I have been a member for a little while, but just lurking and trying to get a feel for the forum. There's a lot of good info here!! I have a pup coming in early May after a 1 year wait. They whelped on 3/11! Its a Pudelpointer and I have 1st pick of the males. I'm 35 with 2 girls aged 5.5 and 2.5. They are excited, but I'm pretty sure they aren't as excited as I am. This will be my first "gun dog" of sorts. I did grow up with beagles, but I have zero experience in training. I've read tons of info and have ordered a couple of books geared towards versatile dog training. I also joined the nearest NAVHDA chapter back in December. They were blown away that is joined them before even having a pup on the ground. But I figured as far behind as I am, I need to take in all of the info I can get. Great bunch of people and they have answered all of my newb questions!!
Anyway, glad to be here. I can't offer much to the forum in the way of gun dogs yet, but I have over 25 years of experience in the whitetail woods if there's ever a topic that needs input!
Thanks!!!
Hi All!!
Re: Hi All!!
welcome Cobb! relatively new to the site as well. Good luck with the Pudelpointer....I find myself drawn to the same breed currently.
Re: Hi All!!
Welcome to the forum. What breeding is your PP from? I have a one year old PP. She's been an amazing dog. You'll be really impressed at how much natural ability your pup has.
I am doing NAVHDA and like it but honestly the best thing I did was get the perfect start perfect finish DVD. It's an awesome tool for a newbie. I feel like it really teaches you to be a good trainer just from following the videos.
The other advise I'd give is to build a small coop and get homer pigeons if at all possible. I didn't want to mess with it when I started training last summer but am doing it now. The quail I was buying just didn't fly well enough. I had a couple occasions where my pup caught a bird. Funny because one of my main objectives was for that not to happen. I used remote launchers and a check cord but she nabbed one that was a residual from someone else that I didn't know was there. The other the check cord got away from me and the quail only flew like 15 yards and mydog snatched it up. Nice thing was that She brought right to me proud as can be. Not the end of the world as she's holding very well now but I just think pigeons would have been better and cheaper for me in the long run. I think it's just too tempting to chase when a bird lands that close.
Enjoy that pup.
I am doing NAVHDA and like it but honestly the best thing I did was get the perfect start perfect finish DVD. It's an awesome tool for a newbie. I feel like it really teaches you to be a good trainer just from following the videos.
The other advise I'd give is to build a small coop and get homer pigeons if at all possible. I didn't want to mess with it when I started training last summer but am doing it now. The quail I was buying just didn't fly well enough. I had a couple occasions where my pup caught a bird. Funny because one of my main objectives was for that not to happen. I used remote launchers and a check cord but she nabbed one that was a residual from someone else that I didn't know was there. The other the check cord got away from me and the quail only flew like 15 yards and mydog snatched it up. Nice thing was that She brought right to me proud as can be. Not the end of the world as she's holding very well now but I just think pigeons would have been better and cheaper for me in the long run. I think it's just too tempting to chase when a bird lands that close.
Enjoy that pup.
Re: Hi All!!
About 6 months is a good time to start with the perfect start DVD. Before that just spend lots of time playing and having a good time.
Re: Hi All!!
Ok great. That should be a nice litter. I've met Jeff and have seen Fin in person. He is a very cool dog!
The DVD does not necessarillay address basic puppy training but does start with the very basic/beginning type training with bird intro and basic commands.
I started using it when my pup was about 3.5 to 4 months. Before that I was just trying to bond. One thing I did for housebreaking that my vet taught me, was to use easy to eat treats to positively reward my pup as soon as she went to the bathroom outside. This worked really well. I never used any negative reinforcement other than to firmly say no and put her outside when she went inside. The trick to the positive basic command training was to give it to her and praise as soon as she went outside. I think I remember my vet saying you have like a 2 second window for them to associate the reward with he activity. Same time frame for he firm no when they go in he house. So If you catch them after they go in the house they have no idea what your telling them no for. I used the food trick just when she was really young and thought it worked awesome. I did not use it with the bird training later FYI.
I looked at buying the puppy advertised DVDs when she was a pup and I'm glad I saved the money. They may be great but I think just bonding with your pup and then starting with the perfect start DVD is all I needed.
The DVD does not necessarillay address basic puppy training but does start with the very basic/beginning type training with bird intro and basic commands.
I started using it when my pup was about 3.5 to 4 months. Before that I was just trying to bond. One thing I did for housebreaking that my vet taught me, was to use easy to eat treats to positively reward my pup as soon as she went to the bathroom outside. This worked really well. I never used any negative reinforcement other than to firmly say no and put her outside when she went inside. The trick to the positive basic command training was to give it to her and praise as soon as she went outside. I think I remember my vet saying you have like a 2 second window for them to associate the reward with he activity. Same time frame for he firm no when they go in he house. So If you catch them after they go in the house they have no idea what your telling them no for. I used the food trick just when she was really young and thought it worked awesome. I did not use it with the bird training later FYI.
I looked at buying the puppy advertised DVDs when she was a pup and I'm glad I saved the money. They may be great but I think just bonding with your pup and then starting with the perfect start DVD is all I needed.
Re: Hi All!!
1st time trainer here-We follow PS/PF to the letter and our 5+ month old GSP is doing excellent. For obedience and understanding what a puppy goes thru from birth on, we read The Monks of New Skeet Art of Raising a Puppy 2nd edition. It Is very informative starting with what puppies are learning while in the whelping box, how to pick up puppy from breeder, intro to home, potty training, socializing, commands ect. It also tells you why the puppy is behaving, and what is going thru the puppy's mind at a certain age, 8-10, 10-12, 12-16 weeks and so on. This combo really helped us understand our GSP from day 1.