Training for Falconry

[FalconryGirl]

Hello all!

I have a one-year-old German Shepherd/Labrador Retriever mix. She's smart, trainable, obedient (most of the time), and has a good nose. Thus, I'd like to train her as a bird dog. I've begun researching what this entails. However, I was not sure as to whether or not a dog used for falconry would need to know anything other than what is generally required for a gundog. I didn't think so, but being a pre-apprentice and having this be my first time training a hunting dog, I thought I'd ask anyways.

I was also a bit concerned about her ability to discern between the hawk and the game she was supposed to be flushing. She's got drive and chases feathered creatures all the time, but if she went after a hawk...well, I'd imagine that wouldn't go well. At all. Has anyone run into this? If so, how do you deal with it?

Outside of that, are there any thoughts or advice on training that could be useful for a first-timer? Any books/websites found that were particularly outstanding sources when you were getting started?

A bit about the dog, in case it helps: she doesn't have much of a food drive unless it's human food (which is a rare treat for her) but is usually very eager to please. I've actually managed to call her off of the cat right as she was in the middle of starting to give chase- so she listens pretty well. She can a bit shy, though definitely not fearful. She's very trainable and intelligent.

I hope none of these questions are completely obvious and I just need to do more research...well, you've been warned, I'm new to training dogs for anything but basic obedience.

Thanks

FalconryGirl

[Falcon Boy]

Typically there are 2 big differences between falconry and gun-hunting dogs:
1) the falconry dog needs to understand not to attack the bird. This goes against many gun hunting dogs training where they are to retrieve the bird.
2) unless you're hawking game birds out west, typically it's helpful if the dog stays closer than many gun-hunters might expect of their dogs.

For dog training, my advice is to take the dog to a basic obedience class from a reputable training club (maybe get the canine good citizen training/test). They're usually pretty inexpensive and you'll learn the basics of training. Many of the principles of dog training are transferable to birds. Not to mention, if you really do the work you'll have a better trained dog at the end of the class, and who doesn't like a well-trained dog?

[Chigger]

The most important thing is to have dog whistle broke to down/stay. A falconry dog without an "off switch" is going to get into trouble sooner or later.

[FalconryGirl]

Thanks you guys!

[zookeeeper]

I am new to this but I have been working with Red Tail hawks for 4 years as a zoo keeper. I want to learn falconry. Raptors are my passion. I know there is a test before I can start anything. If someone could push me in the right direction of reading materials I would deeply appreciate it.

[SkyRider]

Hey zookeeper! That's awesome that you've worked with red tails for so long. They're great birds. A really good place for you to start is www.themodernapprentice.com It's got a bunch of info about falconry and it's all free. Read through that and then we can give you some more suggestions when you're ready!

[FalconryGirl]

Also, I'd suggest checking out the California Hawking Clubs Apprentice Bookshelf. Even if you aren't in California, they are all very good books and very informative.

[Peregrinator]

To add to that, The Falconer's Apprentice is a great book on training red-tails. You can get it at www.westernsporting.com. They have a great selection of falconry books for beginners. I got most of falconry library there.

[Ally]

To get back on topic, another observation on dog behavior, for both hunting dogs and dogs that live in a falconers' household:
Dogs notice the difference between a predator bird (raptor) and prey species, so you have that going for you. In my experience, even high-drive bird dogs tend to tread cautiously around the larger hawks. That's not to say that you shouldn't be utterly cautious when introducing dogs and hawks but that's the way I've seen it go most times. Predators recognize other predators.

Beyond socializing your dog to your future falconry bird, really solid obedience is your best friend. Great stays, recalls, leave its as necessary. Final note is to make sure your dog can maintain good behavior around other parts of falconry -- your hawk coming into your glove instead of a kill, your dog not chasing a garnished lure, your dog maintaining a respectful distance when your bird is eating. Sometimes a garnished lure is as much of an attractant for a dog as it is the hawk... ha!

Good luck!

[FalconryGirl]

Thank you for all of your help, guys! Basically what I'm hearing is get good recall, good 'whoa' and good leave it. Any thoughts on how I should go about introducing my dog to my hawk when I get one? Assume that by then she has solid recall, whoa, and leave it.