Ok, keeping in mind I am a newbie, here are some things I have learned about French Brittanys and hunting dogs in general. In france they are actually hunted over at about 4 months old. These dogs are Fully trained. Patrick Morin is a amazing man who runs a kennel in france, and has been training for years. In a way watching the videos of him working his pups ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPoXfI_mKqw ) it makes me think of the little bit I have seen of marker training, just different.

Ok here is a video my breeder did of a fully 8 month old puppy that Patrick Morin has trained. This is all natural talent that the dog had he has just helped him polish this talent. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-09G1R_3UVQ )

So now on this note. It depends on the breed. For hunting you have 3 types (mainly focusing on bird dogs here) this would be the Flushing, Pointing, and Retrieving types. Pointing would be your German Shorthairs or Brittanys, Retrieving would be your Labs or Chesepeaks (sp), Flushing would be I believe the setters (please correct me if I am wrong).

Alot of hunting clubs you can start your pup at 8 weeks old. You need to get the pup used to being around water, in tall grasses, etc. You get to introduce the pups about 4-6 months to birds. Usually chuckars or pigeons (cheap, easy to come by, and very strong scented.) This introduces the pup to being what they call "birdy".

You also get the pup used to feathers in his mouth. We are using dried phesant wings zip tied to a retriving bouy. So he can get used to the scent and feel of them. Brittanys and Pointers are natural pointers. But you can teach ALOT of breeds to point and can use them for bird hunting including our German Shephards !

The dogs that go on point natually can do this at a very early age. Some people use a cane pole and attach a full bird (usually frozen) or wings and the dog will actually point on these. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxt1DZgenWc )

So I guess there is alot of training that goes into it, and I guess it all depends on how early you want to start. My old britt used to point at socks because we didn't expose her to hunting she was just a companion.

So I guess I will leave this off to the more experienced forumites who have trained their own hunters. But there is alot that goes into it.

Alright I'm fed now and much happier LOL.

You've got it square on Mary. A britanny should hunt like a brittany, a lab should hunt like a lab, and a pointer oughta point. IMO though no dog does this 100% naturally, training fosters the instincts needed to complete the task. About 98% of my bird dog experience is with labradors on upland birds (pheasant primarily) and water retrieves on duck/goose. They are by far the most common bird dog in my area with the secondary runner up being springers followed by golden/lab mixes. Most of the dogs here are dual trained on duck/pheasent and maybe 1 out of four is also trained to do complete water retrieves from boat for saltwater ducks.

I've never heard on anyone having a finished dog at four months. Personally I don't think it's possible to have much beyond a started dog at that point. At least with our dogs we've always had the young pup who was a little over eager on taking off after a scent, getting so into sniffing that he forgets what quartering is, or head is telling him stay while his butt is ready for takeoff.

My next hunting dog I think is going to be primarily upland. I am making eyes at clumber spaniels as my next breed to attempt. I guess I as a hunter prefer dry feet and autumn days walking around vs freezing my butt off crack of the mornin in a blind. LOL.

Good luck with your brit ^.^

Lol thanks. Well I will probably be back here for tips or to vent about my stupid handler mistakes. Clumbers are cute. Where we are it's mostly woodcock and grouse. Southern wi and parts of western wi you get the phesants. But here there hasn't been many wild ones because of the coyote problems and now timber wolves fr what I have been told. Never went duck hunting ( always thought it was kind of boring sitting in a blind IMO ) but finn is mainly going to be upland but navhda usually trains for both and heck I just might like it. Not looking forward togoing after my ducks with hip waders on in the training ponds. Being only 5'1 I tend to swim instead in water more then 3 feet , something my 6'2 husband gets a kick out of. Add to that a large net for catching me training ducks (yep they are live but farm raised) should be a leerburg Must watch YouTube video in the making.

My favorite hunting is snow geese. When they're flocking they're in thick. I swear I could hunt them with a butterfly net and the dog has a fantastic time. http://vimeo.com/3310530 This vid was taken about 10 minutes from my house. The farmers are eager to have you hunt too since it saves their pasture for the cows.

Ahh yes where I grew up we had the gray/blck/white goose (loss of name right now). Two words discribed the scene you just posted. SKY CARP!!!

 Quote: Mary McKeever

Ahh yes where I grew up we had the gray/blck/white goose (loss of name right now). Two words discribed the scene you just posted. SKY CARP!!!

Probably Canadians.

Great food for your dogs on a raw diet, though!!

Marker training never hurt anything! You can do a ton of that the first year.

I introduced my standard poodle late to birds, he was 7 months, but he was always birdy.....chasing and focusing on birds from early on.

He is now 18 months old and we have been dabbling in field for the last 3 months. I am not sorry I waited as he is still very keen and is an avid retriever on land and loves water retrieves. I am taking it slow and training with a group and on my own. Never done this before and I'm not a hunter, but wanted an all around dog and I'm taking him back to his ancestral roots as a hunting retriever. Plan on at least getting a WC and JH on him, and after that who knows.

Take your time....right now Rudy is cross training foundations in agility, dock diving, field and obedience. We've been doing obedience since he was a pup and he should be ready to trial Winter/Spring 2011.

There is a good book out called "Positive gun dogs: clicker training for sporting breeds / by Jim Barry". There is also a Yahoo group "Positive gun dogs".

Have a great time with your pup!