Steadying and Honoring

It is imperative that your dog knows how to honor a point made by another dog and can steady himself. If you are hunting with a group of hunters, they will be very dismayed if your dog causes a commotion and tries to steal a point, gets into a fight with another dog or scares away the prey. Your dog should be behind the other dog who is on point and steady. In some cases, your dog will look like he, too, is on point. This gesture should not be confused with actually being on point and is perfectly acceptable in field trials.

Before you take your dog out hunting, he has to learn how to steady and honor a point. Honoring is when another dog is on point. He should be behind the other dog who is on point and not move. Your dog may also stand on point at this time, although he has to understand that he is honoring the other dog on point. At no time should your dog approach the other dog, try to steal the point or commit a ruckus that will end up costing your fellow hunters the prey.

Teaching your dog steadying and honoring is not difficult. You should use a check cord as well as an electronic collar to get him to understand this concept. If you hunt with several dogs, you can take your dog out to teach him how to honor the point by letting him go last when one of your dogs is on point and the others are steadying. If he tries to approach the other dogs, which he most undoubtedly will if he is not trained, you need to use the check cord to keep in check.

You should teach him the command of steadying just as you teach him other commands, with both positive and negative reinforcement. You should practice voice commands as well. While some hunters hunt with whistles, the sound can end up scaring away the prey. This is why it is a good idea to use a check cord and electronic collar. An electronic collar will send an electric impulse to your dog. It will not hurt him, but it will get him to stop what he is doing as it is an unpleasant sensation.

If your dog is on point, he needs to learn how to learn to stead to wing and shot. He has to hold the point until you flush the bird and also remain there in the flush as well as the shots and the fall of the bird. Your dog should understand the concept of steadying so that he stays where he is until he is told to retrieve, if this is your practice. Before you can teach a dog to honor another dog on point, you have to teach him how to steady to wing and shot. Both of these concepts are equally important, especially if you are hunting with more than one dog or other hunters.

If you are not hunting with more than one dog, you can use a silhouette to help you teach your dog to steady.

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.