The beginning of steady to flush, wing, shot and fall

Gustaf and Chris came to me last year. Gustaf was/is a fireball. When we first let him out in the field, he took off like a rocket. I worked with Chris and Gustaf on fieldwork, pointing, tracking, and water work. He did awesome on his NA test. We are now starting to work with him on becoming a more finished bird dog. We have started his steadiness training, and he is doing well. Chris has done a great job with him working on whoa at home throughout each day. You can see (and hear) how excitable he is as he waits to be brought into the field and then placed into the whoa position. I start my steadiness training from the whoa position without the dog scenting a bird or going on point. This way, the dog is not fired up with a nose full of scent after working to the point. After we get him totally steady to flush, wing shot and fall, we'll then move to having him go on point and then whoa him. He'll be desensitized to the flush, wing, shot, and fall by then. In this video we have just gotten him steady to shot. I hope all this made sense.

[@brandonhicks6047]

Thanks for the video, it really helped me with my new pup, she did really well with this method and she did really well on her second hunt after I used your method.

[@georgedecostaandthehunting7629]

That's fantastic to hear, Brandon. Congratulations to both of you!

[@jiffjiffernson7292]

He just could NOT resist - That is a good pup and technique.

[@georgedecostaandthehunting7629]

Thanks. Yep, when that bird exploded in the air, he had to go! But that was at the start, moving forward he did great. Thanks for the comment. George

[@patricelapointe8550]

Thanks for that video. What kind of prep work did you do with the dog prior? Just whoa training without birds?

[@georgedecostaandthehunting7629]

Whoa training without birds, but he has also pointed a lot of birds in training prior to this. After he is rock steady on this drill, we'll put the point and the steadiness together. If you don't have my book, Tips and Tales On Training Your Bird Dog, you might consider getting it. The book details the sequence and goes over all the techniques. Thanks for the comment; I'm sorry I didn't see it earlier. George