# Birding Instinct "Kicking In"



## luv2laugh (Oct 6, 2011)

Hey all,

My little V is just about 7 months now and I've been getting remarks from my husband that he is getting "bird crazy" and from my dog walker that his "birding instinct is kicking in." Unfortunately, I'm going through a temporary crazy spell at work/school and haven't been having as much time with him exercising as I used to (hence the dog walker). I did see him point at a *fly* yesterday. It was a full out point with his front leg up and all.

I've only stopped going on daily walks with him for a week and a half and didn't notice any difference. Our dog walker said that she had "to pick him up and carry him away" from a crow on a golf course near their walk because "he was too excited to walk past it with her." He is 45 pounds, kind of a hand full to pick up. 

Does the birding instinct typically "kick in" like this, so quickly?


----------



## Firefighter (Oct 29, 2011)

I just commented on another thread, I can't provide you with an answer although 
Our (9.5months) recently been doing this MUCH stronger than ever before. 
Birds etc, he will point and get low and slowly walk towards it.


----------



## OttosMama (Oct 27, 2011)

Hey l2l,

Same here! I don't know if it's that his awareness of them has heightened with age or if there are just so many more birds around from the warm weather. There are certain parts of our walk that he will stop, stalk, point, or just try and run after them. If he is off leash he is a goner. I've recently armed myself with bits of cooked hot dog so that he will be more likely to come when called. I learned my lesson when he ran after a seagull at the beach and it took forever for him to come to me. Usually if a scent or something has his attention he will still return or chase after me but with birds it seems to be a whole different story.


----------



## Vizsla Baby (Nov 4, 2011)

Sadie's birding instinct kicked in when she was about 7 months old. At 9 months she was doing the slow walk, low to the ground, pointing for more than 20 seconds. 

She spends a lot of time looking in the sky. She knows where every bird is nesting in every nook & cranny of our yard. She is only 10 1/2 months now and sometimes surprises herself when she flushes them out. 

It is really cool to watch because we haven't taught her any of this. It's just "in her". Amazing to watch.


----------



## Crazy Kian (Aug 10, 2009)

luv2laugh said:


> Does the birding instinct typically "kick in" like this, so quickly?


The instinct is always there, they're born with it. I've witnessed a 10 wk old pup point birds and retrieve them. Maybe an exception to the rule, who knows. 

Now that he's showing more interest it's probably time to get him some training ....if your goal is to pursue that part of owning a V that is. 

Trust me, you'll never get bored watching a V hunt. 
Good luck.


----------



## luv2laugh (Oct 6, 2011)

Hi Crazy Kian,

When we first got Oso, he pointed at EVERYTHING. He showed absolutely no retrieving instinct. He was 8 1/2 weeks old and pointed like crazy, even at the ball. We had to stop him from constantly pointing at the cats. We did so nicely, by petting both him & the cats at the same time. But, he stopped pointing as much and for a little bit he pointed barely at all. 

Retrieving started a few weeks after we got him. He's always been interested in birds, but now I guess it's in overdrive. I was under the impression that training for hunting or trials started when they were a bit older. I guess I'll look into the trainers in our area and give them a call. Interesting to hear that 7 months is a number for some other people too!!

Here's a photo of Oso pointing/stalking the first week we got him. I think it was day 2.


----------



## OttosMama (Oct 27, 2011)

Hey there L2L,

Have you been out on a walk with Oso recently? Or has your husband reported about the birds??? I'm assuming Oso is mad for the birds just like Otto - definitely in their blood. It's fascinating to see them without any training at all on birds. However, it adds a whole other obstacle to loose leash training. How are you guys making out?


----------



## Westx (Apr 3, 2012)

I hope my boy starts doing this soon. He's almost 5 months and I haven't seen him be that patient yet...


----------



## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

Break my pups to birds at 9wks - broke to gun at 10 wks - they are never to young to learn - trainers like the pups 7mon to a year because they hope you have taught a lot of basics and they can concentate on making the pup a bird dog!


----------



## OttosMama (Oct 27, 2011)

Oh I'm not sure if I conveyed what I was meaning to. The birds are actually a huge OBSTACLE right now. He's doing well loose leash walking, better than before, and his recall has improved for sure, except when birds are in the picture. I will include this video to show you what I mean and maybe someone has some suggestions on how to keep him from running after them in certain situations. 

The video is real short, I trimmed the whole thing just to cut to the chase. Otto had been running in and out of the water, while my dad's dog sort of just stayed put. So when Otto ran out the last time I wasn't thinking it would be out of sight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdF...DvjVQa1PpcFN-BqiJq2MoAVtA0v9ryg7-ccPZeKhynR0=

He ended up just running back in for in the brush - he didn't continue after the seagulls - but I need to correct this issue ASAP

Thanks for any advice!


Oh - also REM I'm not sure what you mean by "break" your pups to birds. I'm assuming breaking them to the gun is shooting while they're in ear shot so not to become gun shy later on?


----------



## OttosMama (Oct 27, 2011)

PS - all the laughing was from my dad making fun of Otto "hopping" in the water. It's pretty funny - since we've had Otto, my dad's dog Angus has taken on some of his traits. Angus jumps up again (which he had stopped doing), he tries to crawl into my dad's lap while he is in his recliner!, he whines, and now he was starting to "hop" in the water. My dad was telling him he didn't have to be "weird" like Otto - just be himself! So silly!


----------



## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

We're also starting to deal with this issue and Riley is 7 months tomorrow. Sounds like this is the magical age where they realize how much fun birds are. : I've started doing major recall training at a park by us using tasty treats where there are very few birds (it's in the middle of 2 busy streets, surrounded by a large fence). Her recall is improving there without many distractions, so I'm hoping that this will help her recall when we ARE around birds. *fingers crossed*


----------



## OttosMama (Oct 27, 2011)

That's definitely the tough part... finding a bird free zone to practice outdoors. Since I don't want to call him and have him completely ignore me when he is in the zone, I choose instead to run in the opposite direction, or sometimes make lots of noise and run around - but even this hasn't been helping. That and it's not practical for a solution. We'll probably get kicked out of public places if I keep up that behavior! 

Does Riley refuse even tasty treats, like hot dogs and liver, when distracted? Even on walks, sometimes Otto just can't be bothered!


----------



## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

Bird ALWAYS trumps hot dog so far... lol! She goes into an instant point-and-creep when she sees birds and I swear her hearing shuts off. I have a feeling part of this might be due to teenage hormones kicking in. She has what I call "selective hearing" lately. Sometimes she listens, and sometimes I get this look that I swear would be accompanied by a middle finger if she could manage it. ;D


----------



## luv2laugh (Oct 6, 2011)

Sorry for the late response. Oso is actually doing really well on loose leash walking, well at least for him. 

I finished my full time gig as of Friday and spent two hours yesterday just working on loose leash walking with Oso today and we'll do another walk today, etc. I'm doing a thing where when he gets to the end of the leash/pulls I make a noise like WHOOP and then give him no attention but back up until he goes all the way back to where I am. Then I give him the "let's go" command and when he walks near me I praise him/give treats. I forgot the treats yesterday and it seemed to go well. 

The birds haven't been a problem when on leash. Oso crouches and stalks a lot instead of running off after them. So, he saw a few birds and I let him do the crouch and stalk thing, but was able to pull him away or let him run after just with me. When he ran to fast, he jerked on the leash and couldn't go, so that was just that. 

I see the behavior when off leash and at the dog park. At times, he is more interested in the birds flying overhead or outside of the dog park then the other dogs. We have been working on recall with a 30ft leash outside of our home. I just sit out there on a picnic blanket and do reading. I let Oso wander on the leash or play with toys with him. I have lots of treats with me and at random times call him with his urgent come word. Which is "now" instead of just "Oso, Come." If he doesn't immediately come, I start to reel him in on the leash and then he comes. He gets lots of treats every time. We don't have lots of birds, so it's not a problem. We've tried the 30 ft leash on a hike and it's a little difficult as he runs too far and just gets yanked. I feel bad, but we have him in a harness. You could get a 30ft leash + to work on recall. 

For those of you who are familiar with birds/hunting it would be good to hear what we shouldn't do to discourage a good birding instinct while still getting a good recall.


----------



## OttosMama (Oct 27, 2011)

That is a great idea- the blanket and 30 ft leash. We don't have a fenced in yard so it is tricky doing recall with him back there.. Plus our yard is relatively small so that would make it more manageable. Thanks! 

Otto sounds much more distracted by birds on walks. His walks are so much more pleasant now though. Something clicked and he pulls less frequently than before. He also acknowledges me when he gets to the end of the leash where as before he hardly ever would. I have been trying to feed him by hand while clicker training for each meal and I think he and I are gelling better with commands. It's really so enjoyable.

I too would benefit from advice on how I can improve his recall but not damage his bird drive. I was going to post in RBD's thread on amateur field days because Otto is surely a candidate. The other day I was out with Otto, another woman and her Vizsla Bruin, in a state reservation that is mostly old farmland and trails. Towards the end of our walk Otto was chasing birds at full speed. One flew above a stone wall while Otto was after it. I am 5'7" and wall is up to the top of my rib cage. He leaped over the stone wall, into pricker bushes. Luckily he managed to only cut the top of his snout. This makes me nervous because He doesn't seem to consider Anything when birds are in the picture.


----------



## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

We've been really working hard on Riley's recall and I can tell you it's finally paid off! We had several days where we would go to the park and simply stand on opposite ends and call her back and forth for a good 10-15 minutes. I took her to my mom's house for her "doggie daycare" a few days ago and, as usual, I parked and let her out of the car without a leash because she always follows me right up to the door of her house. There was a small flock of pigeons eating some seed off the walkway a few houses down and once she spotted them she immediately went into pointing/stalking mode and started off after them. A quick "Riley come!" and she did an instant 180 and came running back to me. It's nice to know that practice, practice, and more practice makes perfect! 

The key to not damaging bird drive is that you DO allow them some times to hunt birds, but when you say "_______ come!" you expect them to turn from *whatever* they are doing and come running back, no matter what that is. I think the only issue would be if you always recall them when they go after birds. For example, Riley took off after a vulture on a hike the other day and I let her chase for a bit before I called her back.


----------



## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

Welcome to the world of V's and birds - if PIKE is on point a H-bomb will not take him off it - bred 2 hunt and hunt they will!


----------

