How much prey drive should you see how soon??

[SuperCracker]

Ok, knucklehead (Jeager) is 9 1/2 weeks now and I'm starting to have some concerns.

I know he's a baby, but how much hunting instinct/prey drive should I be seeing at this age? Before I got him I had been worried about keeping him from chasing my chickens, now he's showing only marginal or fleeting interest at best. He might chase one for a minute when i feed and will try to sit and wait for one to come close, but get's over it quick. Then today a cricket got in the office. He saw it, sniffed it for a few seconds and went back and laid down!!!

What puppy in their right mind won't chase and kill a cricket?

Should I be concerned or am I being a nut job? :huh

[SuperCracker]

I also caught a young hen and held her for him to sniff and mess with. When I put her down she stayed still and he was kind of curious. When she got up and ran off he just watched then went back to sniffing around.

[slistoe]

Sounds like much ado about nothing to me.

[slistoe]

OK, I went and read some of your previous posts. It seems you have free-range chickens that you want the dog to ignore - why on earth you would let him "sniff and mess with" a hen is beyond me.

[SuperCracker]

I had expected to have to worry about him chasing the chickens. But rather than be after them, he's shown at best passing interest.

[slistoe]

I am sure your day will come, but trying to incite the dog to chase them? Foolish.

[SuperCracker]

OK, I went and read some of your previous posts. It seems you have free-range chickens that you want the dog to ignore - why on earth you would let him "sniff and mess with" a hen is beyond me.

I was just trying to spark some interest in birds and maybe give him a reason to want to find them.


Naturally, I posted this then took him out for a minute and he immediately homed in on a grasshopper, caught it......lost it in the grass....used his nose to find it....then caught it again.



I suppose it's just me.

[tn red]

The pup will be fine .Those chickens look huge to a pup get some quail later on .

[brentonlwin]

I'm by far no expert. I'm training my second GSP pup now and kind of had the some wories for a while but they are gone now. The first pup I trained (if you could say trained, she was a natural) was so full of drive she was about to explode from day one. The first time she saw live birds when I brought home some quail that were in a cage she locked up tight on point and trembled with intensity. Her retrieve was 100% natural all the way back to my hand everytime as well. I took her for granted, I thought all bird dogs worked like that...boy was I wrong.

On pup number two I kind of expected the same thing but didn't get it. She was of little interest to the birds at first. She was even a bit scared of them when they fluttered there wings. I thought she would never turn out to be a good dog but after a week or so of putting birds out for her to find she started to come around and is hunting good and pointing well. Now she acts like a different dog. I was all worked up for nothing. Now, she may never be as intense as my first pup and I know her retreive won't be as strong but she is looking like she will still make a very good dog.

It just goes to show you that every dog is different. A lesson that I'm sure many experienced people on this board learned a long time ago.

Brent

[birddogger]

OK, I went and read some of your previous posts. It seems you have free-range chickens that you want the dog to ignore - why on earth you would let him "sniff and mess with" a hen is beyond me.

My thoughts exactly.

Charlie