Puppy arriving soon advice and tips welcomed!

[VersatileDD]

Hello everyone me and the wife purchased a DD and the puppy will be ready to join his new family late in January. I have tried to get as much information in my brain as possible, I watched a ton of training videos and read Gundog by Richard A. Wolters and half way through the book Training The Versatile Hunting Dog by Chuck Johnson.

Even with the help of the books and videos I would like to get some tips and such from members of GDF. What piece of advice you would give to person who has never owned or trained a hunting breed? I would like to add that we are building a pigeon loft next week and will acquire some breeding pairs as well as young birds. I would also like some helpful guidance on some good training grounds around Southern California (I will be joining a NAVHDA club but I checked the website and they have no more schedueled training days for this year).

[Georgia Boy]

It is currently hunting season so most clubs are not really having training days now. If you chose a good breeder they should be a valuable resource to you. I would also suggest joining VDD/GNA and JGV/USA

[Sharon]

Socialization is vital for at least 20 weeks.

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

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

[AZ Brittany Guy]

You have a baby so chill out and give your brain a rest. Enjoy your pup and make them happy and love you. There will be plenty of time in the future for school. Right now socialize and socialize.

[VersatileDD]

Thank you for the replys and thank you Sharon for the links both are good reads and good info. I will make sure to socialize my new puppy and introduce him to many different environments and situations while making them positive for him. I will also try to chill out and give my brain a rest cause I do want to enjoy the puppy stage .

Any suggestions on future training equipment?

[Georgia Boy]

Thank you for the replys and thank you Sharon for the links both are good reads and good info. I will make sure to socialize my new puppy and introduce him to many different environments and situations while making them positive for him. I will also try to chill out and give my brain a rest cause I do want to enjoy the puppy stage .

Any suggestions on future training equipment?

Crate
Whistle
Training collar
Check cord
Retrieving dummies

Those to me are the essentials.
Other things that are useful:
E-collar
Bird launchers
Training table

[AZ Brittany Guy]

You have a baby so chill out and give your brain a rest. Enjoy your pup and make them happy and love you. There will be plenty of time in the future for school. Right now socialize and socialize.

After the pup has all their puppy shots then exposure is what I work on next: Free run pup in safe, short cover fields. Chase birds, butterflies and grasshoppers. Find a shallow pond, take off you shoes, roll up your pants walk around in 6" - 12" of water and see if pup will follow you. It won't feel like you are training your pup, but you are. Let them explore this big wonderful world out there. I'm not a big fan of some of Wolters methods but its not all bad. Training with Mo is a great book for beginners and experienced bird dog trainers. Huntsmith Puppy Development videos are good.

It will be hard for you but "don't rush".

Good Luck

[VersatileDD]

Training with Mo was on my list of books to get next and perfect start perfect finish dvd set. I was also planning on purchasing the GDS puppy training kit which includes most of the stuff Georgia Boy mentioned. I will let pup be a pup that is what Chuck Johson mentions in his book to. Thank you for the advice.

[S&J gsp]

With all the programs and DVD and books available today. Please choose a program that you understand because if you don't understand it neither will the dog. The better you understand the easier it is to teach the dog. Training with Mo is one of the best but that is just my opinion. One other thing I would suggest is pick one and stick to that one that way you are not sending mixed signals to the dog. Don't try to rush to a finished dog take your time it is easier to do it right the first time than to fix it later

[VersatileDD]

I understand every book and video I seen uses a different method and I don't plan mixing the methods either. I just want to find the right one like you said. Thank you for the advice and I will take my time with my new pup and make sure not to rush.

[Georgia Boy]

One thing to remember is every dog is not he same, what works with one may not with another. Over the years I have learned things from many different people and have had to be able to adapt my training methods to individual dogs. That's what makes a successful trainer IMO.