How to hunt a hedgerow with a Springer spaniel?

[acolic]

Hi

I have a 1.5 year English Springer Spaniel who runs the traditional figure 8 pattern in open country.

He has a lot of energy and speed.

Lately we have been hunting for pheasants along hedgerows / tree lines.

Ans this is what he does.

He gets into the middle of the hedgerow and runs away from me along the middle of the hedgerow and pops out in the open outside of shotgun range.

Then I call him in to me and he does it all over again.

On one hand I am happy he goes into cover as opposed to walking along the outside looking in.

He has started to take shorter runs but with his energy I can’t see him slowing down much.

What is the proper way to use a Springer and a hedgerow?

thanks

Alex

[finsfurfeathers]

Could of used a springer Thursday when Nova was locked up on a pheasant in a fence row with no way to get to him. My understanding is a springer should be working well within shotgun range, if he's getting out there time to put the brakes on him. Hope you get some guidance from the flusher folks.

[ninepointer]

Setter owner here, but my previous upland dog was a flushing lab. You have a good problem; your young dog gets inside of and works the hedgerows. I personally like to use a whistle to turn around a dog that gets too far ahead. I also use a bell, even on a flusher, to have instant feed back on the dogs position when I can't see him. Train recall to whistle and reinforce with an e-collar when needed (note: dog should be properly collar conditioned). Keep in mind that you won't pull him off a running bird or fully eliminate out-of-range flushes. Also don't worry if improvement takes time (more than one season), but he will improve as he figures out that getting too far ahead is not as rewarding.

[Sharon]

Well said.

[ninepointer]

Setter owner here, but my previous upland dog was a flushing lab. You have a good problem; your young dog gets inside of and works the hedgerows. I personally like to use a whistle to turn around a dog that gets too far ahead. I also use a bell, even on a flusher, to have instant feed back on the dogs position when I can't see him. Train recall to whistle and reinforce with an e-collar when needed (note: dog should be properly collar conditioned). Keep in mind that you won't pull him off a running bird or fully eliminate out-of-range flushes. Also don't worry if improvement takes time (more than one season), but he will improve as he figures out that getting too far ahead is not as rewarding.

Hedgerows, by way of their linear nature, have a way of making dogs range out. Reminds me of how my kids when little, liked to run ahead when on a defined path.

[Cass]

The dog is doing what it should. There's no point in running the classic figure 8 or windshield pattern when you have cover along one side like a hedgerow. Until he figures it out you'll just have to be on the whistle a bit more so he's not just blasting down the middle of it and out of range. Turn whistle, when he pops out, turn whistle again back into it so he's kind of doing a smaller figure 8 all the way down. Most spaniels will figure it out quick and you won't need to constantly nag with the whistle.

[iHuntz]

... You have a good problem; your young dog gets inside of and works the hedgerows. I personally like to use a whistle to turn around a dog that gets too far ahead...

I agree with ninepointer's statement. That is actually good problem to have and more whistle practice will help. The dog will be able to hear your whistle as as it is noisily hurtling through the hedgerow.

[acolic]

Appreciate all the advice.

[Ugo]

As mentioned, hedgerows can present a challenge whether it's a flusher, plusher or pointer. The early training has to clearly convey to the dog "why" getting too far is unproductive. The key here is to imprint early on that a dog can get what they want most (which is also what we want most) by providing you/the gun with a good opportunity to put that bird in their mouth. That means being cooperative to the gun. The early training has to transparently prove why working too far doesn't pay. It's unpalatable and garners NO bird, while at the opposite end of that spectrum the dog that works to the gun gets rewarded (and so do you). Too far is too far, whether in a field or along a hedgerow. The hedgerow brings with it added challenges but it's all about providing salient learning experiences/patience/consistency/clarity/repetition. Remember, NO dog gets it right 100% of the time. That's why I emphasize getting dogs started properly at an early age. Most often, folk want their pups to "be allowed to be pups until they get older". What this most often contributes to, is a young dog with a ton of bad habits that were instilled by their owner and subsequently have to be fixed! Instead, a young dog started properly only knows productive learning opportunities "constructed" for her/him. To my point, pointing breeds started improperly often learn that getting away from their owner produces wonderful encounters with all manner of wildlife. That owner often goes to great length trying to keep said dog in productive range for YEARS afterwards (often attempted by over-handling, excessive whistling (especially most springers), yelling, swearing, zapping, etc.....) It's bad enough at the game farm/hunt club but it's MUCH worse when hunting wild bird species!
Calling/whistling/bells, etc. make the presumption that birds are deaf. Trust me...they're not!