By Phil Rosenberg
Originally appeared in the Vizsla Club of Illinois Bulletin, September 1973
First try getting your pup "birdy" by using a pheasant wing and a fishing pole. Your pup is five to six weeks of age at this time. This can be done inside the home, in the basement or out in the yard, weather permitting. Try working the wing in front of the pup, trying not to let him catch it. He or she should show a tendency to point once they see they can't catch the wing. I like to stop this routine as soon as I get a staunch point out of my pups. Too much wing and string and it tends to become a game with the young dog.
Next step is getting your pup(s) out into the yard with a pigeon that has its flight feathers pulled so it can hop and walk around but can't fly. The pup(s) will have a gay old time chasing a live bird around. If you have more than one young dog, let them both chase the bird. It seems pups are bolder as a group, whereas a lone pup might get frightened by itself. Letting the pups do this two or three times is sufficient enough to get their bird sense stimulated. The pup is six to eight weeks old at this time.
Next, weather permitting, get your pup out in the field on short grass if possible. I find having one or two older dogs along has a tendency to make you pup forget about you and start to explore the world on his own. I use my older dogs as an aid to start my young pups into getting that independent attitude.
Once you see the pup(s) starting to enjoy the field and he or she strikes out on their own from time to time, I think at this point you can start your training with an older dog. Your pup is now 12 to 13 weeks old. I stop running my young dogs together at 12 weeks of age and start my real training. At this point the pup is getting aggressive and starting to hunt. His playing days in the field are over. Even though puppies are still puppies, you have to start a training routine somewhere. This is as good a time as any I find personally.
I run my dogs with a different older dog each time I put them down; at first with dogs which they know, and then with strange dogs, but always using older dogs that are all business in the field.
If you plan on strictly hunting your dog, then run him with the best hunting dog you can find. You will see your pup pick up the traits, good and bad, of the older dog you're running him with, so be careful and choose your running partners with thought. Your dog at 12 to 13 weeks should be run for 10 to 15 minutes, again, weather permitting. If there is a little snow, or if it might be raining somewhat, don't be afraid to run your pup. You might as well get his feet wet as soon as possible.
Birds: In the spring and early summer you might get lucky and find some young pheasants to run your pup on. If not, you will have to use pigeons as a means of getting your dog started. The planting of birds, by this I mean the way you go about it, is very important. I start by putting a couple birds down in a ten or twenty-acre area and just let the pup hunt them out in his own time. Do not lead your pup directly to the birds. He or she is the hunter. Your job is to just keep him in the general area. Try and get your pup on birds at least once a week in the beginning. As your pup gets older, say four to five months, we are ready to start planting the birds farther out (off horseback if you have a horse to use). Start right at the cast off point, have the person who is to plant the bird for you show it to your pup before the castoff. You will be standing with your pup on lead and then the planter walks, or rides, out about 100 yards and plants the bird. On his return, cast the pup off. Your dog has a general idea where the bird was planted, so he will bolt out as fast as he can and hunt the trail of the planter or horse. On finding the bird, your pup will probably jump in the first few times trying to catch the bird, so plant the bird very loose so it will pop out on it's own. With a pigeon you will find if you gently dizzy the bird up and drop it at some likely object or some heavy cover, you will get the results you are looking for. Another thing I must add, wear an old pair of gloves so as to make the bird smell as natural as possible. Back to your pup - as the bird pops out and your dog starts his chase, you may fire a small caliber blank pistol (.22 blank or crimp if you have it), but only fir id he is in hot pursuit of the bird and is not closer to you than 30-40 yards. Later as the pup gets used to the .22 blank you will switch to the.32 blank, but always remember he is chasing when you fire. You will kill two birds with one stone this way:
Your pup will become very birdy,
He will get used to the gun.
If you are lucky enough to have plenty of native birds in your area, working with pigeons is not necessary. If not, you might try this method, again be careful when introducing the gun to the young dog. A few weekends of this type of training should be all your pup needs to get his interest up. Don't over-do planting birds for your young dog. As soon as possible run him on wild birds, for you will find no substitute for the real thing.
On the subject of running a dog for any length of time, I find that 15 to 20 minutes for the six month old dog, and a gradual rise up to 30 minutes until he is about one year old is more than sufficient for my own dogs. Over doing a thing and running your puppy for one or two hours will just cause him to pace himself and he may even lose interest in fieldwork. If you see your pup is not running with the fire he showed last week, don't push him or get on him. Remember, you have your good days and your bad days also.
Another thing you might keep in mind, especially if you are thinking of trialing your pup, run him on different grounds as much as possible. He will enjoy it more because it's new and interesting, and there is nothing like new territory to explore for a young puppy. You will find it will make him a more independent dog.
At this point if you plan on seriously field trialing your pup, the next thing to cover would be "pattern on course", introducing the horse, and field trial handling in general (over-handling, hacking, and just plain yelling). Yelling I consider to be the biggest mistake a new handler can make in training anytime. These points will be covered later.
I might add that these are just some tips and things that have worked for me during the years I have trained dogs. I have had some good results from them, and I hope you will too.
Editor's Note: This article first appeared in the September 1973 Bulletin. Mr. Rosenberg owned DC AFC Amber's Windy Autumn HOF. and bred several other Field Champions and Champions of Record.