Cover Avoidance

Does you dog prefer the path well-traveled?

Are you left looking for birds while your dog strolls down the path…

…or does your dog refuse to enter thick cover?

Okay, you have your young dog as sharp as a Marine out of bootcamp. Fido has been parading around at heel, freezes solid on point and retrieves as reliable as the U.S. mail, (used to be). On Opening Day, you are on prime ground; stubbled fields of grain with a drainage filled with tall grass and cattails running through the center. “Oh, man! The birds are going to come pouring out”!

You’re lined-up and ready to go! With Fido dutifully at heel, you demonstratively motion with your arm, blow the whistle, and command, “Hunt”! At which time, Fido races along the edge of cover (the wrong side to catch the cross-breeze), for a hundred yards or so – then, comes racing back! “Get in there!” you shout, to no avail. Fido has never heard that command before and has no intention of getting swallowed-up in that tangled mess of vegetation! About now is when Fido gets a “boost” into the thick of things with a size 10 boot.

Once the dog has learned where to find birds, it can be more difficult to keep it OUT of thick cover!

That scenario is replayed every fall, all across the country. If they’re lucky, there are so many birds in the cover that Fido realizes that that is the place to be. Oft-times, however, the day is spent with a confused and cowering dog that either heels next to you or ventures only deep enough into the cover to keep you in sight. In either case, the dog’s focus is on you and finding birds is not even a wisp of a thought. What happened?

Let’s consider that this may be the first time Fido has been to this spot – maybe the first time it has seen anything like it. If Fido has been primarily trained in the yard or manicured park-like settings, thick stands of over-head cover is as foreign to the dog as the surface of Mars to us. Something else to consider, other critters live in that cover. Strange smells of wild creatures such as deer, racoons, and coyotes may linger throughout. You can’t smell it, of course, but to Fido they can be huge warning signs – Keep Out!

“Birds are on the move, I’m about to go in”!

Next, let’s consider the, “Get in there!” command. Often stressed a bit harshly by the time the hunter/handler feels the need to use it, Fido may be confused as to whether it is a command or a harsh rebuke for something he has done.

Lastly, Fido may not understand that you mean for him to hunt for birds. Perhaps, all he’s getting out of it is that his leader (hunter/handler) is telling him to go away. All very stressful and confusing for a young dog.

Like I mentioned, if there are birds and your pup likes birds enough to over-look a certain amount of stress, she will likely come to realize the situation. I’ve seen a few, however, that never really learned to like hunting thick cover and was never taught that they had no choice. (Though, to be clear, they weren’t my dogs.)

Prevention being the better tact, what should have been done so that Fido looks forward to a run through the jungle?

Once birds become the center-piece of life, pups will over-look a number of things…such as thick cover, gun fire - and tangled check cords!

We start from an early age by allowing a pup to explore and, once they have learned to love bird scent, I plant birds in thick stuff for the pup to find. It is also important to join them in thick cover. With you along, there is added confidence and the demonstration that the cover is the best place to be. The point of this is to build a confident dog and to show it that the birds are in the thick cover – not on the path. Now, that doesn’t mean that your dog can’t play the wind along the edge of cover; in fact, that is sometimes preferred.

When obviously playing the wind correctly, pointing dogs don’t always NEED to be in the bottom of the drainage.

In situations like previously described, a thin strip of thick cover and a good cross-breeze, it may be better that the dog doesn’t rattle through the thick stuff; causing birds to flush wild, far beyond. Following a game trail or along the edge of thick cover can be effective. It’s up to the handler to figure out if the dog is being timid (or lazy) or if it is a quiet way to glean bird scent from the breeze. It is pretty easy to tell when the dog is playing the breeze or just not putting in the effort. If the dog is a seasoned veteran, I’ve learned to trust their approach – they’re the one with the brilliant nose.

Tail wagging and in wide-eyed anticipation, this dog happily follows instruction.

Okay, the issue may be that the dog has never learned that the best place to often find birds is in the thick of things or, more likely, hasn’t been taught. The other possibility is that the command – whether by whistle and point or verbal – hasn’t been consistent. In the forty-plus years I’ve worked around bird dogs and their owners, a very common observation is inconsistency in command follow-through.

Meaning, the command is given multiple times – in various tones – then an excuse is made up that a follow-through is not required. So, the dog may have heard the command, “Get in there!” but it was never properly enforced. Once learned, you need to follow-through upon making any command. If you change your mind, that’s fine, but the dog should be made to comply. Then, call it back or make another command.

Once the dog has learned to hunt the thick stuff, the tough part might be finding or getting to her!

One last observation, if your dog has proven that it doesn’t fear the deep but it has decided to hike along the path in front of you, consider what is happening. If it’s hot and the dog has been hunting a while, it may need to use the breeze to cool off. To keep Fido hunting enthusiastically, take a water break.

Of course, it may be simply that there has been no scent to hold Fido’s interest. As the leader, it’s up to you to prepare the team and make the calls. Be that leader and -

Enjoy your dog!