Sorry it took so long to get back to you on this one. Opening of Iowa pheasant ya know! I was unplugged for a while.
What I mean is the dog will know better than you where the bird is. Follow and watch the dog, trust the dogs ability to hunt down the birds. If you are in a field and you think the birds are to the left and the dog keeps going to the right, trust your dog. If you try to keep calling your dog off that area and make him hunt where you think the birds are then you and your dog are going to have a very stressful day. Now as with any rule their are exceptions which is why I use the "no bird" command. If my dog knows the birds are to the right but I don't have permission to hunt that field I give the dog a "No Bird". That lets the dog know I understand her but we can't hunt that bird. You need to work as a team with the dog, if done correctly the dog will understand it is hunting the birds for the pack (you or the hunting group). This pack mentality will keep the dog in close enough that you should not need to chase it down and you should always know within a few feet where the dog went on point. In a flushing situation this will keep the dog close enough to give you the shot you need.
I put it in my sig line because I had the "I'm the man so I'm in charge" problem. It reminds me that I am part of a pack, I might be Alpha, but it's a pack non the less.
What I mean is the dog will know better than you where the bird is. Follow and watch the dog, trust the dogs ability to hunt down the birds. If you are in a field and you think the birds are to the left and the dog keeps going to the right, trust your dog. If you try to keep calling your dog off that area and make him hunt where you think the birds are then you and your dog are going to have a very stressful day. Now as with any rule their are exceptions which is why I use the "no bird" command. If my dog knows the birds are to the right but I don't have permission to hunt that field I give the dog a "No Bird". That lets the dog know I understand her but we can't hunt that bird. You need to work as a team with the dog, if done correctly the dog will understand it is hunting the birds for the pack (you or the hunting group). This pack mentality will keep the dog in close enough that you should not need to chase it down and you should always know within a few feet where the dog went on point. In a flushing situation this will keep the dog close enough to give you the shot you need.
I put it in my sig line because I had the "I'm the man so I'm in charge" problem. It reminds me that I am part of a pack, I might be Alpha, but it's a pack non the less.
