Pointing dog breeds are natural pheasant hunters. With training, their instinctive pointing behavior can be used to their owners advantage. This article will give specific steps to training a pointer to hunt pheasants.

Things You'll Need:

• pheasant wings
• training dummies
• bottle of pheasant scent
• fishing line
• long pole or rod

Bond with the puppy. During the first few weeks after the pointer puppy is brought home the owner should make every effort to play and bond with the puppy. A strong owner-dog bond results in the dog wanting to behave in ways that please the owner.

• Step 2

  Start with the basics. If possible put the puppy through a local obedience class. Before moving on to specific hunting-related commands, be sure the pointer is able to follow basic commands such as sit, heel and stay.

• Step 3

  Tie one end of a 5 foot piece of fishing line to a pheasant wing, and the other end to an old fishing pole. Put a few drops of pheasant scent on the wing. Next, dangle the wing in front of the puppy, but pull it up before the puppy can reach it. This should eventually evoke a natural point. Do this for 5 minutes at a time only 2 or 3 times. From this point forward you will want the puppy to point based only on the smell of a pheasant.

• Step 4

  Begin teaching hunting-related commands. The following commands should be included:
  * A command to ignore whatever the dog is currently interested in ("leave it").
  * A command to drop whatever the dog has in its mouth ("drop it").
  * A command to find a bird that has been shot down ("search").
  * A command for the dog to freeze or stop in its tracks ("whoa").
  This is also a good time to teach the dog to fetch using dummies and a dummy launcher.

• Step 5

  Practice finding pheasants. Put pheasant scent on several pheasant wings and hide them in a field. The dog should be able to find the majority of the wings and should point each of the wings. The command "whoa" can be used to reinforce the dog's point, and to keep the dog frozen until the hunter can walk up close to the bird. Do this training several times with the dog and provide it with reinforcement for finding a bird. Also be sure to use the "leave it" command when the dog points at something you are not interested in (such as deer scent).

• Step 6

  At this point your pointer should have a good understanding of what is expected of him. It is probably unnecessary to continue using pheasant scent or wings. Take frequent trips to wildlife management areas or other state hunting lands to practice. This should keep the dog in good shape and focused for the big day.