Brittany

270WIN · 12-05-2014 7:53pm #1

Lads, hope someone can help me here.
I have a brittany bitch nearly a year old. She is well bred from a well known breeder. I have tried to do the usual training with her..coming when called..retrieving etc. She is the most timid dog i have ever seen. She will not retrieve. I have had to let her off the lead and do what she likes to get her confidence up. I have taken her on walks lately but she seems to have no interest in hunting but she has set pheasants on sight. The only thing she will hunt is hare scent and she comes into her own on that and sets their scent perfectly. She seems very indifferent on any other scent. Am i losing faith in her too soon? Should i keep taking her out and try to get her going? Im aware that pheasants are nesting now so my options are limited for the time being.

mallards · 12-05-2014 9:05pm

For the retrieving part, start with a small soft toy. Don't worry about style and perfection to begin with. Just get her used to walking around with it in her mouth. Make a game of it and get her excited about it. When she is happy doing that, then use a tennis ball. I've yet to meet a Brittany that's not mad for them. The tennis ball is also handy for getting her to use her nose without disturbing nesting game. Fire it into the hedges in your local park etc and let her find it. When she's happy with that you can progress faster with a puppy dummy and then a standard dummy. Make it fun for her and she will soon get the hang of it.

270WIN · 12-05-2014 9:10pm

The breed is new to me. She does her nut to get outta the run but when she gets out she just mooches around totally uninterested. They seem to be a dog that u need to be very patient with

hathcock · 12-05-2014 10:11pm

270WIN wrote: »

Lads, hope someone can help me here.
I have a brittany bitch nearly a year old. She is well bred from a well known breeder. I have tried to do the usual training with her..coming when called..retrieving etc. She is the most timid dog i have ever seen. She will not retrieve. I have had to let her off the lead and do what she likes to get her confidence up. I have taken her on walks lately but she seems to have no interest in hunting but she has set pheasants on sight. The only thing she will hunt is hare scent and she comes into her own on that and sets their scent perfectly. She seems very indifferent on any other scent. Am i losing faith in her too soon? Should i keep taking her out and try to get her going? Im aware that pheasants are nesting now so my options are limited for the time being.

At a year old I would expect to see that dog making more of an effort than you describe,in my view you were just unlucky in that the dog you have isn't suitable as a gundog,my advice is get rid soonest and get something else that will do the job.Sorry to be so forthright but often times the truth is a difficult pill to swallow.

old n grey · 12-05-2014 10:39pm

Please have patience.Do the simple things.Yes some do develop more slowly than others.I have two and one was extremely timid and now is an excellent dog as is her comrade.

270WIN · 12-05-2014 10:51pm

Would i be right in saying that they do not range out like a setter/pointer. They seem to hunt more like a springer as in hunting close in.In fairness to her when she meets friggin hares she comes alive! She crouches down on set and is all action. Hopefully she will do the same with pheasants/woodcock...as ye say patience. Thanks for all your replies

mallards · 12-05-2014 11:34pm

270WIN wrote: »

Would i be right in saying that they do not range out like a setter/pointer. They seem to hunt more like a springer as in hunting close in.In fairness to her when she meets friggin hares she comes alive! She crouches down on set and is all action. Hopefully she will do the same with pheasants/woodcock...as ye say patience. Thanks for all your replies

They will run out on open ground if you let them. If they set well and run a good quartering pattern, it's no harm. Otherwise it will bump every piece of game in the country and you'll curse it.

deeksofdoom · 13-05-2014 3:02pm

HPRs take 2 to 3 years even more to come into their own, however I would like to see her showing some bit of interest at this stage if you have access to a pheasant pen or chickens it might make her more interested.

270WIN · 13-05-2014 5:34pm

deeksofdoom wrote: »

HPRs take 2 to 3 years even more to come into their own, however I would like to see her showing some bit of interest at this stage if you have access to a pheasant pen or chickens it might make her more interested.

She has interest in hares, so i suppose its a matter of getting her going to birds...not a lot of em around here...as i said she is setting fine but its the hunting part that she seems to have little interest in.

allan450 · 13-05-2014 6:44pm

dont panic just yet she is very young but she should be showing some interest in hunting.be very careful when inducting the gun if she is so timid.A dog isnt really at its full potential until its shot over and gets a few retrieves.Then they know what its all about.i know its prob playing on your mind but just relax for a while to see how things fair out.if you have her out every day rest her for a week she could be board not hitting game.i read this somewhere birds train bird dogs its that simple

vincentf · 14-05-2014 9:01pm

Id agree with allen. HPR dogs need time. She wont be right for a few years.
I put my gwp on dizzied homing pigons. Try borrow some if you can. Plant im up in a field on a windy day. She was about 6 or 7 months old at the time.
Get ur hand on wings of duck, pheasant, woodcock and get her smelling and let her pick them up and get her mouth used to the feeling. Make up rabbitt, fox, deer skin dummies if you can.
Birds do train dogs to a degree. They learn that if they bumpim they fly.
If you get her on point with any bird leave her on point. Dont be too quick to get her in to flush. Buy a few pheasants and dizzy them too if you can.
Take your time and let her enjoy herself and always make it fun.

270WIN · 14-05-2014 9:11pm

had her out this evening. she hunted a bit better and she set two cock pheasants that were fighting.She winded em a good 50 yards away so her nose cant be too bad. she didnt hunt them up but she chased one half heartedly. she set a blackbird later on. as you all say patience is the key id say...its just that im used to cockers and springers that hunt like mad!As i said earlier im limited where i can take her due to hens hatching

allan450 · 14-05-2014 9:15pm

keep us posted on her progress.Also an other tip run her with an other hpr sometimes a bit of competition can get them hunting harder.best of luck.

ESB Spaniel · 20-05-2014 10:35am

i am having the exact same problem with my gsp at the moment but she is only 7 months, when she hunts on her own she will work alot better but if i bring her with my old setter she will only want to play, has a good nose etc.... is pointing at everything on sight and is solid. pointing also on scent of hares, and on pheasant scent she will trail after the bird but will not lock up yet, i am hoping she will twig it soon as she has great little bitch and very gamey. i have been told by a fair few dog men that to be patient also but i Hope to get some help from here also. The pidgeon idea is one i will look at this week i think.

vincentf · 20-05-2014 12:59pm

Sounds like a dog with ability.up to you to get the best out of her. If shes 7 months shes immature, a baby. Let her enjoy her hunting/playing. She wont be ready for another 2 years.dont expect to be shooting anytime soon. Bond with her and take her out.its not ideal she wanted to play with other dog but shes too young for real senario type situations. However its very positive she wasnt nervous or aggressive with the other gundog.keep socialising her with other dogs.
I would stress to make sure shes 100% on the recall. Nows the time to start hand signals pointing her in direction you want her to go or follow. I use 2 pips for direction change. This way she learns that your master and she follows you. Try get her used to cover and water too in streams first moving to ponds rivers etc. Great seeing a dog progress through training. Let us know how your getting on.
Im going to put up a youtube channel with training soon and hunting soon.
Let us know how your getting on.
Vin

ESB Spaniel · 27-06-2014 11:18am

vincentf wrote: »

Sounds like a dog with ability.up to you to get the best out of her. If shes 7 months shes immature, a baby. Let her enjoy her hunting/playing. She wont be ready for another 2 years.dont expect to be shooting anytime soon. Bond with her and take her out.its not ideal she wanted to play with other dog but shes too young for real senario type situations. However its very positive she wasnt nervous or aggressive with the other gundog.keep socialising her with other dogs.
I would stress to make sure shes 100% on the recall. Nows the time to start hand signals pointing her in direction you want her to go or follow. I use 2 pips for direction change. This way she learns that your master and she follows you. Try get her used to cover and water too in streams first moving to ponds rivers etc. Great seeing a dog progress through training. Let us know how your getting on.
Im going to put up a youtube channel with training soon and hunting soon.
Let us know how your getting on.
Vin

Just a quick update on my pointer bitch 9 months now and is rock steady and pointing all types of game and is hunting like a machine now some turn around in the last couple of weeks i am baffled, she came into season 2 weeks ago and its like it turned a switch on in her head. will make a video at some stage over pre season.

allan450 · 27-06-2014 11:30am

id the same here with a 4 month cocker dog.hunting my heels afraid to range/quarter.i wasnt worried as their only pups.but he got a flush on a rabbit one day.it was a game changer.keep hitting game but watch for poults best of luck Allan

ESB Spaniel · 27-06-2014 11:36am

cheers lad it amazed me really, well all her work been done in uncut fields but i have only met one hen which is very strange altogether, good maybe but strange and she wasn't sitting on anything thank god.

270WIN · 19-10-2014 9:54pm

well lads,

Just a quick update

my brittany bitch is now hunting mad! all of a sudden she decided to start hunting. she is setting well on pheasants but inclined to crawl into flush but im not too bothered about that. she chases hares but im afraid to chastise her too much incase i put her off.. she set a lovely cock pheasant this evening in a grassy field...if only twas the 1st! i reckon she is really ready now for a cock to be shot over her...she has a lovely action when setting a bird..

ben 11 · 23-10-2014 7:55pm

270WIN wrote: »

well lads,

Just a quick update

my brittany bitch is now hunting mad! all of a sudden she decided to start hunting. she is setting well on pheasants but inclined to crawl into flush but im not too bothered about that. she chases hares but im afraid to chastise her too much incase i put her off.. she set a lovely cock pheasant this evening in a grassy field...if only twas the 1st! i reckon she is really ready now for a cock to be shot over her...she has a lovely action when setting a bird..

It's great feeling watching the "penny drop" when a dog starts hunting and she sounds like she could be a cracker.
but just a little warning to watch out on the crawling into flush as I had a brittany that started to do that and became so sticky on set that I usually ended up flushing the bird myself which can be very frustrating. I never got him out of it no matter what I tried but I always thought I should have tried harder when he was younger.
also try knock the hare chasing on the head at this stage
all the best for 1st

snipe49 · 23-10-2014 8:54pm

270WIN wrote: »

Lads, hope someone can help me here.
I have a brittany bitch nearly a year old. She is well bred from a well known breeder. I have tried to do the usual training with her..coming when called..retrieving etc. She is the most timid dog i have ever seen. She will not retrieve. I have had to let her off the lead and do what she likes to get her confidence up. I have taken her on walks lately but she seems to have no interest in hunting but she has set pheasants on sight. The only thing she will hunt is hare scent and she comes into her own on that and sets their scent perfectly. She seems very indifferent on any other scent. Am i losing faith in her too soon? Should i keep taking her out and try to get her going? Im aware that pheasants are nesting now so my options are limited for the time being.

Have you said where you got this bitch.What is her breeding. Is she from good working dogs. ?

270WIN · 23-10-2014 10:05pm

ben 11 wrote: »

but just a little warning to watch out on the crawling into flush as I had a brittany that started to do that and became so sticky on set that I usually ended up flushing the bird myself which can be very frustrating. I never got him out of it no matter what I tried but I always thought I should have tried harder when he was younger.

Thats why i,m slow to stop her chasing game so soon...it has happened me before that dogs get too sticky. IMO sticky dogs are useless. i'm hoping that by letting her chase game that she will be inclined to hunt up a bit and flush birds on command. Brittanys are brilliant to watch working but you would want the patience of a saint to try and train em!

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Brittany

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