Training and working Pointers and Setters in Britain
By Derry Argue

Here in the U.K. we have had pointing dogs for about 500 years. At first, they were used with nets. The dog was trained to find and point game birds and then either the birds were driven into prepared nets (the nets were said to be "set") or the dog was trained to lie flat so that two men could drag a net over the dog and onto the birds. I have used the second method for catching red grouse for scientific research and it is very effective! Pointing dogs were also used for falconry, but probably to a lesser extent than for netting. The apaniels and setters are related; the word spaniel is said to come from the Frenchs word espanier -- to flatten. The setter, of course, was used with a "set" net!

  The British did not like change so they have always retained the flat down Drop as possibly teh most important aspect of training. This is taught to the dogs so that they obey instantly and implicity, perhaps at one or two hundred meters.

The scientist Pavlov discovered that animals could be conditioned to respond to a secondarey inducement. He noticed that his dogs salivated just before meal times. Then he noticed they would salivate when tehy heard teh food being prapared. He rang a bell before feeding time and could make the dogs anticipate their meal just by ringing the bell, without the need for the scent or sounds of meal time.

This is exactly the principle that British trainers use. The dog is taught to drop flat in response to a verbal command. The command is then linked with a hand signal, so after a while the dog will drop to the hand signal alone. Then it is taght to drop to a whistle in the same way. It can as easily be taught to drop flat to the sound of a gunshot or the sight of a bird flushing. The response can be taught so the dog literally flings itself down onto the ground in response to any of these "triggers".

The other most important thing for the dog to learn is to come to call. This is started when they are puppies and with the use of a cord (a piece of string) the dog can be taught to come instantly in response to av verbal trigger. Then, it will be taught to come to a whistle.

So, these two responses are the most important. Once the dog is responding quickly to these commands it can be taken out to work. The usual method of introducing a young dog to game will be to bring it up on the lead behind a more experienced dog when it is on point. The younger dog will usually understand what it must do from the attitude of the pointing dog and from the scent of the game. It may take a while for teh dog to understand what it is all about.

A young pointer or setter will usually be taught to quarter or cross the wind in a reglar pattern. This is part instinctive as the dog learns the most efficient way to sample the moving air currents is by crossing the wind, rather than running directly up or down wind. The dog should be looking for the body scent of game which is carried in the air scent left on the vegetation or ground. Bocy scent is left as the game moves. But experienced dogs use whatever clues they can to locate game quickly.

As the dog runs across the wind, the trainer can encourage the dog to run further out on either side until it achives a mathematical pattern called "quartering", a sort of zig-zag crossing and recrossing the wind in front of the handler. A brief call on the whistle, a similar signal to "Come Here", is used to turn the dog.

The most important aspect of training, in my opinion, is gaining experience of real work conditions. Every trainer has his own way of working, but my own approach is to complete the disicipline training (the Drop and Come Here) and then let the dog learn on game by trial and error.

I allow a young dog the opportunity to find game, to approach , fluch, even chase. Teh first few times I hunt a dog, it it may be allowed to make two or three castes only -- to run for perhaps five minutes. I would rather the dog did this well for a short time than run for a long period and get tired. After a short run, the dog is eager to run again next time. If it is tired out of hard work and it will not try so hard or run so fast next time.

I try to arrange for a young dog to get a point, or at least a game contact, every second or third time out. Wild birds are best, but in the absence of wild game I will use released game birds or even pigeons. I want to get my dog pointing as quickly as possible, then allow it to learn how to find and handle wild birds.

A lot of inexperienced trainers make the mistake of trying to run a young dog when it cannot approach near enough to the birds to be sure of a definite find.

This occurs because the game is too wild. The best times to train are
(a) int the spring when the birds are paired and very territorial. They will generally lie quite well to a point at this time of the year.
Then (b) when they have broods in the summer and it is possible to approach young birds quite close. Working at other tiems of the year when game will not allow a close approach is very frustrating for a young dog and causes a lot of problems -- such as chasing.

While all this training is taking place, the trainer will occasionally let off a shot at exercise or around the kennel. The dogs soon realise that the shot will do them no harm and they ignore it. This stage MUST be completed before teaching a dog to drop to shot or there is a risk of making the dog gunshy.

When training on birds we teach the dog to drop to wing (i.e. the sight of the bird flushing). The best way to do this, in my opinion, is to follow other working dogs with your pupil on the lead. Every time a bird is flushed or is seen in the air by your pupil, he is dropped. Every time there is a shot, same thing. I have succedssfully trained these actions at a field trial! Backing can also be taught in these situations, by encouraging your dog to notice that the sight of a pointing dog is the premliminary to birds being flushed and shot.

There is no doubt that it pays to make a thorough job of those early lessons. I belive the "Drop" or "Sit" is best taught around four months. A dog taught properly at this age will respind without hesitation later. I don't mind what a puppy does with game utnill it is about eight months old when, in my opinium, it ought to be hunting and pointing keenly, thoug I would not expect 100% steadiness before perhaps two years of age which some will consider late.

Last, a dog has to learn how to handle game by making mistakes. There is no other way for it to learn. So long as it has been taught to drop instantly to wing, there is usually no problem. The dog learns from experience how close it can approach and it knows that the mortal sin is to fluch birds before the hunter arrives. As we humans cannot smell the birds, the responsibility for handling and working game has to be left entirely to the dog. That is what they do best and why we train them and why we marvel at apiece of brilliant work in following the air scent of some wily old gouse or cock pheasant as it tries to elude the dog by escaping on foot!

(bilderna kommer från/pictures from Derry Argues bok "Pointers and Setters")