New GSP owner & pheasant hunter

[ndoilman]

Hello All!

I grew up in Bismarck, ND in a home that didn't hunt or fish. I taught myself how to fish and for the first time this year went pheasant hunting. I've never had such an awesome experience as I had doing that. We ended up buying a GSP puppy this winter, but I have no clue how to train it to hunt. Any help would be SOOOO appreciated.

Thanks!

TJ

[hettmoe]

Welcome.Where do you live now?

[ndoilman]

Back in Bismarck, ND.

[Elroy's Bandit]

Welcome !!

[RoostersMom]

TJ,

Get a program you like (I recommend the Perfect Start DVD system - it has worked for my 6 dogs) and follow that program. Perfection Kennels train a lot of GSP's so their methods work very well with that particular breed - but I have a Vizsla and Pointers - which have turned out fine using their program as well. They helped me to train my V to a MH title and now I'm starting to do some horseback stuff with our new Pointer. Most of our dogs are just hillbilly meat dogs though!

www.perfectionkennel.com

[ndoilman]

Thanks for the info! I appreciate it and will take a look. This is all so new to me and I want to do right by the dog, so again, thanks!

[Vman]

Congrats on your new interests and hobbies and of course the GSP pup. You will find all this dog stuff quite addicting.
Because you live in good bird country I would agree with the mentioned training programs. But there is way more to all this than training the dog. You mentioned you will hunt pheasants. You will also want to hunt Sharptails and if you are lucky Hungarian partridge. I would suggest that you find a local NAVHDA chapter. There will be people there that should be able to help you with the training but also take you hunting and show you how to hunt and where to hunt. Learn how to be polite and get permission on private ground if you have not already. Learn to scout the land and learn where the birds are. You will need to know what to look for in regards to habitat for the birds that you are in pursuit. Experience is the best teacher, but you will need someone to guide you and teach you the ropes since you were never taught by your family. Go for rides in the truck in the evenings and you will see what and where the birds like and live, and then when the state laws allow you to run your dog on public ground, take the pup out there and turn him loose and let him learn from his mistakes. It will do you both good. Killing is not the most important part of hunting, it is the experience that counts. Good Luck and have fun.
Almost forgot, once you get going you will need a decent shotgun and you will need to know how to shoot. A local trap range or club will help you there.

[PntrRookie]

Look up the newly formed North Dakota Pointing Dog Club on Facebook. They are a new club and centered around the Bismark/Mandan area. They could be a great resource, even for training and meeting people.

[BNickel]

I'll second the suggestion of joining the local NAVHDA chapter.
Lots of good opportunity can come from that organization.

[ndoilman]

I looked up the ND Pointing Dog Club on FB. Hopefully I can network there. I will also look up my local NAVHDA chapter and get involved there! Thanks for the tips. I do have a Berreta semi-auto shotgun. I own two businesses in the oil field, so I have access to good hunting ground near Mott, Richardton and Killdeer ND. I drive all over rural ND and have marked a ton of ground where I've seen a lot of pheasant and partridge. I can't wait for next season!

[RoostersMom]

You'll get a lot from joining a good club! Plus you've got good wild bird populations - that should be something you can do right away - just get your pup into as many wild birds as you can without trying to over-control him.

[ndoilman]

@roostermom - when would you recommend getting the dog into wild birds? She's 6 months old right now and she is not good at obeying commands yet. She got out the front door a few weeks ago and ran...it was scary as it took 20 min to get her back. So I'm a little gun shy about taking her off a leash even out in the field because my fear is that she would run. We're working on her though. She sits well, working on stay and come.

[RoostersMom]

Get an e-collar and train the "here" command. I have found that the only thing I needed was a good HERE command. Use the Perfect Start - it really will help a lot. I would be getting her on birds NOW. Right now. My Pointer pup was on wild quail from 4 months old - and then into them as much as I can get him into them now. Just get the Here down pat. Watch the DVD and it will help you on how to use the collar. Get a tritronics Pro 100, it works great and good customer service if you buy it through gundogsupply.com - the site that hosts this forum (though I've never had problems with the collar). Pike, my now 7 month old pup knows his name and Here. That's about it - I've tried to let him learn on birds himself. He is gun broke as well - I took him to Perfection Kennels to be sure that was done right - I sure didn't want to "guess" about his gun acclimation.

Good luck with the pup.

[ndoilman]

What was perfection kennel like? I'm considering it but I live in ND, so it's quite a hike for such a short clinic. With the DVD, do you have to have access to live birds?

[RoostersMom]

The four day clinic is awesome - well worth the trip. Many of us will easily travel that far to hunt birds or go to a trial, but when it comes time to travel for a training clinic, we all seem to think it's "really far." I learned so much from the clinic, almost as much from others that were "doing it wrong" as I did from what I was or wasn't doing right. I bet it will be worth your while to attend the clinic. It has been for me and my dogs. You can PM me with specific questions if you have any. I wouldn't do the travel unless I liked the program though - so I'd suggest beg, borrow, or buy the Perfect Start and see if you like the methods first. Or call and visit with Jon himself - he's a good guy.

You do want to get a supply of pigeons if you can. Homers are super easy to keep and you can use them over and over. If you join a local training club, they will likely have birds!

[Fun dog]

I flew all the way from Alaska to go to one of Perfection kennels seminars and it was well worth it to get my pup and me started correctly. Jon is amazing at how he can read dogs and their owners and you learn so much by watching all the different dogs work at whatever level they are at.

[ndoilman]

Thanks so much for the info. It sounds like a great clinic! So if I haven't started training my dog, is it good to take her to that right out of the gate? Or is it better to start at home then go to the clinic? Sorry for all of the questions...first time for me!

[RoostersMom]

I'd get there this summer if there is room in a clinic. They can do the gun acclimation for you and start the pup on birds - if you have a "mixed class" then you will be able to see how to go further in the process. Likely you can start on "Whoa breaking" while there as well. Give Jon a call and visit with him.

[ndoilman]

My dog is full blood gsp. She's soooooo hyper! We've tried to introduce loud sounds at fun times like when we play, when she's eating, etc. I'd love to get down there. I'll have to call this week.

[Fun dog]

I would get the perfect start video and start with that, then go to the clinic. The further along you are the more you will be able to use Jon's expertise. I took my 11 month old pup last spring and it was the best thing I could have done for her. Plus I felt so much more comfortable training her. You can't go wrong this. I'd like to say your dog will go away less hyper, but it is a GSP so that's probably not going to happen. I'm trying something new with my GSP. A little peace and calming essential oil in a diffuser.

[Senah]

We are training our first GSP (he's 16 months now), and we found Gowdey's book to be HUGELY useful:

http://www.rakuten.com/prod/the-german- ... 9&s_kwcid=

We started him on the collar at 6 months, but really mostly for correction ("leave it" when he was going for gopher carcasses and training to make sure he didn't mess around with other dogs). We walked for at least 3 hours 3-4 days a week to get him used to ranging, and did very, very little electronic correction in the first season (he hunted great this year and was 10 months when he started in on mountain grouse). We wanted him to be excited about birds and going out so we have been a lot easier on him (strict in terms of routine and commands and what we expect), but easy in terms of correction, especially with the collar. By December he was the top performing dog hunting in ND on pheasant trips, even though he was the youngest by far.

I would read a few books, Gowdey's especially, and start him on the collar at 6 months, but really just make him want it and enjoy being outside with you guys. From others we have asked, they say you have a few years to get him great and train him up, but the main thing is to avoid mistakes early on that will have to be corrected, and focus on a bond out in the field. Our dog really wants to please, and that has been a huge asset.

[ndoilman]

Thanks for your take. I will check out the book for sure. Ours has a TON of energy and doesn't listen well yet. We've had so many days below zero that getting her out has been a challenge. Thanks for the suggestion....I will check out the books also.