Aggressive Female GSP puppy?

[Princessangela3201]

We have a 9 month old intact female GSP puppy Sophie. Recently Sophie has started to show some naughty behaviors towards me but not my husband. I reached over to pet her while she was laying on the couch next to me and she whipped her head around and growled at me. She has done this quite a few times this past week, where she will snap, growl or bark at me when I pet her. I have never treated this dog poorly in any way ever. I noticed it seems to happen when I was petting her hind legs so we took her to the vet for fear she injured her leg. The vet could not find anything wrong and believes Sophie is becoming hormonal and trying to assert her dominance over me because Sophie sees my husband as "her boyfriend/provider".... WHAT??????? Sophie does not always behave naughty towards me, sometimes she is quite my love bug and I love her dearly. Sophie and I bike about 3 miles every other day together which she seems to enjoy and we hunt her regularly which she LOVES!!! The vet suggested spaying her now and obedience training. Sophie's trainer originally said not to spay her until after two years of age and no obedience training (no sit or stay commands) until after her 6 week gun dog school at 10 months. Sophie is supposed to go to gun dog school April 2016. We are unsure as to how to proceed from here. We have a disabled daughter and obviously cannot have Sophie behaving this way towards me or our daughter (so far Sophie has not behaved this way with our daughter). Rehoming Sophie IS NOT AN OPTION, we do believe she is our loved family member who just needs some help. We are just unsure what kind of help she needs. We will take her to her trainer on Saturday (he is her hunting dog trainer however I assume he does obedience too). Sophie did do this again last night my husband suggested I take her by her collar and immediately put her in her kennel for a "time out"??? She went into the kennel easy enough and came out for me with no attitude. Any other suggestions or ideas are greatly appreciated.

[ezzy333]

Please do not take this as a mean post towards you but it may sound that way. Reading your post left me with the impression you have always gone out of your way to be nice to the dog even when she isn't nice to you. There are things much more important than being nice such as teach and train. This is your responsibility and you don't get that job done with always being nice when she is naughty. If I was making that statement I would sy I corrected her very firmly when she acted aggressive by growling at me. There would not and should not be a time out by teaching her to think of her crate as a prison when she is naughty but rather she would think she just committed the worse offense she could ever do and you physically convinced her to not ever do it again. Don't mis-understand, I am not suggesting you beat her with a stick but rather she should know if she does that it will result with you grabbing her by the collar and throwing her on the floor with you on top of her and physically controlling her till she submits and realizes she fits in the order of things somewhere well below you. I will assure you that as of now she thinks she can do that again when she thinks you are bothering her and nothing will happen other than maybe a few peaceful moments in her crate. Nice is not how you or any other teacher performs their responsibilities. You do perform those responsibilities well by taking charge and teaching. Too many have the mistaken idea that you can teach a student that doesn't necessarily have an interest in learning by simply asking. You must be able to respond in a method the student understands as they have a completely different standard of what is nice and what isn't and also the understanding of what you accept as permissible behavior instead of what she thinks the standard is. You have to realize that being forceful and consistent is not bad, mean, or harmful behavior on your part, it is strictly fulfilling your responsibility to set standards, teach what those standards are on a consistent basis, and enforce them in a firm consistent manor. Saying no over and over, what we like to call nagging, is not how you teach anything other than, " if I hear that one more time I think I will just bite her or maybe I will just get up and go someplace and do what I want and not having to listen to her say no over and over."

Teach her now, just once, and the problem is solved. And don't hold a grudge but make sure she knows what will happen if she is naughty again. What your dog is doing isn't naughty, but is her telling you she is boss and she will back her position up if necessary by biting and injuring you or your daughter.

Ezzy

[Princessangela3201]

EZZY,

"I am not suggesting you beat her with a stick but rather she should know if she does that it will result with you grabbing her by the collar and throwing her on the floor with you on top of her and physically controlling her till she submits and realizes she fits in the order of things somewhere well below you."

I am a very feisty 5 feet tall and 100 pound woman, do you think I can physically do this without getting hurt? I am happy to try anything but I do not want to push my luck and get bit. My husband has said I baby her too much and that has stopped. I truly appreciate everyone's opinion and do not see anyone's opinion in a negative light especially since I asked for them. I will take what I can use and leave the rest.

THANK YOU!!

Angela

[ezzy333]

EZZY,

"I am not suggesting you beat her with a stick but rather she should know if she does that it will result with you grabbing her by the collar and throwing her on the floor with you on top of her and physically controlling her till she submits and realizes she fits in the order of things somewhere well below you."

I am a very feisty 5 feet tall and 100 pound woman, do you think I can physically do this without getting hurt? I am happy to try anything but I do not want to push my luck and get bit. My husband has said I baby her too much and that has stopped. I truly appreciate everyone's opinion and do not see anyone's opinion in a negative light especially since I asked for them. I will take what I can use and leave the rest.

THANK YOU!!

Angela

To answer your question, yes, you can do it without getting bit if you do it now and not let her set the standard by letting her get away with it.

[shags]

Dogs don't understand that time outs are punishment, so that would go out the window yesterday. You need to assert yourself and put her in her place. No more sofa time, or sleeping on the bed. Her place is on the floor. When you feed, make her wait until you place the pan on the floor and give her permission to eat, no hopping around and diving in. When she's laying on the floor, don't step over her or go around her, make her get up and move out of your way. I would make an effort to disturb her several times a day.

I think you're wise to be wary of your dog at this point. You can physically overpower her if need be, but you need to have your head on right to do that ( think if she went after your child, you'd be on her in a heartbeat). If you're fearful, she will win this one. To give yourself more leverage, you can use a slip collar ( used to be called choke chains, seen all the time in obedience training) and keep her on a short lead all the time. That way, you can make a correction by popping the lead and if she becomes aggressive you still have control.

You might benefit from watching some Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan episodes. He does a great job of teaching people to take charge, and he very rarely needs to resort to anything but low intensity physical interactions. If you can find one soon, enroll in a Smith Seminar. Rick Smith is the Dog Whisperer of bird dogs ( I suspect Ronnie moght be one too, but I have not attended one of his seminars).

Good luck to you, I'm sorry you're facing this problem.

[cjhills]

You are right, if you are going to try to man handle this dog you need to know you are physically able to do it. Dogs are very strong for there size and you have to win the battle. You could very easily get bit. Plus throwing her down and holding her until she submits is pretty radical behavior.
She no doubt sees herself as the Alpha female. You need to change that. Make sure that your husband treats you as the Alpha female. I know this sounds a little weird, but in the dogs eyes she out ranks you. It is very likely that she is about to come into season. I have not seen a downside to spaying female before her first heat. The chances of mammary cancer are virtually eliminated by early spaying and Pyometra is eliminated.
There are some signs of dominance and some things you can do to change her thinking. I would stop letting her lay by me on the couch for awhile, if you treat train I would stop that, for sure do not let her share your bed, do not let her put her foot on you no matter how much it looks like a accident it is not. you should probably feed her and only let her eat at your command. Ignore her as much as you can and try to act like you are superior to her. Stand as tall as five feet will allow and bend down to invite her in when you want her to come to you. stare her down occasionally when you are just hanging out. you need to win the stare downs so be prepared for the first ones to take some time the first one to look away loses. It needs to be the dog. clasp her behind the front legs in a mounting posture to signify dominance. She will resist at first but she will change if you do it right. She will just fight you if you try violence and likely will get worse.
Several people on this forum will disagree with me and think I am the forum know it all, but we have done this with many dogs and it will work. Just act like the top dog. you can pet her and treat her good but do it on your terms. you may pm me if you have questions......................cj

[Princessangela3201]

Dogs don't understand that time outs are punishment, so that would go out the window yesterday. You need to assert yourself and put her in her place. No more sofa time, or sleeping on the bed. Her place is on the floor. When you feed, make her wait until you place the pan on the floor and give her permission to eat, no hopping around and diving in. When she's laying on the floor, don't step over her or go around her, make her get up and move out of your way. I would make an effort to disturb her several times a day.

I think you're wise to be wary of your dog at this point. You can physically overpower her if need be, but you need to have your head on right to do that ( think if she went after your child, you'd be on her in a heartbeat). If you're fearful, she will win this one. To give yourself more leverage, you can use a slip collar ( used to be called choke chains, seen all the time in obedience training) and keep her on a short lead all the time. That way, you can make a correction by popping the lead and if she becomes aggressive you still have control.

You might benefit from watching some Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan episodes. He does a great job of teaching people to take charge, and he very rarely needs to resort to anything but low intensity physical interactions. If you can find one soon, enroll in a Smith Seminar. Rick Smith is the Dog Whisperer of bird dogs ( I suspect Ronnie moght be one too, but I have not attended one of his seminars).

Good luck to you, I'm sorry you're facing this problem.

Thank you for your advice! Rick Smith does come out to our hunting club once a year so I will look for the next Seminar! I have faith this is a correctable problem and I will soon have the tools needed to be the boss and take back my husband!!!

[Princessangela3201]

You are right, if you are going to try to man handle this dog you need to know you are physically able to do it. Dogs are very strong for there size and you have to win the battle. You could very easily get bit. Plus throwing her down and holding her until she submits is pretty radical behavior.
She no doubt sees herself as the Alpha female. You need to change that. Make sure that your husband treats you as the Alpha female. I know this sounds a little weird, but in the dogs eyes she out ranks you. It is very likely that she is about to come into season. I have not seen a downside to spaying female before her first heat. The chances of mammary cancer are virtually eliminated by early spaying and Pyometra is eliminated.
There are some signs of dominance and some things you can do to change her thinking. I would stop letting her lay by me on the couch for awhile, if you treat train I would stop that, for sure do not let her share your bed, do not let her put her foot on you no matter how much it looks like a accident it is not. you should probably feed her and only let her eat at your command. Ignore her as much as you can and try to act like you are superior to her. Stand as tall as five feet will allow and bend down to invite her in when you want her to come to you. stare her down occasionally when you are just hanging out. you need to win the stare downs so be prepared for the first ones to take some time the first one to look away loses. It needs to be the dog. clasp her behind the front legs in a mounting posture to signify dominance. She will resist at first but she will change if you do it right. She will just fight you if you try violence and likely will get worse.
Several people on this forum will disagree with me and think I am the forum know it all, but we have done this with many dogs and it will work. Just act like the top dog. you can pet her and treat her good but do it on your terms. you may pm me if you have questions......................cj

She does not sleep with us as our yorkie will not allow it....just kidding!! We agreed one dog in the bed is enough and Sherman our yorkie has been there longer and he is small, drama free. Sophie sleeps in her kennel in the living room. Sophie is free fed and it's looking like that may need to stop. She is free fed because the yorkies are and she does fine being free fed as far as weight goes. It was easier to free feed everyone than try and retrain the yorkies but obviously the easiest way is not the best way. I do like some of your ideas and will try them out and appreciate you taking the time to answer my question. I am the type of person once I know I have a problem I want to immediately solve the problem so waiting to see our trainer until Saturday seems like too far away! All I needed to hear from the vet was this was not a physical issue and I am all over researching what I need to do. Trust me my best intentions are in making sure my dog and family can co-exist happily in our home.

[polmaise]

We have a 9 month old intact female GSP puppy Sophie. Recently Sophie has started to show some naughty behaviors towards me but not my husband. I reached over to pet her while she was laying on the couch next to me and she whipped her head around and growled at me. She has done this quite a few times this past week, where she will snap, growl or bark at me when I pet her. I have never treated this dog poorly in any way ever. I noticed it seems to happen when I was petting her hind legs so we took her to the vet for fear she injured her leg. The vet could not find anything wrong and believes Sophie is becoming hormonal and trying to assert her dominance over me because Sophie sees my husband as "her boyfriend/provider".... WHAT??????? Sophie does not always behave naughty towards me, sometimes she is quite my love bug and I love her dearly. Sophie and I bike about 3 miles every other day together which she seems to enjoy and we hunt her regularly which she LOVES!!! The vet suggested spaying her now and obedience training. Sophie's trainer originally said not to spay her until after two years of age and no obedience training (no sit or stay commands) until after her 6 week gun dog school at 10 months. Sophie is supposed to go to gun dog school April 2016. We are unsure as to how to proceed from here. We have a disabled daughter and obviously cannot have Sophie behaving this way towards me or our daughter (so far Sophie has not behaved this way with our daughter). Rehoming Sophie IS NOT AN OPTION, we do believe she is our loved family member who just needs some help. We are just unsure what kind of help she needs. We will take her to her trainer on Saturday (he is her hunting dog trainer however I assume he does obedience too). Sophie did do this again last night my husband suggested I take her by her collar and immediately put her in her kennel for a "time out"??? She went into the kennel easy enough and came out for me with no attitude. Any other suggestions or ideas are greatly appreciated.

This may help ?
https://www.alldogsgym.com/miscellaneou ... -176256125

[Hoosierdaddy]

Dogs are going to test you occasionally,especially young dogs.Snatch her by the collar and let her know you are the boss.As Ezzy said one time should do the trick.My dogs know by the sound of my voice if i am angry.

[Sharon]

I have a nasty habit of rescuing JRTs. Of course I am kind to them , BUT one snap or growl and they are on their back on the floor ( and I don't use the collar either). They have been usually abandoned by their previous families because they snapped and growled and got away with it. Tough love is the key.

[gonehuntin']

You have gotten some very good advice here and I think you're Vet is basically correct. Sometimes when a dog shows unwanted behavior, it is best corrected using INDIRECT PRESSRE and especially I think if you are a woman and not a tough old broad like Sharon or Shags ( ). Think of the dog as your husband and you'll have an easier time disciplining her.

First think I'd do is take away the areas she has staked out. That means no more letting her on the couch. Next, YOU start training her some. Just because you are sending her to a trainer does not mean he will eliminate this problem; he won't. When she comes back home she will exhibit the same old behaviors. YOU have to take charge. Were I you, if she growled at me, I'd snap he on a leash and walk her around the living room doing sit drills with her. I'd also use a heeling stick so you can sting her butt when she doesn't sit. The exact sequence would be to tell her NO! Immediately when she growls, take her off the couch ( which I would NOT be letting her up on, snapping a leash on her and running her through a short obedience drill right then to show her she IS NOT the boss. If she insisted on getting up on the couch or some other safe haven let he drag a one foot leash ALWAYS so you have something to safely grab without getting bit. That way you will ALWAYS have a safe means of controlling her.

I don't think you have a serious problem but I think it could BECOME a serious problem if not dealt with now. Many dogs will try to rule the house if they are let get away with it. Don't let her, nip it in the bud now..

[cjhills]

You have gotten some very good advice here and I think you're Vet is basically correct. Sometimes when a dog shows unwanted behavior, it is best corrected using INDIRECT PRESSRE and especially I think if you are a woman and not a tough old broad like Sharon or Shags ( ). Think of the dog as your husband and you'll have an easier time disciplining her.

First think I'd do is take away the areas she has staked out. That means no more letting her on the couch. Next, YOU start training her some. Just because you are sending her to a trainer does not mean he will eliminate this problem; he won't. When she comes back home she will exhibit the same old behaviors. YOU have to take charge. Were I you, if she growled at me, I'd snap he on a leash and walk her around the living room doing sit drills with her. I'd also use a heeling stick so you can sting her butt when she doesn't sit. The exact sequence would be to tell her NO! Immediately when she growls, take her off the couch ( which I would NOT be letting her up on, snapping a leash on her and running her through a short obedience drill right then to show her she IS NOT the boss. If she insisted on getting up on the couch or some other safe haven let he drag a one foot leash ALWAYS so you have something to safely grab without getting bit. That way you will ALWAYS have a safe means of controlling her.

I don't think you have a serious problem but I think it could BECOME a serious problem if not dealt with now. Many dogs will try to rule the house if they are let get away with it. Don't let her, nip it in the bud now..

One other thing. Do not try to control her by grabbing her collar. If she resists by spinning around you either have to let go or get your arm or hand injured. Possibly broken.
Like GH wrote. The short leash works well. And also like he said the trainer will not solve the problem. Many very good trainers have no idea how to deal with this problem because it never happens with them......Cj

[bobman]

I think telling a small woman to try and throw a 9 month old shorthair down is risky, if the dog does decide to fight back this lady will lose. JMO


I agree she needs to lay down the law just wouldn't recommend she try that, good way to end up with a face full of bad scars.


Leerburgs site has a lot of good info on dealing with dominant dogs Ive used his methods with good success. I am 6'4" 275lbs and very strong FWIW.

[Sharon]

quote="gonehuntin'"]
You have gotten some very good advice here and I think you're Vet is basically correct. Sometimes when a dog shows unwanted behavior, it is best corrected using INDIRECT PRESSRE and especially I think if you are a woman and not a tough old broad like Sharon or Shags ( ). ..................................................

Hey you!

[setterpoint]

im by no means an expert on this but it sounds like your husband is the boss and then your dog then you in that order do as you done befor grab her collar and make her kennel that shows your the boss not her but i would get help if your not sure you can do that ob training is not going to hurt you or the dog so i would be open to it

[Princessangela3201]

Thank You all for your responses! It is nice to have such a wealth of information at my finger tips. I am not against spaying her but I do not believe spaying her is the answer just to correct a behavior issue. What happens when I have a male gsp if that ever happens? I really want to learn how to handle the behaviors as they come up as she will not be our only GSP. We love the breed, she is a beautiful dog and such an amazing hunter. I did try some of what has been suggested here (not allowing her on the couch, scruffing her to get her off the couch, me in the doors first, etc and by the time we arrived at the trainers yesterday I was already confident the issue was effectively being dealt with. We still went to the trainer as we value his opinion and can always learn something. The trainer had many great suggestions and had me repeatedly do a couple of the maneuvers with him present so that I would not hurt myself or my dog when I try them at home. Basically I was taught how to scruff her and put her on her side and maintain control using my hands, my legs and my feet. He wants me to have her submit to me randomly at home whether she tries to dominate me or not so that she is reminded I am the boss not her. Our trainer taught me that Sophie needs to maintain a submissive position (Sophie on her side and Sophie's head has to stay on the ground until I stand up and give her permission to get up). We did this repeatedly, with Sophie repeatedly submitting to me after a bit of stubbornness on both our parts :roll: . I was taught how to table Sophie and do her health checks, including her mouth. Then he taught me some exercises using her mouth to prepare her for gundog school in April. Another thing the trainer pointed out is that our dog is exceeding in the hunting dog area advanced for her age but she needs to be" just a dog" more, meaning taking her for a walk and allowing her to just explore (on her lead of course) but no training involved. I think sometimes we see a big dog and we focus so much on training her, exercising her and trying to do right by her to be a good hunting dog we forget she is still a puppy and wants to be a puppy. We live on 10acres but the acreage it is not enclosed and near a busy street so when she is outside it is on a lead or attached to the bike with one of us. She lives in the house in a 10x10 xpen while we are at work and free roam when we are home. The trainer suggested she has too many house privileges and we should have an outdoor run. This weekend we have been busy clearing an area and putting up a 6 x 18 run that should be completed this afternoon. Here's to many more antics I am sure, but hopefully the end result will be a behaved happy dog and happy hunting! Thanks again for all the responses!

[shags]

Nice of you to report back. It sounds like you're making progress.

A dog run is a good thing to have. We have one within the fenced dog yard and it's great for when it's muddy, having a gravel floor. I think you'll enjoy the run, and hopefully your dog will, too.

FWIW, you don't have to isolate your dog in order to remove house privileges. It works to give her a designated spot to go to whenever you feel like having her go there; you can ignore asking for treats and attention. That sort of thing.

With resoect to your trainer, I would be careful about the random alpha rolling your dog. Roll if/when she's bossy (as long as it works for you) but don't bully. She might see that as picking a fight and then you get more bad behavior. Ask your trainer about it. You can put her in her place with way less drama by simply making her wait for you to pass through doorways first, by never moving out of her way, by making her move out of your path ( even if it means designing your path to cross wherever she's camped out), and by just being a little pushy like standing casually over her. Just treat her the way snotty suburban ladies at Target treat other customers IME with a dog who got too big for his britches, the more subtle dominance worked very well without eliciting a bigger nastier response. It wasn't long before he would easily submit to "down, roll over" for grooming etc.

Can your trainer show you how to ecollar condition your dog? If so, you would be able to safely free run her on your property. When she can *really* burn off steam you might see a calmer, more pleasant dog in your house.

Best of luck to you.

[gonehuntin']

Heed Shag's post. It is excellent advice.

I am of the opinion that removing a problem (less house time) has never, ever, solved a problem. You have just avoided the problem but the problem remains. Fix the problem so you won't have to worry about it again.

[DeLo727]

I'm all on board with what the last post says. I had a not sporting breed act this way once in a very aggressive way. I used many of the tips shown here but I never showed dominance just to show it. I casually let him know I was the boss throughout the day and put him in his place when he acted out. Exercise and alpha habits fix this quickly

[Elkhunter]

My dog growled at me once when I went to move his food bowl, the beating he received was enough that he never again in 8 years growled at me. He was my favorite dog.

[Princessangela3201]

Nice of you to report back. It sounds like you're making progress.

A dog run is a good thing to have. We have one within the fenced dog yard and it's great for when it's muddy, having a gravel floor. I think you'll enjoy the run, and hopefully your dog will, too.

FWIW, you don't have to isolate your dog in order to remove house privileges. It works to give her a designated spot to go to whenever you feel like having her go there; you can ignore asking for treats and attention. That sort of thing.

With resoect to your trainer, I would be careful about the random alpha rolling your dog. Roll if/when she's bossy (as long as it works for you) but don't bully. She might see that as picking a fight and then you get more bad behavior. Ask your trainer about it. You can put her in her place with way less drama by simply making her wait for you to pass through doorways first, by never moving out of her way, by making her move out of your path ( even if it means designing your path to cross wherever she's camped out), and by just being a little pushy like standing casually over her. Just treat her the way snotty suburban ladies at Target treat other customers IME with a dog who got too big for his britches, the more subtle dominance worked very well without eliciting a bigger nastier response. It wasn't long before he would easily submit to "down, roll over" for grooming etc.

Can your trainer show you how to ecollar condition your dog? If so, you would be able to safely free run her on your property. When she can *really* burn off steam you might see a calmer, more pleasant dog in your house.

Best of luck to you.

The dog run is more for us to have more options for her as she grows up not a punishment. She has her kennel in the house inside a 10x10 xpen in our living room. I am hoping to eventually get rid of the xpen and only have her kennel in the house. This is where she spends her time now while we are at work. My husband comes home everyday at lunch so she is not kenneled for more than 5 hours at a time however, I think it would be nice for her to go out to the run after lunch and hang out outside until I come home from work 2-3 hours later. We are hoping to transition her to time outside as well as inside so that her mind stays a bit more busy and she can become an indoor/outdoor dog. At least outside she can watch the birds, insects, chickens, horses etc hopefully keeping herself a bit more busy.
I will clarify about the randomly rolling her with the trainer. She will get a lot more e-collar training in gundog school. She has been introduced and we are working with an e-collar in the field but nothing too major just yet. I do like the less aggressive ideas and after my original post I took your suggestions and started making her wait until I am through the door, standing over her, purposely getting in her path occasionally and she moves not me. She is so frigging cute that it is hard to be snotty to her but that does seem to be what is working and this week she has started seeking my attention which I occasionally ignore (meaning I have to go into another room or I cave to the cuteness!). We have not had any more issues with growling, snarling, or snapping and I am hoping just asserting myself with her this past week has reminded her she is not the boss!
I am considering doing a bit of training with her and trying to do a Natural Agility trial with Navhda or something with the AKC. I am trying to find more information about how to get started in Northern Ca. I am also curious if my husband is gundog training her can I do trial training with her or would that be confusing?

[cjhills]

One thing you should be aware of is that a dog normally sleeps about 17 hours a day when it has nothing else to do. Spending five or six hours in a crate is not a issue. I do not leave mine in the run for extended periods. Nothing good is learned in a run. Mostly they learn bad habits such as barking, barrier frustration and standing with their front feet on the fence.
I definitely do not leave mine out when I am not home. Too many bad things can happen. like escape or theft.
I like the fact that you are realizing you do not have to be mean to the dog to gain her respect. Good Luck......Cj

[shags]

For information about AKC tests or trials, go to the akc web site and do an events search for field trials and hunt tests in your area. You will find future events and can look for past events. When you click on 'club info' you'll pull up premium lists, and in there you'll find the event secretary. That's a contact for you...the sec'y can help you find training partners, give you information on what's involved, contact club members, etc. You can find out about when/where events are located so you can go and observe, and meet and talk to people.
While you're at the website, download the rules and regulations for field trials, and the one for hunt tests. There you will find what is required of dogs at various levels. Then you and DH can decide between you how much training you want to do and what standard you want to adhere to. IMO you guys would do better by your dog to be on the same page, to keep confusion to a minimum while your dog is young and inexperienced.

There are so many activities for our bird dogs, there is something to suit every owner and every dog. You can enjoy anything from a personal gundog that has minimal training, all the way to a completely finished bird dog, and everything in between. If you have questions about a particular organizations events, you can most likely have your questions answered by someone on this forum.

Keep up the good work, best wishes for all success.

[Princessangela3201]

One thing you should be aware of is that a dog normally sleeps about 17 hours a day when it has nothing else to do. Spending five or six hours in a crate is not a issue. I do not leave mine in the run for extended periods. Nothing good is learned in a run. Mostly they learn bad habits such as barking, barrier frustration and standing with their front feet on the fence.
I definitely do not leave mine out when I am not home. Too many bad things can happen. like escape or theft.
I like the fact that you are realizing you do not have to be mean to the dog to gain her respect. Good Luck......Cj

My husband has said the same thing "nothing good is learned in a run".......He is also against us leaving her in the run unless we are home.....Have you been talking to my husband LOL!!!! I truly want what is best for my dogs and my family. Our dogs are a part of our family even when they are naughty.

[Princessangela3201]

For information about AKC tests or trials, go to the akc web site and do an events search for field trials and hunt tests in your area. You will find future events and can look for past events. When you click on 'club info' you'll pull up premium lists, and in there you'll find the event secretary. That's a contact for you...the sec'y can help you find training partners, give you information on what's involved, contact club members, etc. You can find out about when/where events are located so you can go and observe, and meet and talk to people.
While you're at the website, download the rules and regulations for field trials, and the one for hunt tests. There you will find what is required of dogs at various levels. Then you and DH can decide between you how much training you want to do and what standard you want to adhere to. IMO you guys would do better by your dog to be on the same page, to keep confusion to a minimum while your dog is young and inexperienced.

There are so many activities for our bird dogs, there is something to suit every owner and every dog. You can enjoy anything from a personal gundog that has minimal training, all the way to a completely finished bird dog, and everything in between. If you have questions about a particular organizations events, you can most likely have your questions answered by someone on this forum.

Keep up the good work, best wishes for all success.

Thank you so much for all your friendly advice and ideas!

[Princessangela3201]

Ps this is my the pooch we are discussing!! Just look at that face!!!!!

[Steve007]

quote="Princessangela3201"]The vet suggested spaying her now and obedience training. Sophie's trainer originally said not to spay her until after two years of age and no obedience training (no sit or stay commands) until after her 6 week gun dog school at 10 months. Sophie is supposed to go to gun dog school April 2016. We are unsure as to how to proceed from here. [/quote]

Your vet gave you very good advice on the obedience,though spaying is optional. Your trainer gave you very bad advice. You can improve a dog's hunting manners at any relatively young age, especially as your dog likes to hunt. But an obedience foundation cannot easily be postponed in the situation you describe.

Find yourself a genuine obedience school -- not a no-force positive-only behaviorist clicker bunch--and train your dog every day without fail, short sessions. And a pinch collar would make a lot of sense. If the school doesn't allow them, you're in the wrong place. They are not harsh, but will help a hundred pound woman to train an enthusiastic good-sized dog.

That is how you proceed. You'll spend a lot of time living with your dog. Do it right. And do it now. If you're locked into gundog school in April, this should be your next step. Agility is not obedience. Far from it.

You can, by the way, absolutely do obedience while your husband does gundog stuff.

[Sharon]

quote="Princessangela3201"]The vet suggested spaying her now and obedience training. Sophie's trainer originally said not to spay her until after two years of age and no obedience training (no sit or stay commands) until after her 6 week gun dog school at 10 months. Sophie is supposed to go to gun dog school April 2016. We are unsure as to how to proceed from here. [/quote]

Good advice on spaying but not good advice on training.
Waiting for 10 months for basic obedience training would be like waiting until a toddler was 6 years old to learn the meaning of the word "No.".