I am in Missoula MT and bought my first pointing dog last July.. Maddie the GWP. I've hunted with a lot of pointers and trained a lab as a flusher years ago.
I am in with a group of 4 guys who have a private pheasant preserve and all last season (at least once per weekend and frequently twice from September through March) I let Maddie run with the other dogs since she was honoring points like a champ right out of the gate. She only a couple of times bumped a bird another dog was pointing. She just followed the other dogs around and learned. I shot a few birds that she flash pointed towards the end of the season and she did great retrieving them. She is as birdy as can be and has great instincts. When we are on walks she quarters in front of me nicely.
She turned 1 last week and for next few weeks we are focusing on whoa. She is doing pretty well, she will hold once I make her whoa for as long as she has to. I've popped off a cap gun and thrown her ball which gets her trembling but she stays put until released. Some repetition should get that dialed in nicely.
Next steps are to bring in some pigeons. I have coop set up and I am working on finding birds. This will be critical, at present she only sight points which will be fixable with some birds.
It is really cool to watch her progress! My goal is that by the season start in September she scent points reliably and is steady. Everything beyond that is a bonus.
