Originally Posted by
ninepointer
^^^What FFF said^^^
During the first season, a reasonable goal would be steady-to-flush: meaning that the dog is pointing birds and letting you get in front to flush them. At this point, don't worry about the dog breaking and chasing after you flush the bird. Try your best to have the willpower to not shoot birds that the dog bumps, self-flushes or that you bump. You don't want to reward/reinforce this kind of behavior. Like FFF said. it pays dividends down the road.