You can find and own your bird hunting dog as a buyer or as a trainer.

When you visit qualified breeders to buy a dog, they will offer you dogs already trained to become great bird hunters. In this case you have a chance to own a bird hunting dog that needs no further training. But this is a rare situation. The hunter and the dog should be in harmony with each other, must know each other, and it comes natural that you want to own an obedient dog and a great helper in hunting.

With the exception of dogs trained by stock-breeders the final training of the bird hunting dogs wait for the owner. It is especially so if you find a dog in a kennel, or a friend presents you a young dog. These dogs normally aren't trained at hunting (especially not in bird hunting). Your task is to get the dog trained. You can choose between different ways for training your bird hunting dog. The dog training schools are different and different is the price range...

The two main groups of trainers are equally helpful in training a bird hunting dog. One group of professionals do excellent work in training the dogs in hunting for birds. Another group is specialized in general obedience training. Hunters usually prefer to have a dog trained specially in bird hunting. Specialized trainers are much more expensive than those that teach dogs for general service and obedience. Training bird hunting dogs is a hard work, so qualified trainers can raise their prices. Yet, having a trained bird hunting dog you can use the things your dog learned immediately, at your first hunting trip.

You may prefer the things that general trainers offer: they are professionals at getting your dog to obey you in general. The result is excellent, because your dog will certainly be able to handle hunting with you, but will be in lack of the special experience in hunting.

There are further things that you should consider. The dog trained by a qualified trainer will follow the commands that the trainer used during the training. Maybe you will have temporary problems with your well-trained dog in obedience and in following your commands. This is why many hunters think, better if they themselves train the dogs. This type of training needs much longer time, but the special training in bird hunting and learning the obedience are going parallel. As a final result, the hunter and the dog will reach a good harmony in hunting.