New Pup

[Juddro]

Hello to all,

I am new to this site and like what i have read. I am 32 years old and just got my first GSP. His name is Brueno. My grandfather was big into to GSP's and do I ever wish I would have racked his brain. My dog seems to be a quick learner. He sits, lays down, retreives, and comes very well. I have put him on a wing and he points immediately but tries to inch up too close. He is only 3 1/2 months old. Should I ease off the wing a little and try to teach him whoa or am I headed in the right direction. I am new to training and can use all the help I can get. Thanks to all. Juddro
Rank: Just A Pup

Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Oct 05, 2011 11:59 pm
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[Redfishkilla]

Get him excited about birds and let him be a puppy for another coupla months before you start formal yard work. Work on recall without much pressure. In the mean time, you need to read every training book you can get your hands on. Good luck.

[Greek]

Welome!! I too am getting a GSP pup this week so I will be in the same boat. I have trained a Chessie to JH. So getting a pointer will be a new experience for me. I suggest you find a local hunt club that trains once a month or so. It s great to have a good club to rlean on. A few great tips I got when I 1st strated training dogs from some Pro's was less is more and always end on a good note. End your training session while the pup is still high in drive. Congrats and good luck with your pup. I too really enjoy this site.

[DonF]

Get rid of the wing, it encourages sight pointing. That said, we all use it a little, fun to watch! I would not put the pup on birds other than wild birds it finds on it's own, "bleep" birds will do just fine for now. What the pup needs now is a ton of happy timing. Go out with it where it can get up and go. Make sure it finds all kinds of cover and learns to go into it. They will usually find "bleep" birds in that cover and soon will hit cover like they were born doing it. I do take a 22 rifle with me on those walks to get the pup used to gun fire. I do not indiscrimantly shoot. When the pup is engaged in somethi9ng it's liking I hold the barrel a couple inch's off the ground and fire a shot. If I fire again on that walk depends on how I see the pup react. But no matter how it reacts, the walk goes on like nothing happened. If the pup come's running to me for comfort, I ignore it like nothing happened. Many people introduce the gun when the pup is chasing training birds, and do very well with it. I simply don't want to risk making a pup think a training bird is what made the gun fire and associate it with the bird then maybe start blinking the birds to avoid the gun shot. I would admit that with a good pup, that won't likely happen but, there are good pup's that are a bit timid and that is the one I want to make sure doesn't bomb.

Probably about 6 mos I introduce the whoa post to my own pups, it's was at a year for outside dogs. That was because it was at around a year when I like to get get them in having done nothing but a lot of happy timing and that they come when called. I never hunt a dog it's first hunting season. The young dog is not going to care if it's finding training birds or wild birds. Don't care and don't matter. But the pup that is hunted during the first hunting season is usually going to have mistakes made by a hunter that came to shoot birds. They reason that maybe if they do it just right the pup won't see it or respond to it. Maybe not but then maybe so. Avoid shooting perserves like the plague. Pen raised birds can sometimes fly well and will get away from the pup. To often though they will act like pen raised birds and the chance of the pup learning to scoop birds is right there, a problem you'll have to fix.

[Juddro]

i appreciate the insight. any advise will help. I am rally having fun with my pup and look forward to training hin.