3 Levels of Bird Dog Steadiness
Have you ever walked up to a dog on point and had a single bird flush early only to have your dog break and flush the whole covey? Or maybe while duck hunting, you've had a group of mallards work your spread for the tenth time, and right as they are about to commit your dog breaks and flares them. Whether you're waterfowl or upland hunting, having a steady dog can lead to more shooting, and who doesn't want that? Another benefit of steadiness is your dog's safety. Most hunting accidents involving dogs happen when a dog jumps for a low-flying bird and is inadvertently shot. A steady dog is a safe dog. One of the most common questions we receive is, "How steady does my dog need to be?" To answer that question, we need a better understanding of the individual's situation. Differences in hunting style, personal expectations, or goals all play into how much steadiness you prefer. I know trainers that won’t shoot a bird if their dog takes a single step when the bird flushes. I know other trainers who primarily hunt pheasants and prefer their dog breaks so they can have a head start on any runners. It comes down to personal preference. In this article, I’ll break down what steadiness is and walk through the three most common phrases used to describe it.
Steady vs Staunch
A common mistake we hear when discussing steadiness is how it relates to staunchness for pointing dogs. Those two phrases are often, and understandably, confused for each other. The easiest way to tell them apart is staunchness refers to everything before the bird flushes, and steadiness refers to everything after. That gets a little blurry when dealing with young dogs who will often break and flush the bird. That behavior is more a part of puppy development and not a formal training issue. Pointing and holding birds is a natural instinct for pointing breeds, we don’t have to train that. Not chasing birds after they flush is less natural, which is where training comes in. I want to add that you can, and many people do, shoot birds over a staunch dog with no training. Dogs will often learn to point and hold birds long enough for the hunters to get a shot, then break the second the bird flushes. While that can work, adding in even a small amount of formal steadiness training can increase your shooting opportunities.
Steady to Wing
Steady to wing is the first level on a dog’s steadiness journey. A dog that is steady to wing will not chase birds when they flush. You might also hear this referred to as steady to flush. There are multiple benefits to achieving this level of steadiness, the most notable for us being when birds run. A bird running, while not as exciting for a dog as when they flush, poses a similar issue if your dog isn’t steady. A dog not steady to wing is likely to release their point as soon as a bird runs and attempt to relocate it. While it seems like that would be a positive, the reality is bids are more likely to flush after they decide to run. The result is a whole bunch of birds being flushed out of shooting range, which doesn’t make for great hunting. When a bird runs on a dog that is steady to wing, instead of breaking, they will hold their point. This allows you to get up to the dog, assess the situation, and decide if you want to let them attempt to relocate the bird. For us, it’s probably a 50/50 split. Half the time we can flush the bird ourselves, and half the time we are letting the dog try and relocate it. Either way, we get a lot more shooting opportunities when our dogs aren’t allowing themselves to relocate.
The other critical piece to steady to wing is the safety aspect. A dog that is steady to wing will not find themselves in harm’s way nearly as often as a dog that chases birds. As discussed previously, many hunting accidents involving dogs are when a dog jumps for a low-flying bird right as the gun goes off. Those accidents can be avoided if the dog doesn't chase the bird. This base level of steadiness is crucial from a safety perspective. We encourage all handlers to, at a minimum, train their dog to this level.
Steady to Shot
Steady to shot means that your dog remains steady through the gun going off. This is a big step up from steady to wing. If we have done a good job with gun intro, gunfire is very exciting for our dogs and closely linked to birds. The main advantage to steady to shot is if you miss, which we often do, our dog doesn’t take off and bump other birds that might have yet to flush. Oftentimes when there are multiple birds in a covey, there will be a straggler or two left behind after the initial covey rise. Those birds are prone to hold tight which can result in excellent shooting opportunities. If however, you shoot at the covey and your dog breaks, they’ll flush those stragglers before you even get the chance to reload. Steady to shot fixes that issue, allowing yet again, more shooting opportunities.
Steady to Fall
Steady to fall is the final level of steadiness. On the off chance you connect on a bird, your dog will allow it to fall to the ground and wait for your signal before going to retrieve it. Having this level of steadiness in the field is extremely enjoyable and makes for a more relaxed and controlled hunt. It also allows dogs to mark downed birds better because they can focus. When I was training my lab for field trials, one of the make-or-break pieces of a given test was how well the dog marked the birds. Often, there would be three or four birds thrown out, and the dog would have to remember precisely where each landed. The dogs that picked the birds up with the least amount of searching were usually crowned champions. Without fail, the dogs that crept forward or were right on the edge of breaking would do worse compared to the dogs that sat stoically. That’s because the dogs that sat calmly were able to pay better attention to where the birds fell. They weren’t worried about potentially breaking or concerned about being corrected for their behavior. They were only focused on the birds falling. This same concept applies to our hunting dogs. If your dog isn’t worried about breaking, they can mark birds better, which leads to faster pickups. Fast pickups mean less time spent looking for downed birds and, in the end, more time spent hunting.
Retriever Steadiness
When it comes to retrievers, steadiness isn’t talked about the same way as it is in the pointing dog world. For retrievers, handlers will only refer to whether their dog is steady or not. Using steadiness as a broad term for retrievers doesn’t fully describe the behavior though. Many retrievers can sit through ducks flying by but will break on the shot. Others will hold through a missed shot, but the second a bird splashes in the water they are off. I would argue the levels of steadiness discussed above apply to both retrievers and pointing dogs. I also believe there is more to be gained by achieving higher levels of steadiness with your retriever. Having a dog that holds through multiple birds splashing in the water allows for three things. First, if any of the birds are crippled you can quickly dispatch them without the fear of shooting your dog. That alone is reason enough to train steadiness. Second, you have the option to wait before sending the dog if more birds start working the decoys. And Third, your dog is going to mark the birds better. A dog that can sit and watch the birds fall will mark them better than a dog already in the water. This helps avoid having to either throw rocks or run blinds, both of which take more time compared to your dog knowing where the bird is. If your goal is to waterfowl hunt, I highly recommend spending some time on steadiness during the training season.
So, how steady should your dog be? The answer is, as steady as you want. There is a great deal of benefit in getting your dog steady to wing. Strictly from a safety standpoint, we recommend everyone at least shoot for that. But beyond that, it depends on what your preferences are. Each level of steadiness comes with more benefits. There is also no downside to steadiness as long as it's trained in a way that preserves the dog’s natural bird drive. So have some fun with it, and challenge yourself and your dog to up your training game. One of the most enjoyable parts of owning a bird dog is spending the summer working on a skill and then seeing that skill play out in the field. For me, that never gets old.
