How to develop forward run with puppy for field trial

[Born2Run]

HI I am working with my 9 month old pup that I bred. I have 2 questions: I do horseback field trials and walking, but need to get her to run forward and not yo yo back and forth. Judges don't like that. Second, what is the best way to get the puppy use to me riding the horse, when I get on she just hangs out and won't run forward, like she is confused about what we are doing. She is not fearful at all of the horse, he lives at our house, so they are buddies. Thanks for any help, great forum, wish I had joined a long time ago instead of our regional message board. This is way better.

[Ricky Ticky Shorthairs]

Run her with another dog that does it right.

[mnaj_springer]

Wait, when you say "yo yo back and forth" do you mean running a pattern and hunting? Why don't judges like that?

Sorry to get off topic, but I'm ignorant in regards to pointer trials.

[polmaise]

Let's be honest . You Don't do Horse back trials.
You may have a wish to ,but you don't as yet .
If you do ,then ask them that does.

[Dakotazeb]

Your dog is still a pup at 9 months. I think you are expecting too much from her at this age. Why not put the horse away and walk with her and see if she will run out a little more since you have a feeling the horse might be effecting her in the field. Once you get her running to your liking with you walking slowly introduce the horse back into the equation. Good luck and take your time, she is still young.

[greg jacobs]

Welcome.
What a coincidence. I have a nine month old pup as well

[shags]

Once your pup is running well while you're on foot, run her off horseback at grounds where she knows she'll find birds. That way she'll be thinking about hunting and not be worrying what you're doing. While you're up there, stay quiet. Don't be all "OK, go on, hurry up, hunt 'em up". Just ignore the dog because the more you blabber, the more she's going to stick around to listen to you. Same goes for yo-yoing - be quiet and ignore it, make sure she has a reason to stay forward (birds!).
She's just a little pup still, so be patient. She'll get it eventually if she has anything in her to get.

Good luck, and welcome to the forum.

[AZ Brittany Guy]

Just keep running him and keep quite. He will get bored with you and venture out further and further as time goes on. Get him on a fence line and turn him loose. Make a note on how far he runs until he peels off in a different direction. The next time plant a bird in a launcher about ten yards further than his "peel off" distance and launch the bird before he peels off. Gradually increase the distance.

I wish you the best.

[gundogguy]

Just keep running him and keep quite. He will get bored with you and venture out further and further as time goes on. Get him on a fence line and turn him loose. Make a note on how far he runs until he peels off in a different direction. The next time plant a bird in a launcher about ten yards further than his "peel off" distance and launch the bird before he peels off. Gradually increase the distance.

I wish you the best.

Good! This works well for pups and really does stop the Yo Yo pattern and the re hunting old ground.Your is pup is a youngster as has been noted, I would start the lining exercises on foot as well be fore bringing the horse into the picture.

[polmaise]

A good head wind with game in front should help

[Gertie]

Just keep running him and keep quite. He will get bored with you and venture out further and further as time goes on. Get him on a fence line and turn him loose. Make a note on how far he runs until he peels off in a different direction. The next time plant a bird in a launcher about ten yards further than his "peel off" distance and launch the bird before he peels off. Gradually increase the distance.

I wish you the best.

This is awesome. I'm going to try it! Thanks for posting.

[Sharon]

Excellent advice on this thread. ; once again it is the use of birds that will solve a problem.

[polmaise]

Excellent advice on this thread. ; once again it is the use of birds that will solve a problem.

For sure , but unless the handler knows how to 'Not create a problem' in the first place then there will be many more after each one is encountered . The next dog with that handler should be better than the one before .The birds will still be birds .

[AZ Brittany Guy]

I once used a tip from Dave Walker. The situation was the dog was about 3 years old, green broke and had received excessive use of a ecollar. He yo-yo'ed because he was cautious and insecure. Walker suggested "in this situation" that every time he came back to me, I leashed him up and we had a short whoa training session. I would unhook him and give him two short toots and a long trill as he casted off. After about three days of leashing him every time he came in, he quit doing it and would just stop at about 75 yards and look at me until I raised my hand, toot and trill. He would take off and run further. He settled in to checking in about 3 times a half hour run. It was a good tip that worked for me.

[AZ Brittany Guy]

Excellent advice on this thread. ; once again it is the use of birds that will solve a problem.

For sure , but unless the handler knows how to 'Not create a problem' in the first place then there will be many more after each one is encountered . The next dog with that handler should be better than the one before .The birds will still be birds .

Some of us learn by our mistakes. You know the definition of insanity?

[Born2Run]

Thank you for several excellent tips. Judges want to see the dog out in front, not running back to the handler then back out again (like a yo yo). I like the one tip about using launchers some distance out. Will try that next, give her a good reason to stay out. I do run her with my broke dog and the pup goes out far with her. She is starting to get it. It's when she is by herself that she runs back to me. When on foot, she stays out mostly, better than when on horseback. I understand its repetition. Just keep doing it. I use a wonderful trainer and got good tips there too. However sometimes dogs do act differently when they work for you versus the trainer, on the trainer's grounds, ect. But some of these specific training techniques are appreciated and things I can practice at home. For the person who commented "let's be honest you don't do horseback trials..." I would say that if you can't be helpful just don't comment, it's rude.

[Born2Run]

Welcome.
What a coincidence. I have a nine month old pup as well

Big smile on my face every time I see Sonny's photo! Basil did great last weekend in the trial... Still yo yo'ed but way better than the last time, thanks to the tips here!! Good to see a familiar friend, Greg!

As for the age of the pup that some of you commented/concerned about:

I am not expecting too much from a 9 month old pup because I don't expect her to be doing it correctly right now. I do expect that she gets better each time, learning, and she is, very enthusiastically. She has a great capacity to learn, very biddable. The capacity of the pup is determined by it's breeding. So I let her guide what we do next, it's not my decision. We go as fast or slow as she needs.

I rescued and helped problem mutts for 20 years before getting into GSP's. The animal if very smart can learn quite fast. Some need a lot more time, depends on the intelligence and temperament. Young dogs make their brain connections during rapid brain growth, so they need to learn how to learn at a very young age. So, Making a blanket statement that 9 months old is too young, in my opinion, would not be correct for every dog or even every breed. Not trying to argue, want to calm your concern that she is being pushed too hard, not any sign of that at all. With much respect and thanks.