A good Gun Dog is integral to water fowl and upland game fowl hunting. Gun Dogs come in many breeds, including Spaniels, Retrievers and Pointers. Depending on the quarry to be hunted, Gun Dogs can perform a variety of functions, all of which require close coordination with their handler. As a result, the Gun Dog is inevitably a very well trained animal.
Hunting with a Good Bird Dog
There are many ways that hunters rely on their Gun Dogs when quarrying prey. Well trained dogs are able to locate and flush birds, allowing their handlers to shoot the prey that emerge from the brush. Gun Dogs can also locate and point prey, meaning they indicate its location to their handler. Gun Dogs are famous for being able to retrieve downed prey no matter the location.
The skill of searching and finding downed prey without having seen it fall is called Blinding. Blinding is often considered a hallmark of the well-trained Gun Dog, and is the result of years of exacting training and experience in the field. There are many other skills associated with trained Gun Dogs, including, paradoxically, the discipline not to immediately chase downed prey.
Some Gun Dogs are known to shy away from the noise of shots being fired, an affliction known as being gun shy. With consistent encouragement this problem can be overcome. Through generations of improvement, Gun Dog training has become a detailed science, boasting an intricate vocabulary and vast stores of inherited knowledge. There are many local gun and hunting clubs that provide ready introduction to anyone wishing to train a Bird Dog.
