I was doing. Tried to go to navda courses but they were too clicky and I was the youngest person there. I was 22 years old and never grew up in a hunting family. I lived back east at the time..I ended up putting out over hundred birds for her the first season. She was a year old. The club I belonged to was cheap to join and birds were 12$!!!but I did all the classic whoa trading with a barrel in my yard. I now guide professionally in central Idaho for Chukar. My dog is steady to shot. I have too many clients wing birds and we usually end up finding them bc she goes and grabs them right away. The other problem with steady to wing and shot is if the birds are running like a lot of them do…Wild Hungarian partridge have a tenancy to run and flush 40 yds out… but if you are training your dog for stocked birds steady to wing and shot is probably the way to go. Just my two cents

There's not a really good answer to this question. Everyone is in a different situation and almost every bird acts different. Steady to shot is great with Roosters, Gambels and Blue Quail. They can run like a SOB if they are just winged or hole up. If you want to hunt Sharptail in the prairie, there is nothing more frustrating then watching a dog blow through the stragglers, chasing the first bird shot at. Some species you don't want a perfectly stanch dog, after about 15 points on a ruff grouse and no bird, you'll understand. I think the best thing for you to do is to pick a training style that you like (tons of options and videos on-line). Start with the basic obedience and run with it. To me Whoa is the most important command, you want to be able to stop your dog. Whoa isn't just for steadiness on birds. You need to remember, the first season is going to be a shit show with a young dog, their going to screw up, lose their minds and throw everything you trained them for out the window (Multiple times). All you can do is smile and laugh, have fun with it. Enter your training with no end goal, as you progress with your dog. You are going to figure out on your own how far you want to or need to take him.

solid advice…