Teaching your Gundog to be Steady on Point
Teaching your Gundog to be Steady on Point
Steadiness is a foundational element I work into all of my puppy training, no matter if they are a flusher, pointer or even an upland dog. I’d argue that the handler of a dog that can’t seem to be steady is the one to blame – not the dog.
WHERE TO START
The places I begin teaching a puppy to be steady are: at the food bowl, when they come out of their crate, when they go in and out of the house, when we are working on heal work and during retrieves. Rather than letting a pup charge the bowl of food when I put it on the floor, I have them sit.
Over time, I change their distance from the bowl and the length of time I expect them to sit before I release them to eat. Rather than letting a pup explode out of its crate when I open it, I have them wait until I call it out. Over time, as their bladder grows, I change the amount of time I expect them to wait and I call them back into their crate so we can have a couple of crate entrances and exit sessions before I take them outside.
Instead of having a dog lose control when I physically stop moving during healing sessions or when I intentionally drop the lead to walk past or around them, I build these moments into our sessions to help the puppy learn to stay steady no matter what I’m doing or where I’m going.
FOUNDATION TO FIELD
As excited as they might be to hunt, none of us wants a dog to be out of control in the field. If we’re upland hunting over a pointer, we want them to hold a steady, controlled, undeniable point. As we start to train our pups or clean up our older dogs, the place we should start from is our solid foundation. We’re not starting from scratch. At a minimum, our dogs should know they can trust us and that we expect them to listen when we give them a command.
From my experience, even a pup with a solid foundation is likely going to need assistance steadying up on birds in the field. I choose to raise pigeons. This allows me the opportunity to train in fields near my house, knowing there are birds in the fields for my dogs to find. Furthermore, I train with my local North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA) chapter as often as I can. This allows me to train in different fields with additional handlers and with different birds. Planting birds in launchers allows me to know where the birds are and to have control of the bird’s flush.
Having access to bird launchers allows us to train on our own if a friend or family member isn’t available to help us with foot launchers or other launching mechanisms. Bird launchers also help us make sure the bird stays where we want it so we can mark its location. Knowing the bird’s location allows us to pay attention to our dog, monitoring how it’s working the field and its location to the bird(s). Side note: I don’t choose to work on steadiness with a wing on a fishing pole – not because I think it’s faulty, I just don’t like the idea of my dog’s potentially learning to sight point. I’d rather remove that potential and help them learn to point base off their nose.
Steadiness begins with the point and moves to the fall of the bird. If a dog is struggling to get steady and point, I launch the bird the moment they address its presence and move in its direction. Usually after a couple of sessions, the dog learns that they don’t get the reward if they are the one flushing the bird. Once I have a dog who is steady on point, I work toward helping them be steady to flush. My goal is that the dog doesn’t break until I flush the bird. Our dog will not be steady to fall if they aren’t steady on point or study to flush or steady to shot.
by Kyle Dana
October 2024
