Good morning MN.
Glad to see another GSP person on the board (as though we didn't have enough)
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It might be a bit too early in the morning for all this but since my boys made sure they had me tending to their needs (I get no respect) I'll take some time and see if I can be of little help by suggesting few ideas for your birthaday wish list..
Well, lets see. First of all to help you long, and while you are in wait for the pups arrival you will need a training method to help you get started. Actually you will need two methods.
I like to suggest the Mason Creek Video. " Silent hunting ,No whistles no whoa's" for the pups proper introduction to birds, and what will be needed in the early stages in the pups life for getting started on the right path.
The Silent Hunting,no whistles no whoa's video can be purched from the GDF's Store.
Second. I like to recomend the Book of all books (in my opinion) by Bill Tarrant " Best way to Train Your Gun Dog, The Delmar Smith Method.
The Video by Mason Creek and the book by Bill Tarrant in my opinion can have you train your young dog from the day you bring him home to where now is a finished to Steady to Wing and Shot, and most important, to the fall of the bird. If, you wanted to take his training that far...
Now in my opinion again, and take it for what it is worth. One thing you should not do and that is to search out many methods or to take a bit from this one and little from that to make up your own method .That to me spells disaster. Why? Because at this point (if this is your very first birdog) you will not have the sound judgement to decide when you first read a technique or a method where exactly it leads to. You see,all techniques and methods are no more than little paths that lead somewhere and unless you have the ability to fallow a technique or a method to it's end in your mind, you will be best served by picking a trainer or an author and fallow his methods... One book for now,one video for your very first dog. And by the time you have this dog as you invisioned him you would have learned many,many things to make a sound judgement on...
I read books still, from 1897 on,not in hope to find a better method ,but to measure my way of thinking from the pioneers of dog training that lead to what we learned and use today...
So rather than picking and choosing as I said not to do. Go to Google search and search for info on the Author read all you can about who he is what he has done , and what his methods are. Do a Google search on Delmar Smith to see what I mean....
Then the next thing you need to do and, by the way, this can not be baught. You will need to get started on a philosophical point of view. Because by and by your training methods will derive from your philosophy as to what a birdog should be as it can be quite different from what I think mine should be, for me, as it will be from the fellow that lives down the street. So read all that you can on K- 9 psychology and pay attention to your pups boddy language to fit the peices to the puzzle of his make up...... Learn that and I promise you, you will never again need anyones method,you'll have your own....
I Hope I don't come off sounding like some kind of a Messiah,but what I related to you has been passed on to me through the road of hard knocks of trial and error and I feel I owe you at least this much,FWIW. Happy Birthday and welcome to the GSP world...
Best,G
