stubborn GSP

[WillieELk78GSP]

I have a 13 week old GSP, I am new to Gspdog and gundog in general, this is my first dog.... I have been working with her on her here call and stay but she is very stubborn and won't listen unless I have a treat for her, I don't want her to get used to getting a treat everytime she does something as simple as "here" or "stay", any suggestions? She thinks its OK when I am calling her she runs away and will just run around and circle me at 90mph, I don't want her to get loose and get hit by a car, so I leash her now anytime we are outside, I want to give her some freedom but I can't trust her yet!! Thanks all

[Cajun Casey]

Go somewhere safe, like a fenced tennis court, and walk off and leave her when she takes off. Keep a checkcord on her, too. She's too young for stay.

[Ghosted3]

Like casey said, get a 30ft or so check cord so you have some control over the pup, and it still has some room to roam. Let the pup be a pup for awhile. One of the best training tricks is to train in the morning and use the dog food as the "treat" and you can get the morning feed in during the workout. Also, if you are working the pup too long it is gonna go bonkers, so keep the training sessions short and leave them on a high note. 1-2 sessions a day of 15 min or so as a pup. And if you are working on retrieves try not to do more than 5 in the beginning.

Corry

[Nick Miles]

Just an observation, but I was always of the opinion that a GSP that wasn't stubborn wasn't bred well enough.

[Ghosted3]

Just an observation, but I was always of the opinion that a GSP that wasn't stubborn wasn't bred well enough.

Thats why I mentioned the short training sessions as a pup, maybe there is some over training going on and the pup is acting stubborn due to burnout.

Corry

[Sharon]

She's not stubborn; she's still a baby. Lighten up. Relax . Enjoy.
Being frustrated at this stage does not bode well for the future. Pup can see your displeasure.
Most important thing right now is socialization/ bonding.

http://www.deesdogs.com/documents/dogsocialization.pdf

http://www.gundogbreeders.com/dog-train ... pment.html

[birddog1968]

+1 Sharon.

Take the dog somewhere safe and let it go.....being your first birddog I can understand your reluctance.....but if you can't allow the dog
to be independent your going to end up with a velcro dog. This is the time where you would take fun walks somewhere safe and let the dog
learn to be independent and build a love of running and exploring its surroundings.

[AzDoggin]

She's not stubborn; she's still a baby. Lighten up. Relax . Enjoy.
Being frustrated at this stage does not bode well for the future. Pup can see your displeasure.
Most important thing right now is socialization/ bonding.

http://www.deesdogs.com/documents/dogsocialization.pdf

http://www.gundogbreeders.com/dog-train ... pment.html

+1. Good stuff, Sharon.

Pup is an infant. You wouldn't expect a one year old child to come to you every time either.

So, treats are fine. Rather than expecting the pup to respond to your command, pair the command with what the pup is already doing so he learns from association. When pup is coming in to you say, "here" when he's almost there...every time. Also, try kneeling down and clapping your hands - but don't command "here" unless it is clear that the pup is coming to you already. You don't want him to learn that "here" means do whatever you want. Treats are fine at this stage, but many don't use them. Lastly, when you want the pup to come with you, walk away from him. He'll usually follow. Enjoy the dog - these times will flash by.