Should a 13 week old GSP be trained well enough to be

[pointstar]

trusted off leash in a large park or national forest area? Did you let your pup roam free at this age and what age is common for this level of confidence to be had? Thanks

[Georgia Boy]

If there is no immediate danger like near by vehicle traffic I would definitely be letting my pup off lead. That is how they start to learn things about hunting and build their confidence.

[big_fish]

Does he have a solid recall? I wouldn't think at 13 weeks he does. My Brittany is almost a year old and he is on a leash or a check cord at all times. You cant enforce a command if you have no control of pup. When he was you pups age I had a 15 foot light cc he would pull around as he got bigger we went to a 50 now I hunt him with a 15 foot cc but this all just my opinion do what you feel is safe. and make it fun for you and him.

[Vonzeppelinkennels]

That's why you overlay the E-collar to the commands then you can take the CC off & have control if needed at extended range & not have to worry about tangles.

[ruffbritt4]

My Brittany is almost a year old and he is on a leash or a check cord at all times. You cant enforce a command if you have no control of pup. When he was you pups age I had a 15 foot light cc he would pull around as he got bigger we went to a 50 now I hunt him with a 15 foot cc but this all just my opinion do what you feel is safe.

+1

Put a check cord on the dog and work on obedience (here, heel, whoa) in the yard every day.

[polmaise]

Hmmm!!
Here is another take on it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA7IK0fHlbQ

[Georgia Boy]

Hmmm!!
Here is another take on it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA7IK0fHlbQ

Exactely, one of many things to be learned. If I were concerned I would not be able to catch the pup I would let it drag a light CC but there is no way I would keep it on a leash constantly if I were trying to develop a hunting dog.

[pointstar]

[quote="big_fish"]Does he have a solid recall? I wouldn't think at 13 weeks he does. My Brittany is almost a year old and he is on a leash or a check cord at all times. You cant enforce a command if you have no control of pup. When he was you pups age I had a 15 foot light cc he would pull around as he got bigger we went to a 50 now I hunt him with a 15 foot cc but this all just my opinion do what you feel is safe. and make it fun for you and him.[/quote

That's the thing, though she is 15 weeks at this point I have been letting her off leash since her 13th week, at this point her recall is solid. She will point a whitetail and chase it if I give her the ok, then stop and return on command. I am dumfounded, and am doing some night training as well at this point, this all seems too easy.

[pointstar]

That's why you overlay the E-collar to the commands then you can take the CC off & have control if needed at extended range & not have to worry about tangles.

Never used or needed a check cord, a leash around traffic, but that is it. Next time I take her out, I am going to try to be 100 percent silent, all body language or hand commands only. This dog is still a puppy, I have no idea of what she is really capable.

[Ms. Cage]

At 13 weeks there is no need for CC. In the forest allow the dog to explore and build confidence in it self. keeping your mouth shut is good. Most pups want to come around a see where your at.

[Grange]

I let my setter run off leash at that age. She really didn't start to run until I took her into some grouse cover. She was about 5 months at the time and up until then I was worried she wasn't going to run but after her first run in grouse woods I wasn't worried anymore. I put a bell on her and let her roll.

[Trekmoor]

I don't use check-cords much at all and never use one for the purpose of keeping young pups near me. I let the pup roam just as soon as it can walk well enough and the pup learns that it is it's job to keep in contact with me and not my job to keep in contact with it. When pups are young they are usually a bit insecure and they make an effort to find me in woodlands or anywhere else . All I do is help them out by whistling and/or calling for them should I see them go the wrong way in their efforts to find me.

I keep an eye out for strong distractions to a pup such as a strange dog appearing on the scene and will often put my pup on a lead until the other dog has moved on and is out of sight of the puppy. This is all made easier for me by taking a few other dogs along on these puppy walks. My pup will follow the other dogs out but when I recall the other dogs the pup follows them all the way back to me again. The pup learns the recall whistle with no need for me to make any real effort to teach it.

Bill T.

[AZ Brittany Guy]

I do the same as Trekmoore. Take them to a safe spot (I tend to look for a little more open areas) and just let them run. Over the years I found most all of my pups are a little insecure at that age. Its when they get older that they tend to get bolder. I will use the old trick and hide from them until they come looking for me and when they find me, I love them up and give them water. When they get older I introduce the here command with a check cord in the training field and eventually overlay the command with lite stimulation from an ecollar. I want my dogs to go with me but I don't want to trip over them. I can find my own birds at 30 - 40 ft. I don't need a dog for that.

[CDN_Cocker]

Pups should get off leash time from the moment you get them. Between 8 and 12 weeks (sometimes longer depending on the dog) they do not want to leave your side or get very far away. You need to capitalize on this. People that never let their dogs off leash tend to never be able to.

[aulrich]

At that age if mine was off leash he would have been under foot and on leash he was at the end of it. Don’t get suckered (like I did)thinking their recall is solid because between 6 an 9 months they will forget their name, then the real work starts. Just know it's gonna come to some level or another, and be prepared.

[Sharon]

At 13 weeks there is no need for CC. In the forest allow the dog to explore and build confidence in it self. keeping your mouth shut is good. Most pups want to come around a see where your at.

by CDN_Cocker
Pups should get off leash time from the moment you get them. Between 8 and 12 weeks (sometimes longer depending on the dog) they do not want to leave your side or get very far away. You need to capitalize on this. People that never let their dogs off leash tend to never be able to.


x2
...... 5-6 months? depending on the dog....( CC/e collar)

[Springer]

I made the mistake of having my first dog leashed and in the fenced yard all the time, every time the kids left the gate open he would bolt. It was his demise as he was hit by a car at a year old. The next dog the fence was taken down and only had a leash on when training heel and come. She wouldn't leave the yard even when I forgot her out there. I trained my last pup to not come out of the kennel until he is given the ok command, he is 2 now and will listen to my 11 year old daughter when she tells him to kennel he goes in there and doesn't come out until she says ok even with the neighbor standing there talking to me.

It is way easier to get the dog to come back and hunt closer than to get the dog out further ahead of you, so I would say absolutely let him run unless you think he will disappear but at that age I am sure he will be checking in with you often.

[rinker]

I try to run puppies at this age as much as possible in light cover. I keep the sessions short. I am trying to start at this age to teach the pup to go with me. I will start out going South for example and when the puppy runs 50 yards to the East, I take a 90 degree turn to the West (the opposite direction). I want the puppy to start paying attention to where I am going and go with me. At this age or slightly older I will also start to carry three or four pigeons with me in a bird bag. I will occasionally get the pup's attention and toss a pigeon. This will get the puppy excited about birds and he should start to pay close attention to me and my movements because he is anticipating the next pigeon toss.

[polmaise]

Unless you live next to the Highway!
Recall is the best basic command
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oszfoJfNehQ

[ruffbritt4]

Pups should get off leash time from the moment you get them. Between 8 and 12 weeks (sometimes longer depending on the dog) they do not want to leave your side or get very far away. You need to capitalize on this. People that never let their dogs off leash tend to never be able to.

I agree, I didn't have a leash on my dog when he was this age, but as he got older we moved to the check cord. If you give them freedom from day one they will not take advantage of being off leash.

[pointstar]

I don't use check-cords much at all and never use one for the purpose of keeping young pups near me. I let the pup roam just as soon as it can walk well enough and the pup learns that it is it's job to keep in contact with me and not my job to keep in contact with it. When pups are young they are usually a bit insecure and they make an effort to find me in woodlands or anywhere else . All I do is help them out by whistling and/or calling for them should I see them go the wrong way in their efforts to find me.

I keep an eye out for strong distractions to a pup such as a strange dog appearing on the scene and will often put my pup on a lead until the other dog has moved on and is out of sight of the puppy. This is all made easier for me by taking a few other dogs along on these puppy walks. My pup will follow the other dogs out but when I recall the other dogs the pup follows them all the way back to me again. The pup learns the recall whistle with no need for me to make any real effort to teach it.

Bill T.

My trick to keep her near me, and watching me, is to hide behind the biggest tree every so often. When she does glance back and I am gone, then she goes into search mode for me. It's fairly neat to watch, because she knows that she is faster than me and will pass the tree, hit the brakes, then look around and find me as she knows how far I could have ranged away from her in a certain time.

[pointstar]

I try to run puppies at this age as much as possible in light cover. I keep the sessions short. I am trying to start at this age to teach the pup to go with me. I will start out going South for example and when the puppy runs 50 yards to the East, I take a 90 degree turn to the West (the opposite direction). I want the puppy to start paying attention to where I am going and go with me. At this age or slightly older I will also start to carry three or four pigeons with me in a bird bag. I will occasionally get the pup's attention and toss a pigeon. This will get the puppy excited about birds and he should start to pay close attention to me and my movements because he is anticipating the next pigeon toss.

Two weeks ago my girl came back to me with a dead squirrel, shot by arrow I believe. Last weekend she carried out an entire deer leg bone set, I took pictures. My previous male who was fast as a missile never did this, he ran by everything and never really took the time to search like my girl does.. http://www.flickr.com/photos/105281199@ ... 7820434703

[aulrich]

Nice ! just for curiosity when compared to your other dog would this potentially mean

a more deliberate search
or
stronger retrieve instinct

I consider it a good thing when a pup gets distracted by it's nose!

[pointstar]

[quote="aulrich"]Nice ! just for curiosity when compared to your other dog would this potentially mean

a more deliberate search
or
stronger retrieve instinct

I consider it a good thing when a pup gets distracted by it's nose![/quote

The other dog was deliberate as well, he just did it in a different way. It seemed as though he believed that if he ran farther, faster and did longer wider sweeps (a half mile circle was a warm up) that he would bump into more things, which mathematically would have to be true, as if you cover more ground you will find more. This pup on the other hand is much calmer, I believe as calm as a dog be and she with that trait takes the time to search a lesser range area far more thoroughly and it is paying off. I have let this dog both point and trail whitetail, I would never have let the other dog do that, as he would have ended up in the next county or state.

[Georgia Boy]

If a dog out runs its nose what good is it? I require a good search out of my dogs but also need the use of nose.

[pointstar]

If a dog out runs its nose what good is it? I require a good search out of my dogs but also need the use of nose.

Makes sense, but my male now just a memory would bring back trophies, as a good percentage of what he sighted did not have time to react. I do love my new female, as I am able to relax with her and watching her is a joy. Both types of dogs have their strong points, I guess it depends on how you intend to use them, it's kind of like saying that an F-18 is better than a Stealth, as the reality is either way something is going down. Though I am not sure how a hunter would shoot a bird being pointed from a half mile or a mile away with a shotgun.

[buckshot1]

I don't use check-cords much at all and never use one for the purpose of keeping young pups near me. I let the pup roam just as soon as it can walk well enough and the pup learns that it is it's job to keep in contact with me and not my job to keep in contact with it. When pups are young they are usually a bit insecure and they make an effort to find me in woodlands or anywhere else . All I do is help them out by whistling and/or calling for them should I see them go the wrong way in their efforts to find me.

I keep an eye out for strong distractions to a pup such as a strange dog appearing on the scene and will often put my pup on a lead until the other dog has moved on and is out of sight of the puppy. This is all made easier for me by taking a few other dogs along on these puppy walks. My pup will follow the other dogs out but when I recall the other dogs the pup follows them all the way back to me again. The pup learns the recall whistle with no need for me to make any real effort to teach it.

Bill T.

+1. A dog that learns to go with you and keep track of you when he's an insecure puppy will continue to cooperate and keep track of you even when he's a confident adult running hundreds of yards out.

[NLsetter]

At 13 weeks there is no need for CC. In the forest allow the dog to explore and build confidence in it self. keeping your mouth shut is good. Most pups want to come around a see where your at.

by CDN_Cocker
Pups should get off leash time from the moment you get them. Between 8 and 12 weeks (sometimes longer depending on the dog) they do not want to leave your side or get very far away. You need to capitalize on this. People that never let their dogs off leash tend to never be able to.


x2
...... 5-6 months? depending on the dog....( CC/e collar)

Exactly, get them use to being off leash especially if you get them at 8-12 weeks old. As far as being on a check cord all the time, that can have issues later on. I hide on my pups and make them search for me from day one and two whistle blows and they are back within sight to check in.

[41magsnub]

+3

Every dog I've ever had (hunting or not), I gave as much freedom to as possible out of the house. Off leash hikes in safe places and a heavy emphasis on recall. Every few minutes on every early hike I'd call her and give her a treat. If the dog started getting too far away, I'd hide. The dog would freak out a little and come looking for me and she learned to stay in visual range. With my GWP, at 3 months, we were hiking off leash with no stress at all. At 4 months she was running off leash with the adult dogs pheasant hunting.

[SpringerDude]

Though I am not sure how a hunter would shoot a bird being pointed from a half mile or a mile away with a shotgun.

The dog should hold point until you get there. Right?

[Sharon]

Pups should get off leash time from the moment you get them. Between 8 and 12 weeks (sometimes longer depending on the dog) they do not want to leave your side or get very far away. You need to capitalize on this. People that never let their dogs off leash tend to never be able to.

That's what I do. Off leash from day one in safe areas . In the meantime I'm working on come and transitioning to an e collar before pup get too independent around 4-6 months.