# Vizsla's Work Ethic



## redbirddog (Apr 23, 2010)

by Martha Greenlee on January 3, 2012 

Except:

"...Pointing breeds are bred to hunt birds. To be a good hunter, a pointing dog must have the desire to hunt and not quit. *This desire to hunt is how their work ethic is judged.* I remember Bill Gibbons was asked for his thoughts on the three-hour National Championship at Ames Plantation during a seminar in South Carolina. Bill said dogs that were still hunting at the end of three hours demonstrated an intense desire to hunt thus proving they should be bred. 

I asked Maurice Lindley what he thought about work ethic, and he replied, “Good bird dogs are born with it. The more desire they have to hunt, the easier they are to train. Dogs without it are fine until you start asking more of them, and then they decide it isn’t fun anymore and quit.”

Whole article at:

http://steadywithstyle.com/work-ethic/

Steady with Style is a very good source for pointing dog insights.

Happy trails and trials in 2012!

RBD


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## kellygh (Oct 25, 2010)

Maurice Lindley has worked some with Pumpkin, & I am hopeful time will permit more heavy involvement in the near future. Maurice does clinics at Martha's place in VA. Would love to go sometime but would probably embarrass myself (Pumpkin). I highly recommend Maurice's book. I have high regard for his ability to communicate w/ pointers in such a gentle but no nonsense way. Thanks for the post & link RBD!


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

GREAT article! We experienced this drive firsthand yesterday at the beach with Riley. The only issue with this in a puppy is knowing when to *make* her stop and take a break. She ran hard for 2+ hours without showing any signs of fatigue. We left the beach and decided to take her into town because she still seemed to have energy. When we gave her a bowl of water, she snapped at my sister's chihuahua who tried to share it with her (completely out of character for Ri). We decided she was tired/grumpy and took her back to the car. She STILL wouldn't settle until I said, very firmly, "Riley, LAY DOWN!" Within 30 seconds of laying down she was passed out. 

How do we know when she has has enough exercise and needs to sleep??? The only indication she gave us was snapping at the chihuahua... and I think that was when she was *past* the point of exhaustion. It's hard to tell with such a high-drive puppy when they have had enough. Did you have this issue with Bailey or Chloe when they were pups?


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## Mischa (Feb 17, 2010)

kellygh said:


> Maurice Lindley has worked some with Pumpkin, & I am hopeful time will permit more heavy involvement in the near future. Maurice does clinics at Martha's place in VA. Would love to go sometime but would probably embarrass myself (Pumpkin). I highly recommend Maurice's book. I have high regard for his ability to communicate w/ pointers in such a gentle but no nonsense way. Thanks for the post & link RBD!


Hey that clinic sounds an awful lot like a film I watched recently. It's called "Buck".
It's a documentary about a man who runs clinics, training horses all over the U.S.
I was amazed at his skill and the similarities between horse/dog training.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1753549/
I'm positive that you'll love it!


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

Mischa said:


> kellygh said:
> 
> 
> > Maurice Lindley has worked some with Pumpkin, & I am hopeful time will permit more heavy involvement in the near future. Maurice does clinics at Martha's place in VA. Would love to go sometime but would probably embarrass myself (Pumpkin). I highly recommend Maurice's book. I have high regard for his ability to communicate w/ pointers in such a gentle but no nonsense way. Thanks for the post & link RBD!
> ...



Yep, can be a lot of similiar thought patterns with training a horse and a pup. I grew up on the land and my father wouldn't allow us to go all modern and get those fang dangled fancy things called motorbikes to round up the sheep and cattle. Why spend money on them when we have perfectly good horses sitting ready to go.  

Hence, I also learned a lot from my grandfather about horses. It's most likely why I have such a gentle approach with dogs. I kinda use similiar methods to what I used training a horse. With a horse, it's not possible to physically dominate them the way you can with a dog. So it has to be much more subtle and gentle methods, because if a horse doesn't want to get into the float, unlike a dog, you can't pick it up and put it in. So you have to have the horse on your side. You have to have the horse completely trust you and you can't be harsh or the bugger will just stamp on you!!!


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## Mischa (Feb 17, 2010)

That's the thing Oscar. They mention some brutal tactics that have been used to train horses, but as an example, this guy Buck uses firm but gentle lead pulls instead of yanking on the lead to get the horse to follow.

He's got an understanding that few do, but I believe you've got a very similar outlook and technique with horses and dogs.


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

Yeah, it can take a little longer to get the end results, but they tend to be a more permanent result. One which the animal is happy to do whatever it is that you want them to. Although, having said that, tonight Zsa Zsa was a little naughty. A friend of mine and his dog Steph came over. All my dogs love Steph (An interesting dog in herself. A part Kelpie, part Blue Heeler, part Dingo.), so they were very excited to have her over. But when Steph went to leave, Zsa Zsa wanted to go with her and would not recall. Zsa Zsa tried to get in my mate's car and for the life of me, i must have asked her 8 or 9 times before she eventually came.  I can cope with the odd one as long as she doesn't make it a habit, after all, she is a being of her own and just like a horse, can decide sometimes that she wants to do what she wants. I don;t get too hung up on little things as long as they don't recur.


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## kellygh (Oct 25, 2010)

I will look fwd to watching the documentary with my daughter, Mishca  I grew up riding horses, and my oldest daughter rides now. Thanks for link!

Maurice can not hear. He reads lips & talks, but he is a man of very few words in the field. When he speaks to the dogs, it is a very low, almost monotone, command. Even his praise seems understated. A soft pat or touch & good boy/girl. Respectful and so calm. You could probably not hear him if you were standing more than 1-2 ft away. It's very clear all the animals respect and trust him. His methods and routine, right down to bringing the dog out of the trailer, appears to be the same day in & day out. Many of the dogs he gets are rehabs from harsh training. Last spring, a retired couple brought Maurice their standard poodle to train! You don't see too many poodles being used for their hunting roots anymore (at least I don't). She was being trained for dove hunting. Maurice talked about how sweet she was, and he said this poodle was one of the smartest, if not the smartest, dogs he has ever worked with! He discusses the dogs with such pride regardless of who owns them. He's put Pumpkin on quail or pigeons maybe 5 times, and he has yet to charge me a dime. A real gentleman with a rare gift. Thanks again for the movie link.


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## kellygh (Oct 25, 2010)

http://lindleykennel.com/photos.html

Pictures on Maurice Lindley's website. They were taken at the seminar(s) given at Piney Run Kennels in VA (Martha Greenlee).


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## Mischa (Feb 17, 2010)

kellygh said:


> I will look fwd to watching the documentary with my daughter, Mishca  I grew up riding horses, and my oldest daughter rides now. Thanks for link!


You guys will really enjoy it for sure then.
Make sure you keep the tissues handy though. I'm not much of a softy, and even I was choked up more than once. :-[ ;D

-Dennis


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## R E McCraith (Nov 24, 2011)

FYI-live birds for training V's a great source is to go to mynaga.org this is the north american game bird assoc-they have a locator site for all there members and you'll be amazed how many breeders of birds are out there-they will also show you how to set birds-next best join a gundog club in your area that has fields and birds for there members-remember you do not have to shoot to hunt your V-set some birds and watch what they were bred to do
To redbirddog-this is a favorite recipe for pheaset
3/4 # thick cut bacon diced
1 medium onion diced
4 celery stalks diced
1-2 red peppers diced
3-4 jalopeno peppers diced(if you like it hot)
6-8 pheasents breast(I like bone on adds more flavor)
cup and half uncooked quaility rice
render the bacon-set aside-lightly brown breasts in fat-set aside-saute vegs till tender(add oil if needed)set aside
Mix rice-bacon-veggies with rice-place in baking dish and nestle the breasts on top-add chicken stock to 3/8 inch above rice mixture put in 350 degree oven till rice is done nice and fluffy-enjoy


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I read Martha Greenlee's article when it first came out and it home for me. I have 3 vizslas and each is diffrent in the field. My male is a good hunter and can be in the field for extendend periods of time. My youngest female has so much drive that she will look like she has been beat up after bird hunting. There is almost nothing she won't go through to find birds. My older female is what I would call a quitter. When she gets tired or doesn't like something you will find her laying at the truck. She has an exceptional nose and has as been steady to the flush from day one on birds. She also has a natural soft mouth retrieve. She just doesn't have the drive. I still take her hunting with me (she would be mad if left at home) and she is happy with three or four bird finds and then trots off to the truck to lay in the shade.


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