Brought home an 8 week old GSP..........now what!!

Coach · Post by **Coach** » Wed Apr 29, 2015 10:12 am

Brought this cute girl home on Sunday.

She is 8 weeks old today. I have had a couple setters, but never a GSP. Working on potty training which is always a challenge.

I have watched all of the Willow Creek You-Tube videos and plan on following those pretty close. I plan on joining a local NAVHDA chapter, even though it is 100 miles away and plan on going to their training days a couple times a month.

Any advice or tips for you pros?

Mom

Lineage

Post by **Sharon** » Wed Apr 29, 2015 8:09 pm

We aren't all Pros on here , but we can give good advice.

BEAUTIFUL pup.

Priority : socialization

http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/D ... ionPup.php

in regards to your other question: Pup should be able to turn around in the crate, and stand up fully , but that's about it for effective house breaking. Extra space = a place to pee. Those crates with a moveable slat are ideal as pup grows. For my older dogs in the house , I want a bigger crate so they can stretch out etc.

Collins1527 · Post by **Collins1527** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 7:43 am

I would say right now work on desensitiz her to everything. That will make for a trainable dog down the road.

Coach · Post by **Coach** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 7:59 am

She is being well socialized right now. Walks with my kids and my other two dogs to the local parks. I have taken her to work a couple days this week to see my crew and spend the day in the job trailer with me.

I have started with some very basic commands, sit and come. Just after a couple short sessions she is doing great.

The only problem right now is she hates the kennel. She will whine for hours if she is placed in it. Still working on that.

Thanks for the input guys.

reba · Post by **reba** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 8:58 am

Pup should not be taken into public places until it has had all vaccinations.

The sooner you learn that the puppy going potty in the house is your fault, the sooner the pup will be house broken:-) A count down timer set for every 20 minutes might help. They sure do go potty often. I set the kennel next to my bed and if the puppy starts moving around in the night, outside we go. The good part is the pup will learn faster then any child. Buy a gallon of Natures Miracle or two.

Post by **ezzy333** » Thu Apr 30, 2015 11:07 am

reba wrote:Pup should not be taken into public places until it has had all vaccinations.

The sooner you learn that the puppy going potty in the house is your fault, the sooner the pup will be house broken:-) A count down timer set for every 20 minutes might help. They sure do go potty often. I set the kennel next to my bed and if the puppy starts moving around in the night, outside we go. The good part is the pup will learn faster then any child. Buy a gallon of Natures Miracle or two.

I have had puppies wet in the house but I am not taking the blame for it and I am not blaming the pup either. It is a body function neither of us has control over. I have found if I use the pups natural instinct we have few accidents. I always use a crate and the pup is kept in the crate when I am not involved with it. Every time I take the pup out of the crate we go out till the pup potties and then we come back in to play. When play time is over it goes back in the crate to nap and the whole cycle starts over. This follows natures natural scheme and reduces the need to place blame.

luvthemud · Post by **luvthemud** » Fri May 01, 2015 2:53 am

Good looking dog!

My dog just turned 4.5 months old. Potty training was a lot tougher with this dog than my last. My last dog figured it out right away. This one though seems to just spring a leak every once in a while when he is playing or acting crazy. I do blame myself for some of the accidents because I simply didn't acknowledge the signals the dog was giving, or just waited too long to take him out. No accidents in the crate though, which is always more of a concern for me.

My aunt and uncle did the "timer" thing. Every 30 minutes during the day and every hour during the night they took the dog out until it reached 5 or 6 months old if I recall. Different strokes I guess cause there is no way in heck I am waking up every hour lol! They do not crate their dogs though and are super picky about their house.

Good luck!

luvthemud · Post by **luvthemud** » Fri May 01, 2015 4:27 am

Oh yeah.....tell your daughter to hide her stuffed animals lol!

aulrich · Post by **aulrich** » Fri May 01, 2015 10:22 am

Lots of time in puppy sized hunting country and puppy sized water, other wise known as FUN field romps.

And remember at this stage you need to show the pup that you walk through cover not on the path.

And as long as you don’t over do it, the wing on a string drill is something you can do now.

introduce him to a warm dead bird, pigeon or chuckar

Post by **Sharon** » Fri May 01, 2015 2:07 pm

You folks are making me want a GSP again.

Beautiful pups.

My first GSP. You'll notice a chain big enough to control a lion. Just a newbie.

NEhomer · Post by **NEhomer** » Fri May 01, 2015 7:23 pm

Congrats on your beautiful pup.

getzapped · Post by **getzapped** » Fri May 01, 2015 8:17 pm

luvthemud wrote:Oh yeah.....tell your daughter to hide her stuffed animals lol!

That is one thing my gsp is good at! Decreasing the stuffed animal population.

Coach · Post by **Coach** » Mon May 04, 2015 5:44 am

So far so good.

Just working on socialization and bonding. Very light obedience, crate training and house breaking.

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