Bird Dog's First Hunt | The Flush: Season 13, Episode 4

Scott Fransen reunites his puppy with her mother in the prairie of North Dakota on his bird dog's first upland bird hunt.
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[@kevindonahue7062]

Love this series. As an east coaster I daydream about hunting my dog out west some day

[@SpanielshuntingtrialingNZ]

Great fun seeing those young dogs loving the hunt, thanks for the watch.

[@chasingtheking22]

Man that was great! Love to see young dogs figuring it out!

[@bradgeffers1080]

Love these shows and the stories that go with them. I still remember every one of my dogs first hunts and flushes. Memories to cherish forever. Nicely done again.

[@marshallkise6852]

Awsome gun and dog teamwork. I must confess that being able to witness a flushing breed that has the ability to track and point is fascinating and impressive to watch. Did your black lab had to go through specific tailored training or was he/she naturally born with it and just had to hone it? Just asking because sometimes i wonder if its challenging to train a flushing breed to do pointing.

[@JLC87420]

Are we sure this is season 13?

[@michaelmiller8342]

Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't the one fellow on here shoot a hen? I did not believe that was allowed unless you are on a stalked hunt. Am I missing something?

[@suqmadiq2069]

It was a sharp tail grouse

[@eduffy4937]

Long time upland hunter but have never had a dog myself yet. Ive not been in the position to own one with work and travel and kids. Question for dog handlers out here: is a 1.5year old yellow lab able to be trained to be used in the feild as a bird dog? Not looking for a high performance dog, but would be fun to have my gf dog come with me. He can sit, and wait to fetch until calledn and NEVER stops running or fetching. Happiest dog ive ever seen. Hell beat you to death with his tail he wags so hard. Any tips on how to possibly train it to range close and tolwrate gunshots if its possible?

[@kevindonahue7062]

Definitely possible! Find a trainer or upland group. Also I recommend Smith method or Upland Institute

[@eduffy4937]

@@kevindonahue7062 thank you!

[@dcharberg]

For sure. I know a couple pro retriever trainers that advocate not taking a dog into the field until it's second year when you have some training under your belt. I don't universally agree with this. But, states the case that it's not too late for a 1.5 to two year old dog. I would definitely get the dog on birds (even preserve birds) and do some catch up work.

[@eduffy4937]

@@dcharberg he can sitn stay, fetchn sniff out a pheasant and grouse scented bumper and bring it back. I just need it to range close and come to me every time i call it without hesitation. Would be nice if he flushed a hen or a rooster and i missed that it will not chase it into the next county. I hunted twice with guys that seemed to do nothing but yelln whistlen and wait on dogs that arent playing the game correctly. I just want to avoid that part.

[@dcharberg]

@@eduffy4937 A goal for every upland dog handler should be to hunt for a morning without anyone knowing your dog's name 😃 If you want a well mannered dog in the field. A couple essential upland training exercises to focus on are long-lead training (quartering) and sit to whistle. I think Delmar Smith may have come up with long-lead training. For all my pups, we take long walks afield (15-20 min each) with a 30-40 ft lead, a couple times a day. I use a flat collar, not a training collar. Change directions every couple minutes with a mild tug on the lead. DON"T SAY ANYTHING. It takes a while, but the pup will eventually get the picture and tend to stay close and change direction with you. Once the pup is doing this consistently on lead, you can add the come-around command or whistle on direction changes. Eventually, you should work on doing this off lead and transitioning to the e-collar. Only use re-enforcement nicks on come-around!!! I don't mix retrieving work in with this until the dog has mastered quartering. Retrieving should be a completely separate training drill, or the dog may get confused. There are a ton of videos demonstrating sit to whistle training. Needless to say, it's a progression with a few steps. The cornerstone academy guys have a lot of content and explain this pretty well. And, check out Bill Hillmann for e-collar fundamentals. If your dog masters these two things, your day in the upland field will be much more enjoyable for you and your buddies. BTW, to me, pup refers to a level of training, not the age of the dog. An untrained two-year-old dog is still a pup in my book.

[@josephricardo582]

What happened to hank!?

[@TheFlush]

Hank unfortunately passed away unexpectedly 2 years ago. Millie, Hank's daughter, is now Scott's only bird dog.

[@Goyahkla100]

Great hunting with great people but to much damn music man!!!

[@raybishop3176]

All of you have female dogs, do you spay them or just not hunt during heat cycle?

[@dcharberg]

Every dog is a little different. My females have all been intact. Their hunting drive has overshadowed issues with being in heat and I have not had any major issues. Obviously need to be careful hunting with male dogs. The male dogs in the group are more distracted than the females. I always ask my buddies to be sure it's OK with them to have a girl in season on the hunt.