If we are to stand united as purebred dog owners interested in protecting our rights to have the dogs we want, where we want, and to ethically breed them while adhering to proper health testing, socialization, and vetting of prospective owners, it behooves us to understand each others “dog culture.”
We, ourselves, are herding dog owners. We “get” herding dog behavior. Hunting and sporting breeds? Not so much.
Over the years, we’ve learned about “honoring a point,” “windshield wiper quartering, pointing and flushing, upland game, and so much more. We’ll never know it all because we don’t own hunting breeds, and there is no substitute for immersing oneself in the “culture” of a breed by living with it.
Still, we try.
When we came across the term, “gun dog broke,” we perked up because here was one more thing we didn’t know. A little research us emboldens us to share with you what we learned.
The dogs that hunters work with are trained – and expected – to locate game, and then retrieve it when instructed by the hunter. Perhaps you’re not a hunter, but you still have to appreciate the fact that most of our ancestors relied on such dogs to survive.
When a hunting dog stands steady, displays good field manners, points when s/he finds a bird, stays still when that bird flies off, and retrieves only when told to, that dog is said to be “gun dog broke.” A “broke” dog holds their point until birds are flushed and s/he is released by verbal command. If the dog accidentally “bumps” some birds (leading to possible shooting opportunities) the dog stays steady. The hunter isn’t trying to call their dog back to where the birds got up. He or she is still there and on point. At this point (ha, a pun), this isn’t just about snagging a bird for dinner. It’s about making sure the hunter shows up alive to have that dinner. “Broke dogs” are safer for to be around for every hunter there.
Instinct accomplishes only so much. When a dog has been poorly trained, he or she is inept in the field, and when that happens, the dog is said to be “broken,” or not “gun dog broke.”
Training a dog to be gun dog broke is best learned under masters. Our goal here is to simply explain what the term means.
Image: Pointer/DepositPhoto