Inherited 8 Year old GSP

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Henry_the_III
Rank: Just A Pup
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Joined: Wed May 03, 2017 8:02 pm

Inherited 8 Year old GSP

Post by Henry_the_III » Fri Jun 02, 2017 7:46 am

Hey guys,

I recently inherited an 8 year old GSP from a close friends brother who due to new family circumstances cannot keep the dog. I've known the dog since he was a pup as he has tagged along on every fishing hunting and camping trip we've taken over the past 8 years as well as dog sitting for the previous owner a few times per year. So far he has adapted quite well to my place. The dog was sent out for professional training as a puppy and used for hunting a ton until about a year and a half ago. Having known him his entire life though he is definitely sloppy in the field and bush compared to what he was. I was told to use a fox40 whistle for recall. However his recall is unreliable (about 75% effective). I'm wondering if this is due to a lack of exposure recently, age, or myself. Is the dog too old to sharpen back up into hunting shape? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

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Sharon
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Location: Ontario,Canada

Re: Inherited 8 Year old GSP

Post by Sharon » Fri Jun 02, 2017 4:01 pm

" Is the dog too old to sharpen back up into hunting shape?" quote

Not in my opinion. Start back with the basics and enjoy.:)
" We are more than our gender, skin color, class, sexuality or age; we are unlimited potential, and can not be defined by one label." quote A. Bartlett

setterpoint
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Re: Inherited 8 Year old GSP

Post by setterpoint » Fri Jun 02, 2017 6:31 pm

no not at all just hunt the dog and try not to controll the dog to much

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tekoa
Rank: Junior Hunter
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Location: George, WA

Re: Inherited 8 Year old GSP

Post by tekoa » Fri Jun 02, 2017 8:00 pm

I had a similar problem several years ago. Friend of mine died after I promised to take his 7 year old Setter that hadn't been out of the kennel and back yard for two years.

His whoa and recall were almost nonexistent. So, back to kindergarten. I just treated his training like a puppy. Took about six weeks two times a day for 10 minutes , about the same as it took my last pup , of mostly positive reinforcement, with some collar training in the last week, plus some bird exposure and he was perfect on recall and about 90% on whoa ( which is better than I did with my own FC Setter). Also tuned up his heel and added hand signal for turn. Probably could have done it faster with a bit more pressure, but Setters, unlike GSPs are notoriously soft and I didn't want to push him into quitting.

Good luck.

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