Blue Weimaraner Today

February is Field Training Month

Posted on 06. Feb, 2010 by Blue Weimaraner Today in Field, News

February is Learn about Field Training month on Blue Weimaraner Today. You’ll be seeing articles throughout the month on people who train and get titles with their Blue Weimaraners. As this month is about learning, I’ve selected people who are fairly new to field training to share how they got involved.

The Weimaraner is a Hunting dog
I’m sure you know or have guessed that Field training is training for hunting or often more specifically for entering your dog in hunt tests or field trials to get titles. Weimaraners are a hunting breed in the sporting group. To be specific, they are considered to be Versatile Hunting Dogs also referred to as an HPR breed, which means they Hunt, Point and Retrieve as opposed to other breeds that specialize more in pointing (English Pointer) or retrieving (Labrador Retriever). You may also hear a Weimaraner described as a continental pointing breed. This distinction came about because the British often used several dogs that specialized in tasks such as pointing, retrieving or flushing whereas in Europe, usually the same dog performed many tasks.

What is Field Training
Why does a hunting dog need to be trained? While hunting dogs naturally have a desire to hunt and pointing dogs usually instinctively point, we do ask them to learn some behaviors that are contrary to their natural desires. A pointing dog might naturally point, but we then ask it to stay still (steady) even after the bird flies away (flushes) and even to stay still when it falls when shot. It can take a lot of patient training to get to the point where a dog understands to be “Steady” until released to retrieve.  This is called “Steady to Wing, Shot and Fall.” Weimaraners should have a natural instinct to retrieve, but we want them to consistently not only go get the bird, but also to deliver it to hand. This usually takes some training. There may also be some water work, teaching your Weimaraner to track and retrieve water fowl, like ducks. A Weimaraner will also be trained to work with a bracemate and will learn to “honor” the other dog’s point if that dog finds and points a bird first.

Field training is something that is never completely finished. You don’t train them once and then they know it for the rest of their lives. Like all dog training, it requires regular practice.

Try it, you might like it.
Like others you’ll hear from this month, I never thought I would be involved in hunting and training for field. What we have discovered is that Field training is really fun! Not only are you outdoors, often working with friends, but seeing your Weimaraner do what it was meant to do is awesome. When you see your Weimaraner on point with every molecule of its body strung taut with intense concentration — well, it’s a thing of beauty.

Bella is on point. I am about to flush the bird. Gunners are standing by.

The Weimaraner is above all, a breed that is intended to hunt. While not everyone with a Weimaraner must hunt, it is important that we understand, respect, and protect the intent of the breed. I realize that to many, hunting has intimidating if not negative connotations. When examined closer, we may find that this is an undeserved, knee-jerk reaction. Future articles will look closer at attitudes about hunting.

If you are interested in learning about training your Blue Weimaraner for field, you could contact your local Weimaraner club. They often have training sessions or fun days where you can come out and give it a try. You can also contact your local NAVHDA branch (North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association). They will often have training fun days and prep days for their Natural Ability test. I also recommend the Steady with Style blog for a gentle method of training, they have a free manual to download.

Top photograph is of Bellatrix des Perles d’Artemis (Bella) on point. © Cori Moesta. Please do not reproduce without permission.

Tags: Field, hunting