HELP! 1yr GSP Running to far away in the woods.

[PiperGrouse]

Ok, this is a loaded question for you all.

I have a 1 yr old GSP that has the freedom of our yard which is 1acre with an invisible fence which she runs all day and never leaves the perimeter, literally 10 out of 12hrs a day that we let her outside, we have to make her be kenneled for a couple hours during the day simply to make her rest. Now, that is great for a hunting dog. She listens well in the yard, "come" "sit" "stay" "kennel" but once we get into the woods i say thank god for her tritronics upland beeper e-collar, that thing is great, she goes pretty far out of sight (I always still hear the beeping), after yelling come several times she will come back right to me and work close to me for a little bit and before i know it shes off far away again. She is only one year old, her obedience is decent at home and she is brand new to hunting, any tips? I do have the e-collar but i don't want to use it to keep her close and "wreck her" are there proper ways to use it? Do i use my 15 ft check cord? get a 30 footer?

I am used to hunting around labs, never around a pointer, this is a new beast for me, she comes from good hunting lines, she is pure bread and both her mom and dad are master hunters but how do i keep her in close? Yelling for her gets exhausting. I don't want to be that guy that has the annoying dog that runs, I have hunted around too many guys that had those dogs and that's frustrating when you see pheasants flushing 100yrds away from you. I am debating going to a trainer but I'm sure I could do this myself with some tips from someone that had this problem also.

I know that's a lot to take in, any help is appreciated.

Garrett

[Sharon]

A lot could be said......... You can teach your dog to turn on command. This can be done with a check cord in the back yard and then move to a larger area and transition from the check cord to the e collar. I use "Yoe............h " as it carries well.

[DonF]

First of all, how much visibility do you have in the wood's? I would think that if you can still hear her beeper collar, she's where she probably should be. I think the beeper stops if she does. I can't hear one of the things very far away. Tried listening to a friends and couldn't hear it at all. He's hard of hearing, just got hearing aides, and he could hear the thing. As long as you can hear the beeper trust her. If you quit hearing the bell go look for her where you last heard the bell.

[bonasa]

A turn signal is what your looking for. Each time you change direction either whistle, beep, or yell to her to go with you. Some would call what your looking to do as "hacking", or altering the dogs natural range and pattern for your own gain. This is done with a check cord in the yard first then gets progressively further and in different terrain. It takes time. What kind of bird work has the dog had prior to these pheasant?

[Trekmoor]

I have no experience at all of using an e-collar for this kind of training so if that is needed someone else will need to supply the info. I seldom use check-cords either, all I do is teach a recall, a turn and a stop to whistle just as well as I possibly can. I find doing that has been enough for the great majority of dogs.
Begin training on non-gamey ground with far fewer scent distractions for the dog, gradually extend the distances from you that the dog will respond to stop, turn and recall whistle (begin at feet not yards) then take the dog to open ground with some game scent around and repeat the whole procedure right from scratch there.

When the dog responds well there, take it into the woods.
To begin with make a deliberate effort to keep the dog in view as much as possible and practice the responses to whistle. Yes, doing that will cut down on the hunting range to begin with but keen dogs will always try to pull further out so distance can come later. At this point in time it isn't how well the dog hunts that is a matter for concern , it is how well it responds to you.
If your dog fails to respond at 50 yards bring it back in to 5 yards and start all over again.

Bill T.

[cjhills]

Make sure you have a problem before you fix it. If the dog stays in beeper range and holds it's points it should be good. 30 yard pointing dogs don't make a lot of sense.
You probably need a better recall. If you need to yell several times she will just get worse. Check cords are pretty much useless at distances longer than the check cord. If she is properly collar conditioned teaching her recall with the collar should work.
Might try breaking the habit of running the underground fence. Barrier frustration makes a dog crazy. Sometimes spending some time on a short stake out chain will teach patience. Start with short periods of time. Keeping her in a enclosed area where she is not over stimulated and supervised exercise can help. ..................................Cj

[KwikIrish]

that's frustrating when you see pheasants flushing 100yrds away from you.

Garrett

Remember Garrett, this is a pointing breed, not a flushing breed. This dog should be pointing the bird and standing for you to flush and shoot it, regardless if it's 10 yards or 100 yards.

[rinker]

Yelling a command at a dog with no way to enforce it is an excellent way to teach a dog to ignore commands.

Start with a rope then transition to an ecollar. Walk the dog in fields/woods and carry three or four pigeons in a sack. When the dog responds and comes to you, toss a pigeon.

[walkos5]

I own a Brittany that has so much energy I wish I had a farm so I could hook him up to a plow. His first year out hunting he hunted way beyond the comfort range for most anyone and would also bust birds. He will be 3 soon and has been doing much better listening to my commands and staying within a more comfortable range. My e-collar is the reason for it. I use it on all our hikes and outdoor adventures. He still has his moments where he roams a bit far but he seems to be much more in tune with the team work concept. He has been turning on command and returning to me with almost no use of my control. I'm willing to bet that if you continue to use your e-collar and get him out as much as time will allow, he will settle into a comfortable range for you.

[big_fish]

pipergrouse I had the same thing I came from the lab world and all the sudden I have a pointing breed (Brittany) and it seemed he was hunting way to far so I used the collar and roped him into where I thought was comfortable BIG MISTAKE. lucky for me he was young and I left him alone as I was getting used to a dog hunting further out and he began to range out again. I run a bell (old fashioned I guess) but let the dog get out to where he wants but as already mentioned I have him turn with the whistle (2 toots) and comeback to me with multiple trills on the whistle. it may seem weird coming from the lab world but as long as the dog checks in and will return with a command let him hunt as long as it is safe. just my 2 cents.

[millerms06]

Garrett,

Did you work with a whistle in the yard yet? It would be a pretty good idea to introduce this in the yard first and then slowly work it in out in the field once she assimilates what blasts means what. One long one means whoa, two means to cast left and right (depending on which way I start directing my path), and rapid repeats means to recall. People might do it differently, but that is what I use too and it works for me.

I noticed your from the Delafield area and wanted to invite you to hook up on a hunt sometime. I hunt four days a week, when schedules allow, and more than likely we might bump into each other anyway. I am willing to bet you have a fine dog and you shouldn't put your own dog in the same book of past experiences. As you know, good and bad things are developed within the dog just from the handler.

[Mike50]

Run the dog with beeper in point mood. Train the dog that when he's running and hears the beeper go off he is to check in with you. Don't worry about him going on point hearing the beeper and coming back to you. All my dogs would check in when I used the locate button. And hold point with the beeper going off.