Steady to Flush

When you are hunting upland birds with your retriever, you have to make sure that he understands steady to flush. Unlike other bird dogs that hunt upland birds, your retriever will not point. He should quarter ahead of the gun and look for birds to flush that are within the range of your shotgun. When the bird flushes, your retriever should sit until the bird has dropped and mark the bird, waiting for the command to retrieve.

The last thing that you want when you take your retriever upland hunting is to have him unsteady on the shot. This can cause him to miss marks, chase fly away birds and also get in the way of other hunters. The best way to teach your dog steady to flush is with the use of an electronic dog collar. You should teach the dog to sit and use mild stimulation if he jumps up and tries to run or gets excited. You should also use the verbal language to tell him to sit. Some hunters prefer to use a whistle in order to get their dogs to obey this command.

Your dog will have to learn how to sit to flush. Although he may sit on command and with the help of the collar, he will still have to remain seated with all of the action going on around him, after the bird has been flushed and the gun goes off. One way to train your dog to do this is by the use of electronic bird launchers. You can reenact a hunt in a way that will teach the dog to flush.

Use the bird launcher upwind so that the dog does not sit on the scent but on visual command. You do not want your dog to sit when he smells the bird or else he will be a pointer instead of a flusher. Using the collar, be sure to have the dog come with you to the launcher and launch a pigeon. Then give the sit command to your dog. He will quickly learn how to sit after the bird has been flushed.

Launch the bird, wait a few minutes and then give the sit command. Your dog should start to understand his job that he is to sit after the bird has been flushed. Do not use the collar automatically, but use voice command. You are going to want to get your dog used to the action without having to use the collar all of the time. If he does not sit after you tell him to do so after launching the bird, you can then use a mild stimulation to get him to sit to the flush.

Teaching your dog to sit to flush takes practice and continued training. Each time you use the bird launcher, you should launch the bird further. The objective is for your dog to sit at the sight of the flush without having being told to do so. As you continue with this training, your retriever will learn how to sit to flush. You can then teach him to retrieve upon command after the bird has fallen.

Geoffrey A. English is the Founder of GundogsOnline.com, the internet's premiere online magazine dedicated to bird dogs. Visit their site for more information on training bird dogs and hunting dog supplies including a wide variety of dog leads, shooting glasses, and Tracker Maxima dog tracking collars.