Gun Dog Forum

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

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

Not in my opinion. Start back with the basics and enjoy.

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

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.