Show me a dog running with a high head and a cracking tail and I’ll show you a dog that’s happy with what he’s doing. The dog that runs with a smooth, bold gait, naturally adapts to terrain changes, and points staunchly and with style. We see his bird smarts when he is released and repositions on running game, and we smile because those are the dogs that help us put feathers in our bags. To get there, some trainers focus a dog’s attention only on the birds they hunt, while others prefer diversity. Which one are you?
Training a Gun Dog Using One Bird Species The more bird contacts a dog gets with quality handling, the more their game is elevated. (Photo courtesy of Kyle Warren) Kyle Warren, owner of Paint River Llewellins in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, has a crystal-clear goal and a razor-sharp method to achieve it.
“To develop a line of ultimate ruffed grouse dogs, I run my dogs almost exclusively on ruffed grouse,” he said. “Lots of theories go into defining a “grouse” dog, but mine is that a dog must have the intelligence to know how to handle such a wary bird while providing a high-quality shot for the handler. In my mind, that means the dog must have a high intelligence, be patient, and be cautious. The more contacts a dog gets with quality handling, the more their game is elevated."
Part of the reason Warren runs dogs only on grouse is rooted in his belief of epigenetics. “In simple terms, epigenetics is when the environment influences genetics,” he said. “Experiences have a lifelong impact, and when those experiences…or grouse contacts…are combined with excellent genetics, a superior grouse dog is developed. The more grouse contacts the better the dog, because those bird smarts will be passed down to future litters.”
To introduce pups to birds, Warren does use pigeons for several months. “I’ll introduce a pup to pigeons when he’s 9 to 10 weeks old,” he said. “By the time September rolls around they know their job, are purpose driven, and are capable of finding birds. That first September is when we hit the grouse woods so that the pups can learn how to handle running birds. From that point on it’ll only be grouse. As a breeder, I want early developers, and I’ll know what kind of dog I’m raising within the first 50 grouse contacts. That’s why I do my best to avoid woodcock. Sometimes we find a few, but I really stay out of woodcock coverts, especially if the flights are on.”
The more time you can spend afield with your dog, the more they will improve. (Photo courtesy of Kyle Warren) In addition to training, Warren hunts his dogs across the Great Lakes. “Hunting my string is the best way to get them exposure,” he said. “Last year we hunted more than 500 hours, covering nearly 1,100 miles over 100 days. During that time the young dogs figure out where to find grouse in the early, middle, and late seasons, at which pace they should run, and what to do after they make an initial contact. That experience is where their confidence and style comes from; it must be earned.”
Warren breeds hybrid setters that point in one of two ways. “I breed with a mix of American and European setters,” he said. “They’ll exhibit the classic high head and high tail when they hit scent at a distance. If they hit a scent cone at a close distance, then they typically drop into a crouched point or even set on the ground. I define this as scent intelligence, an essential characteristic of Paint River Llewellins.”
He’s highly selective in his breeding program. “Right now, I’ve got nine dogs on my squad, and they range in age between 5 months and 12 years,” he said. “Many of my pups go on to other regions and even countries and have successful careers on many other upland game birds. If they can handle a grouse they can handle anything.”
How about African quail? Warren laughed. “My new setter Duca can handle Black grouse, Red grouse, and African quail, so yes.”
Training a Gun Dog Using Multiple Bird Species Training with a variety of birds can fast track a dog's learning process. (Photo courtesy of Mike Thompson) Mike Thompson, owner of Eagle Rock Setters in Butler, PA, prefers to use different birds when training his clients’ dogs. “I regularly use pheasant , chukar, Huns, pigeons, Bobwhite quail , ruffed grouse , and woodcock, each in different phases of my training,” Thompson said. “The variety of experiences really fast tracks the dogs’ learning process.”
Thompson breaks down his birds according to their normal behavior, their preferred cover, and whether or not they are solitary or sedentary birds. “Pheasant and grouse are solitary, running birds,” Thompson said. “They’re wary of avian predators and will stay on the ground for as long as possible. Although there always is some degree of movement, Bobwhite quail, pigeons, and flight woodcock hold tight. I’d note that resident woodcock are running more these days, and when they flush it’s on an angle and through the trees as opposed to the classic tower and go. Chukar and Huns are in the middle, and they prefer to walk. By exposing dogs to running, walking, and holding birds they’ll quickly gain experience that provides foundational skills that help them go on to successful hunting careers.”
Each species prefers different types of cover. For Thompson, he can expose dogs to various terrains, so they learn where to find birds. “My training area offers a lot of diversity,” he said. “The fields are a mix of cover and food crops,” he said. “I plant switchgrass, rye, greenbriar, and millet, and I selectively mow them so as to keep them as natural as possible. There are always seasonal berries, seeds, and insects, so the released birds hold over and behave like they’re wild. It’s perfect because the dogs get the kind of experience that prepares them to hunt birds in the piney woods and grasslands whether they’re down South or out West. Later on, we’ll work dogs on grouse in the aspen runs and on woodcock in a river bottoms’ tag alders. The diversity contributes to elevating their level of experience.”
Thompson focuses on mixes of singles, pairs, and coveys as well. “Whether I run a single, a brace, a leash, or a pack of dogs they all know how to handle different numbers of birds,” he said. “Dogs learn from the different contacts with single birds, a pair of birds, or a covey of birds. Pairs or coveys in particular are important for teaching dogs to block. If I can teach a dog that is honoring to release and circle around the dog on point so he can stop the lead bird from walking, then his owner will be really pleased. A lot of my clients travel regularly to hunt so I find that variety really is important to develop outstanding gun dogs.”
Do what is right, not what is easy or popular goes the saying. Whether you run your string only on the birds you hunt, or believe that variety really is the spice of life, the choice is entirely yours.
