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mavrick8019
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New to this forum

Post by mavrick8019 » Tue Feb 26, 2019 2:19 pm

I just purchased a GSP and have had him for the last month and half. He is three months. I have always owned German Shepherds. I have found the training to be some what difficult with GSP in regards to getting him to listen when off leash. If i have his collar on he listens better. I live in the country so I have a lot of land around me to let him run and work him But once I take that off and he gets on a sent hes gone. Any recommendations on getting to stay close with out the shock collar. The vibration does the trick to get him to stay close.

Thanks
Phil

cjhills
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Re: New to this forum

Post by cjhills » Tue Feb 26, 2019 8:03 pm

He is awfully young to expect a solid recall. work on yard training . When you take him into the field try not to get in situations where you need to call him. Call once and walk away. …..Cj

birddogger2
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Re: New to this forum

Post by birddogger2 » Tue Feb 26, 2019 8:56 pm

Hi Phil and welcome -

I think you may be coming to the realization that a bird dog like a GSP is wired a little different than the g3erman Shepherds you are familiar with.

A bird dog is hard wired to "seek game" and is often much less concerned with the whereabouts of its owner than A guard dog might be.

I suggest you spend time in the yard with your new dog, getting it to both bond with and listen to you. That early bonding and conditioning is key.

I also suggest that when you take it to the field, you work on getting the dog to stay with you. Once the dog is used to being around you and shows that it WANTS to be with you there are things you can do in the field. There are several things you can do to "encourage" the dog to keep tabs on you. one of the most effective things you can do with a young dog is to let the dog ramble in n unfamiliar area and when it is not paying attention...to hide. Let the dog think it has lost you and it will almost certainly come back and look for you. You can also change direction, with or without alerting the dog to the change.

It is very important that you indoctrinate the youngster by running the dog in heavy, tough cover when it is young, like yours is. That tires them out quickly and makes them more comfortable hanging with you. As the dog gest older, bigger and stronger...it will also get bolder and more independent and tend to push those boundaries. If it learns to hang with you when it is young, it will tend to continue to do that when it grows.

Have fun with your youngster. Good training.

RayG

averageguy
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Re: New to this forum

Post by averageguy » Wed Feb 27, 2019 10:33 am

Good advice above. Adding to it.

I have my puppies drag a light check cord at that age. I only give a recall command to a pup that age when its body language and attention indicate it is likely to heed my request. I avoid giving the command when the pup's activity indicate it is engrossed in something a lot more interesting than I am and thus will predictably ignore my command if I give it at that moment.

I also give the Here command when I am close enough to get my foot on the check cord and gently reel the pup into me if it does not comply. I praise the pup when it arrives whether it did so voluntarily or I had to use the check cord to accomplish it, as it needs to always be a pleasant experience when the pup comes to me. Giving a pup that age a treat when it arrives can be beneficial in building the desired behavior as well.

Working on recall in the yard is better than the field at this age. When giving my pups a walk in the field at that age I limit my recalls to one or two a session. I used a Garmin mini-collar with GPS on my latest pup and it was a wonderful improvement in being able to let the pup explore some out of sight while still able to know where he was and safe while doing it. Something to consider perhaps. The tool can easily make you a better hands off and less nervous handler during this critical stage of development.

Until you have the recall working well in the yard I would not be going to the ecollar just yet. The Perfect Start DVD will provide you excellent instruction on teaching the Here command and then overlaying the ecollar to proof the already trained command, as well as many other foundational areas of training that are critical to your pup's development.

I trained a couple of German Shepards and several hounds before my first Bird Dog. The experience was valuable but the degree of independence in the hounds and bird dogs is off the charts compared to the German Shepards I trained so just know that your GSP is normal and doing what you would hope to see at this point in its development.

The puppy phase goes too fast, enjoy it and take a lot of photos.

Meskousing
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Re: New to this forum

Post by Meskousing » Thu Feb 28, 2019 9:02 am

I'm also a neophyte to training, but am four years down the path. So, I'll offer the perspective of a guy that remembers being in your shoes. I'm going to be blunt so you don't have to waste a lot of energy deciphering and because you're behind the 8-ball by waiting this long to seek advice.

First, you don't know what you don't know. Dog training is common sense and most of us lack enough common sense to train dogs effectively. I've experienced this firsthand, so you're not alone.

Second, get with someone or a group of people that really know what they are talking about. Uncle Louie that had the best dern bird dog in Sasquatch
County back in the '70's is full of BS. Get with people that have trained dogs to an objective standard. People that are willing to have their dogs judged to an objective standard have proven their chops in dog training. Listen to them, even if that means that you have to stop doing things that you think are correct. You're not. Again, I learned this firsthand.

Along with the above, if you're not sure whether someone knows what they are talking about, ask them what their thoughts are on force fetch. If they aren't familiar with force fetch find someone else to train with. Whether they use force fetch or not is not the important thing. If they have knowledge of it and understand the pros and cons, then they have been around the block. Everyone here has an opinion on it.

E-collars are a powerful tool. If you're going to use one, work with someone that has a SYSTEM on it's use. A person that trains with one should be able to explain how to 'push' with a collar and never call it a 'shock collar.' If they can't, find someone else and never listen to that person about e-collars again. It's nothing more than an implement of force. Don't 'hit' your dog with it any harder than you'd be willing to hit your dog with a broom handle. One of my best sources of information on training with an e-collar was a professional obedience trainer that specialized in e-collars. We (my dog and I) learned a lot of our obedience in the class. I took the approach that if I can't get the dog to wait for me to walk through the front door with an arm-full of groceries, I couldn't expect it to be steady when birds were flying.

That got longer than I anticipated, but that's my norm. Do the work. You won't regret it. No good education is easy or cheap. Enjoy the ride.

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