Bird Dog - Owner's Responsibility

Owner's Responsibility

A hunter must know that being a bird dog hunter takes time and effort to have success. As a bird dog owner, he or she will always take the time to make sure their dog has what it takes. However it’s not only the dog that needs to be diligent, it’s the owner just as much. As Narini Philip portrays in It’s a dog’s life; Opening day, a dog knows his limits and rules that an owner gives. So if the dog has set rules as to where it can sleep and what time it eats, then the dog will be a better hunter as will listen to commands such as fetch, stay or retrieve. Narini has his character portray how important it is to have specific commands for the dog, in his story, the dog knows that when his master calls “toot, toot, toot,” it means “come”. If a dog does not have exact specific commands it can cause confusion to the owner and the pet. Also to avoid damage to the birds the owner will make sure that the dog knows how “point dead,” as Jerome B. Robinson says, otherwise the bird will come back damaged.

A bird dog hunter must know these three things to be successful: one, train the dog pre-season as well as during the season, two, choose the right dog for the right style of hunting, and three, a trainer must know how to properly care for their bird dog. With these three rules of thumb, a hunter should have success in their hunts, as well as the dog.