By Faron DeHart

When I was young I was lucky enough to have a father with a passion for the outdoors.
Our family would go camping on most weekends. This would mean we would fish about
as much as we would like to. This brings back the memory of catching a crawfish using
my pinkie as bait (or it catching me). As we got a little older we were introduced to
hunting as well. At first, Mardy and I started squirrel hunting with dad and Uncle Jerry.
Mardy usually hunted with Uncle Jerry and I with dad. That’s where I started learning the
difference in hunting styles. Uncle Jerry would walk, walk and walk some more. Dad and
I would stalk and sit. This would give us the best chance to see the woods come alive.
We’d find the squirrels as well as the deer , fox, rabbit, etc..  I first started hunting with a
semi auto 22. I remember getting 3 squirrels from one tree once. When I turned 16 years
old I got a gun of my very own. It was a Mossberg 20 gauge pump, which I still have
today. I still use it to hunt today.

Karl got me started on bird hunting in Idaho . Hunting and fishing are a couple of his passions in life. One of my favorites was when he took me, my dad, and brother hunting and camping in Brownlee. We all had a great time hunting and watching the wildlife. I would have to say he helped fuel my fire for bird hunting. The first couple of times with Zealot I felt confused about what a dog should do. Karl, Z, and I have learned a lot since then.  I guess I’ve been pretty lucky with dogs. All the dogs I’ve had have all been great. One thing I’ve always thought is owners must establish themselves as the Alpha.  If the dog thinks their in charge it’s hard to train them and they don’t listen. I’ve been in places where the dog thought he was King! They would get on the furniture, jump up on you, and get on peoples laps and beg for food during dinner.

Going into training a bird-dog I knew zero. Karl has been a god send to me. I have learned more from him than my dog will ever learn from me. Now, I have my first bird-dog, Barron. We have both come a long ways since we started. He’s a German shorthaired pointer. I got him at the Humane Society. They had 3 German shorthairs there. I took the family as well as my black lab, Jesse, to see if there were any that seemed right for our family. Out of the 3 dogs Barron seemed to pay attention and listen. He was also playful and energetic. So we brought him home. Then let the games begin. He has lots of energy and the wife nicknamed him “Jaws”. But that’s another story.

The backyard is where I’m doing most of my basic training. The basic commands are worked on till you know the dog knows them. There’s a level of commitment that must be decided by the trainer. The dog is going to be only as good as the training that goes into it. Let’s put it this way, Amateurs practice till they get it right, Professionals practice till they don’t get it wrong. Karl taught me the rule of 3 and it seems to work for me.

For example in training “Whoa”, the dog may try to leave the spot where he was told to
stay. A usual thing is to follow you when you try to walk away. You want the dog to
remain standing while you walk out in front of him. But when you get out in front of the
dog, and he leaves that spot at which he was commanded to whoa, you have to put him
back where the command was originally given.

The real rewards come when its time to hunt chukar. You load up the dog and gear,
drive to the land of sagebrush and cheat grass, canyons and cliffs. It’s great to watch a
running pointer stop on a dime, test the wind, turn, and ease forward and then suddenly hits
point. All that matters now is up to you. They say chukar hunting is for the young and
strong. There is a physical price to pay to hunt this terrain. So make sure you are in shape
and this will make the hunt easier and fun. Then the hard part will be packing up and
heading home.