A Little Help Here
A Little Help Here
I am new to training gun dogs. I've worked with S&R dogs and helped start an S&R dog group in our county several years ago. Don't let my weak credentials fool anyone as I wasn't all that good at it. I recently purchased an English Setter pup. I have about 1400 questions and I've been reading old posts and googling anything I can think of to help prevent me from ruining a good dog with great promise. He's 15 weeks old and I've been concentrating on basic obedience and just letting him be a pup. I'm searching out local clubs and trainers for advice however upland game season starts up here this weekend and believe it or not most of the gun dog folks here are kind of busy. I'm fairly certain that I have time to do things the right way once I find a method that meets my needs however I have a few immediate concerns that I could use some help with. I've never trained a pointer and I'm worried that I may "train" the pointer out of him. Should I be pulling him off of his point when he's pointing deer beds, grass hoppers, etc? Should I be using bottled scent for tracking? Are there any absolute "DONT'S" at this age? Is there a beginners tutorial here that I'm not finding? Are there youtube videos that are better than others? At this point I'm not real interested in competitions or trials what I want is a hunting partner. Thanks guys. This is a great site by the way.
Re: A Little Help Here
let him point deer beds and anything else he wants at this point. Down the road he'll run into a bird you planted and he point it. Might not hold it long but that's another matter. What you don't want to do is shoot anything that come's out of the deer bed. "bleep" birds are great, the pup should point them at some point but he'll never catch them. Leave him alone, he's learning.
I pity the man that has never been loved by a dog!
Re: A Little Help Here
What Don said, great advice.
If the pup gets over involved in the occasional deer bed or whatever, and you want to get going, treat it like a non-event, tell him 'That's enough' or whatever and move on. Be nice about it. He'll come with you sooner or later
Don't waste money or effort on scents. Especially for tracking. That's not how pointing dogs roll.
You have training knowledge from your S&R background, but you might need to alter your approach with your setter. A bird dog needs to develop independence, and not look for continual guidance and control from its handler.
Good luck with your pup.
P.S. We want pictures!!!
If the pup gets over involved in the occasional deer bed or whatever, and you want to get going, treat it like a non-event, tell him 'That's enough' or whatever and move on. Be nice about it. He'll come with you sooner or later
Don't waste money or effort on scents. Especially for tracking. That's not how pointing dogs roll.
You have training knowledge from your S&R background, but you might need to alter your approach with your setter. A bird dog needs to develop independence, and not look for continual guidance and control from its handler.
Good luck with your pup.
P.S. We want pictures!!!
Re: A Little Help Here
When he points deer beds or butterflies or whatever, just keep walking and treat it like a non event. NO, to training scents.
Re: A Little Help Here
Thanks guys. This is why I joined. Newbies can be a little bothersome at times so I appreciate the responses. So what's the best e-collar? Just kidding. 
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10Sam29
- Rank: Junior Hunter
- Posts: 41
- Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2013 6:56 am
- Location: Northern California in the Wine Country
Re: A Little Help Here
Invest in the Perfect Start, Perfect Finish DVD series ASAP. Well worth the money, and you can take your time as you two work through it.
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RayGubernat
- GDF Junkie
- Posts: 3309
- Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2008 11:47 am
- Location: Central DE
Re: A Little Help Here
Gunflint -
Just about the best thing you can do with a bird dog puppy is take it for walks with you in short6-8") to medium(18") grass and light wooded areas. Let the pup explore, build confidence and learn the most important training lesson of all. That lesson is that YOU are where the fun is at. If the pup learns that being with you is the very best thing it can possibly do, it will pay HUGE dividends for all the rest of that pup''s life, and make your time together so much more fun and enjoyable for you as well.
I have found that if the pup develops a trust in me and enjoys and wants to be with me, there is very little I cannot do with that pup, down the road.
A puppy can do no wrong...is a mantra that you should ascribe to. You want all of your early associations with the pup, even training...to be fun for the pup.
About the only thing I ask of a puppy is to come to me when I call.
Do some reading, watch some videos and decide on a training plan...then stick to the plan.
If at all possible, get together with a training group, or go to a Smith seminar or something similar. Training a bird dog is all about hands on contact, positive reinforcement and timing. When you see it done right, you know what to do, how to do it and when. When you are guided to doing it right with your dog...you understand the techinque and you own the technique.
When you read and watch videos, you are removed from the tactile sensations that happen when you put your hands on the dog. Someone can tell you how to stroke a dog and you can watch a video, but you cannot get the feeling of the dog's response to your touch until you do it yourself.
Lastly, the only dumb question is the one you do not ask.
RayG
Just about the best thing you can do with a bird dog puppy is take it for walks with you in short6-8") to medium(18") grass and light wooded areas. Let the pup explore, build confidence and learn the most important training lesson of all. That lesson is that YOU are where the fun is at. If the pup learns that being with you is the very best thing it can possibly do, it will pay HUGE dividends for all the rest of that pup''s life, and make your time together so much more fun and enjoyable for you as well.
I have found that if the pup develops a trust in me and enjoys and wants to be with me, there is very little I cannot do with that pup, down the road.
A puppy can do no wrong...is a mantra that you should ascribe to. You want all of your early associations with the pup, even training...to be fun for the pup.
About the only thing I ask of a puppy is to come to me when I call.
Do some reading, watch some videos and decide on a training plan...then stick to the plan.
If at all possible, get together with a training group, or go to a Smith seminar or something similar. Training a bird dog is all about hands on contact, positive reinforcement and timing. When you see it done right, you know what to do, how to do it and when. When you are guided to doing it right with your dog...you understand the techinque and you own the technique.
When you read and watch videos, you are removed from the tactile sensations that happen when you put your hands on the dog. Someone can tell you how to stroke a dog and you can watch a video, but you cannot get the feeling of the dog's response to your touch until you do it yourself.
Lastly, the only dumb question is the one you do not ask.
RayG