Barking on Point

[gwp4me2]

...dog really is 6 years old. It a show champion and has many agility titles but the owner (woman) has never had it on birds and wants to add at least a JH. So we need to get it to point.

Why does it need a JH title, to "increase" the breeding possibilities? In general, I see the show crowd put JH titles on hunting dogs just to say "hey, they look good and they can hunt". I am sorry, if you have to "get a dog to point" at 6 yrs old the JH title really doesn't hold water...JMO.

+1. Putting a JH on a dog that has/will never hunt just to sell puppies is just another step in turning the breed into the latest Irish Setter. I've seen some really pathetic JH's that are 'proven hunting dogs'.

[DK dreams]

Look,

who cares?

Anyone who buys a hunting dog from a non hunter deserves what they get,anyway.

My biggest pet peeve,by far, are non hunters in hunting venues - judges,trainers,participants,dogs.

[yawallac]

My biggest pet peeve,by far, are non hunters in hunting venues - judges,trainers,participants,dogs.

I judged the first AKC Hunt Test in SC and had a lady come the line in a dress and heels! She asked where the cart path was?

[JohNIN]

Actually NO. I have not put a JH on this dog (yet) but it is the owners dream. It is her pet. She is an older woman, single, has no children and her dogs mean everything in the world to her. Who am I to tell her "she has an ugly baby"? She saw how much it loves to chase game in her back yard, bring her dead rabbits, and she approached me to train it on birds. Is that so bad? What I did say is that I have had good results on older dogs and just because it is 6 years old does not mean it is not worth training. You can say what you want, but the AKC JH is a great way to get a novice owner/handler involved in the sport. Many owners do not end at JH and they soon realize how much fun it can be, getting to Senior or Master Hunter. The NAVHDA monthly magazine, every month, has a story with the same ending............"I never owned a dog...........everyone was so helpful at training day........I was nervous at the test.........when they read the results I was so happy!" You never read about "just give up on that worthless POS or give it to a Pro."
So back to the question...........how to stop a dog from barking? (I have seen dogs with this same issue this during the "Steadiness at the Blind" portion of NAVHDA UT tests)

[DK dreams]

I had a problem with my dog who had ALWAYS been quiet.
Just popped up one day.

The problem was obedience and competition.
Being lazy, I thought I would train both dogs at the same time.
Not a bad idea, except I became lax on the obiedience - the dogs became noisy.

It took me about 6 months to change their minds.

I think this dog can be taught the proper expectations thru obedience.

I would not expect someone to enter a test knowing their dog is noisy.
I would expect the trainer to work out this kink,then test.

IMHO, a dog should be marked down for noise.

[yawallac]

Actually NO. I have not put a JH on this dog (yet) but it is the owners dream. It is her pet. She is an older woman, single, has no children and her dogs mean everything in the world to her. Who am I to tell her "she has an ugly baby"? She saw how much it loves to chase game in her back yard, bring her dead rabbits, and she approached me to train it on birds. Is that so bad? What I did say is that I have had good results on older dogs and just because it is 6 years old does not mean it is not worth training. You can say what you want, but the AKC JH is a great way to get a novice owner/handler involved in the sport. Many owners do not end at JH and they soon realize how much fun it can be, getting to Senior or Master Hunter. The NAVHDA monthly magazine, every month, has a story with the same ending............"I never owned a dog...........everyone was so helpful at training day........I was nervous at the test.........when they read the results I was so happy!" You never read about "just give up on that worthless POS or give it to a Pro."

Fair enough.

So back to the question...........how to stop a dog from barking? (I have seen dogs with this same issue this during the "Steadiness at the Blind" portion of NAVHDA UT tests)

Not something I could fix over the Internet, I'd need to see it doing it to understand why it's doing it. But from your description I would likely desensitize the dog to the situation as a first step. I would introduce the bird ...on the table. Get the dog used to behaving properly up close and personal with both the handler and the bird. The next thing is the dog needs to give the bird in the field more respect. He obviously knows that the bird is not going anywhere. I would likely make the bird a little more spooky by launching it at first scent, then first movement, etc., etc. Hope that helps.