This dog we've been working with is quite the hunter already. He is almost five months old and I am so pleased with how far he has progressed.
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My questions are how would you guys approach the remainder of the season? My gut tells me to keep it simple and fun with no pressure.
You've got the fine dog there, and you can wreck it easily. If the birds are too plentiful, any dog will go crazy. Don't worry about it.
Finish out the season as you've been doing and over the closed months work on "come." I know that a lot of folk like e-collars, but patience and consistency worked (and still works).
Get two whistles, one with a pea and one without. Your dog's hearing is more than sensitive enough to tell the difference. One whistle is just an attention getter; "Hey, dog, there's a command coming." The other is for "come," and that's the important one.
When you blow the come whistle, the dog should come. Period. There are many reasons for it, but an example is skunks. The dog is concentrating on finding birds but you look past the dog and see a skunk or porcupine. You should be able to blow the come whistle and get him back before you have a problem.
Blow the whistle and if the dog doesn't come, mark the spot where you stand and go to the dog. Don't blow the whistle again, just go to the dog. Drag the dog (make it a bit unpleasant, but not severely) and blow the whistle repeatedly while sternly saying "come" all the way back to your original spot. Yank the dog up by the collar and slam him down on his butt and say "Good come." Don't use his name because he hasn't been good. What you are doing is reinforcing the 'come' command. A couple of episodes and the dog realizes that he can come back the easy way or the hard way. Be aware that you'll come to some sort of compromise with the dog. You'll blow the whistle and the dog will look at you. You'll take a couple of steps forward and he'll race to you knowing that you won't punish him for coming. It won't take too long until the two of you come to an agreement that 'come' means come.
The next step is to blow the come whistle when the dog gets too far out. He'll learn pretty quickly what the limits are. He'll race out to the boundary and pause knowing that you'll not be wanting him to go farther. It is all part and parcel of making the dog remain aware of where you are.
Hope this helps,
