Gun Dog Forum

Well, the time has come for her first hunt. 4 days from her first birthday. I hope all this training pays off. Im pretty nervous.

Let me add that i think i have the smallest gsp in existence. 43 lbs at 1 yo.

Of course your training paid off zapped...just have fun.

...my 11months setter ran all dippy at first light tody and bumped some birds. Then he settled down and got me two solid points on roosters. You can't expect to have a finished dog so you just have to be patient while they figure stuff out.

Good luck~

Oh heck no. The little female in my profile usually weighs between 35-38 lbs. I've seen dogs during the hunting season weigh less than that.

I like the size of your dog.

Just have fun and let her hunt.

The more birds you put her on the better she will get.

I am on a three month bird hunting trip and hunt 5+ days a week. Even my 7 year old GSP gets better day by day. My 3 year old is a great backer and is starting to learn how to cut the running birds off and trap them. It works for her 50% of the time and will get better.

Reba, Don't they have a possession limit out there? Here for instance we have a daily limit of 2 and a possession limit of 4. That's hard to enforce but our government never thinks of those things when they start making laws.

getzapped wrote:Let me add that i think i have the smallest gsp in existence. 43 lbs at 1 yo.

I have a male that is 4 and in the off season he looks fat at 50lbs so I don't think yours is small. Muscle will come as she matures which will add weight.

Looks good to me.

Well i suck! I let my dog down. She was a little scatterbrained at first, then she settled in and gave me 7 solid points. I missed 5 out of 7. On top of that i could only find one (actually she found it). I guess i need more work behind the shotgun. But she did great and probably thinks im a fool.

getzapped wrote:Well i suck! I let my dog down. She was a little scatterbrained at first, then she settled in and gave me 7 solid points. I missed 5 out of 7. On top of that i could only find one (actually she found it). I guess i need more work behind the shotgun. But she did great and probably thinks im a fool.

I dont miss much but when I do a dirty look from my dogs follows..... :roll:

getzapped wrote:Well i suck! I let my dog down. She was a little scatterbrained at first, then she settled in and gave me 7 solid points. I missed 5 out of 7. On top of that i could only find one (actually she found it). I guess i need more work behind the shotgun. But she did great and probably thinks im a fool.

Sounds to me like you guy's had a great day. Don't let a little thing like missing get you down.
They don't mind

You had best give yourself credit for getting your dog out so she can do what she was born to do. That is, by far, the most important thing you can be good at. Dogs are very forgiving creatures. She doesn't think that you are going to get them all.

That's a mighty fine 10th hunt, let alone a first hunt. You can figure the shooting part out. Sounds like your dog did her part which is the best part of each trip out as far as im concerned.

getzapped wrote:Well i suck! I let my dog down. She was a little scatterbrained at first, then she settled in and gave me 7 solid points. I missed 5 out of 7. On top of that i could only find one (actually she found it). I guess i need more work behind the shotgun. But she did great and probably thinks im a fool.

HA! i think we get so nervous about the dog doing what they are supposed to that we forget what we are doing... don't panic yet, now you know your dog can handle herself, now you can focus more on you, and position yourself better. I hate it, but i too have missed my dogs first bird

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Ok we are making progress now. I have been a little more calm behind the gun and have been missing less. Except for pheasants. I have missed every one so far. Dog is doing great and i am gaining alot of trust in her. Its been alot of fun so far

be careful, you might find out you learn more from your dog then what she learns from you!