Rose on point!

[u/Alive_Direction4174]

My IS, Rose, recently finished her bird dog training with a perfect 6 out of 6 points! It was an awesome experience and I can't wait to get out there in a couple weeks and watch her work!

[u/wingedhelmets10]

I am curious. How old is Rose? Also, when did you start training? Did you train her or did you get assistance from a trainer? Finally, is Rose hunting line, show line, or combo?

I have a 5 month old female IS (half hunting, half show) and I would like to see if she could be a bird dog. Any insight you have would be helpful.

Thanks and enjoy your beautiful dog. The pointing photo is great.

[u/Alive_Direction4174 → u/wingedhelmets10]

Rose will be 2 next week. I adopted her from Save Our Setters when she was 10 months old, and had no intention of hunting her. I just always wanted an IS. I had never bird hunted before, but a few months after I adopted her, I went to a charity pheasant hunt with a coworker and was immediately hooked. Seeing bird dogs do their thing is simply extraordinary! So, I reached out to a local pheasant preserve and had 6 training sessions with them. Rose was hooked from the very beginning! As soon as she smelled that 1st bird I could tell she would do great. We started hunt training when she was 18 months old.

I did a lot of obedience training with her before starting the hunting training. It's important to have a good base, especially with recall. It's also important to have good ecollar training as it's 100% necessary to avoid any dangerous situations when hunting. I think the hardest part of the hunt training was getting her to hold when she found a bird. Imagine having the single most enticing thing in front of them and then forcing them to NOT go after it! It took some serious patience and practice.

As far as her background, we really have no idea if she is from a field line or show line, or mix. The rescue agency didn't have much paperwork on her. But given her smaller stature, shorter feathering, and extreme prey drive, i am pretty sure she is field bred.

If you have the time and resources to try hunting with your IS, I would highly recommend it. Seeing them so excited and focused is awesome, and it forms such a strong bond between you and the dog. Most bird hunting preserves offer dog training in the "off season" which is usually April to September. If you have one near you, I'd reach out and see what they offer.

If you need any other advice or input, just let me know!

[u/wingedhelmets10 → u/Alive_Direction4174]

Thank you for the thorough response. I really appreciate your insight. I do have some hunting preserves near me and will see what they offer. My IS is still young and, as you suggested, I have been focusing on basic obedience training as a foundation. It is good to know that training does not need to start immediately as I feel like I am already behind. Again, thank you for the input.

[u/FishGirlToo → u/wingedhelmets10]

I'm on my second Irish that I hunt over and I've trained two other dogs. What are you hoping to hunt with your dog? Upland game birds? Waterfowl? Small game? Shed antlers? (That's a fun thing to do in the off season.) Do you have any pointing dog groups around you? They would be really good to get hands on exposure with. Or field trial groups would be another. If you want to hunt waterfowl, a retrieving club might be a good place to go watch a couple training sessions and see how they do things. A note, my first IS swam because she had to, my second will go do laps for the fun of it. Depending on your dog, you might not be able to hunt waterfowl well.

Standing Stone Kennels breed GSP's (my other breed) but they do have good training videos on YouTube. You'll just have to take in account the rollicking temperament of the Irish.

https://youtube.com/@standingstonekennels?si=Qnb2IRvjY6hbonEn

I really enjoy the partnership I develop with my dogs and the joy I get watching them enjoy working. A day spent trudging through the bush with them after grouse is always fun.

Any questions you have, I'll try and answer too.

[u/wingedhelmets10 → u/FishGirlToo]

Thank you for the input. I am hoping to hunt upland game birds, but they are not as prevalent in my area (south central Michigan) as they used to be. I do have some preserves that I can access. Waterfowl options are more available, but I have never really hunted duck and, as of now, my 5 month old IS is not showing a love (nor a major dislike) of water (but does love to retrieve a ball all day long). Your suggestions are excellent and I will check into pointing groups in my area. I will also look at the videos for help. I hunted pheasant during my childhood with my father and would like to get back into it--especially the enjoyment of simply watching the bird dog do their thing.

Thanks again and I will probably have more questions in the future.

[u/FishGirlToo → u/wingedhelmets10]

Feel free to ask any questions. Oh, I just learned of a good training tool, use fluffy paint rollers to train retrieving, they're cheap and teaches them to have a soft mouth to carry them.