Teaching Pointers to Work into the Wind

Teaching your dog to use its nose to the best effect can be relatively simple, especially if you teach it from a young age. The best time to teach a dog to use the wind effectively is when you are walking it in relatively open ground, and working the dog upwind.

Let the dog off the leash and walk sideways to the wind - the dog will tend to run in front of you, across wind. Let the dog get ahead and (without it noticing it if you can manage it) turn around and walk back the way you came but upwind as well. When you judge the dog is about to turn, or notices you are going away and does start turning give two peeps on your whistle to bring him back. Because you have walked upwind, the dog should turn upwind as well.

This is important because the dog can catch or lose scent depending on which way it turns at the end of its beat. Because the dog will generally work across and upwind naturally, and will also try to get ahead of you; all you are trying to do is encourage this natural behaviour.

As the dog gets used to running from side to side he may start pulling out his range or predicting your turn. If you are concerned that he is going to far, use your whistle, and if he is a little slow on the turn run in the opposite direction. If he is predicting your turn just keep on walking in the direction you want him to go.

Once he gets used to this quartering behaviour he will naturally run crosswind, always turn upwind and run as wide as you want him to. On open moorland in Scotland when game is scarce it is quite possible to work your dogs out several hundred yards and be fairly relaxed about it. When you are working heavier cover, it is important to keep track of where the dog is - if he goes on point without you knowing where he is it is not unusual to struggle to find him.

Using a bell on a dog’s collar can help in heavy cover, but you must always be dog aware, concentrating on the dogs whereabouts at all times. Use the whistle to keep the dog working within earshot, and keep a good idea of the direction of the bell in order to find the dog when it stops ringing!