Day 2.5 new dog doing well, i think

E

EEK

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I got a 15 week old male GSP, i got him about 3 days ago,i work with him a coulpe hours everyday and he is a wonderfull dog to be around, i have him house broke, comming every time i call him and feching a canvas dummy with phesant scent on it 98% of the time right to me, no problem putting it to my hand, he uses his nose very well and is very alert to everything going on outside. If he cant find the dummy i tell him to find it and he looks untill he finds it and brings it to me. Now i am about at the end of what i know about how to properly train a hunting dog and i dont want to damage him with bad work. Any advice i could use till i find a trainer or get some books would help, Where i live is lab country so there isnt anyone i know that has a GSP.
 
After reading alot here i realize there is a mountain of things i need to know that i dont, things like should i let him play with the traing dummies all the time, when should he be whoa trained ect, just beinf OC i guess , this dog is a sponge and i really want to make the best of the time i spend outside with him, as soon as it gets a bit warmer i an taking him to work so i can train a bit there as there are some wild birds usually, so far all i have found is Canadian geese, he just got all stiff and looked at them at about 50 feet, they were as big as he was. Anyway, just want to be sure i do OK as this dog has become a big part of my family faster that w would have ever thought.
 
if by work you mean you train with him for a couple of hours every day - I would be careful of that. That's an awful lot for a 15 week old pup. Remember to let him be a puppy too. He may get burned out
 
By work i mean fech for about 1/2 hour, some obediance , goinig to a new field to see whats there, playing with the kids, finding a wing or dummy, so work is probably not the right work.
 
I live in S.E Idaho, so far all i can find are wild geese, i might buy some chuckers when it warms up, its snowing again but we played fetch for about 45 minuets and the dog is doing really well, he loves that scented dummy and would fetch for alot longer if i let him
 
Take your time, most bird dogs arent going to be at their best till they are probably 3 years old or older and have a lot of experience under their belts. Someone else may correct me if im wrong, that just a general observation and conclusion on my part.

A good magazine subscription might be to the pointing dog journal. www.pointingdogjournal.com

If you subscribe that affords you access to the discussion board. I dont visit there much but you can learn a lot if you are a newbie and I think there are a few frequent active members from Idaho.

Let the dog be a pup and be patient. It seems like you know this but it takes far more time to undue a mistake than it does to go slowly and do it right the first time.

As has been said, let your dog be a pup and explore, Id only work on basic obedience for now. If the dog is a house dog then you will probably need to teach it a few more commands and house manners at this early stage than a kennel dog.

As the dog gets older Id say one of the most important things to remember is to never give a command you cant enforce. Always remember that. Once a dog knows a command you should only have to say it once or twice, if you keep repeating yourself and getting frustrated the dog learns it only has to listen when it wants too.

Theres so many things but thats an important one in my book.

One of my setters is 9 years old. Her pup will be a year old next month. The pup is kinda soft so I havent introduced to the e collar yet, but her personality is becoming more bold. She doesnt always listen to basic commands immediately when shes not in the back yard or the bird field so Im waiting to get the e collar back from DT to enforce some basic commands so I can proof her and move forward with other things. Basic commands and having a dog listen to me are very important to me no matter the age, primarily for the dogs safety. Ive had one get run over right in front of me as it didnt listen to my "come" command when it should have and I never want to repeat that experience. So i probably have a different outlook on things than some other people.

Exposure to birds is pretty important, but you want to be careful on how you do it depending on how much prey drive your dog has and how bold it is.

You need to figure out your dogs personality and tailor your training methodology to that. A bold dog you can get away with a lot and it will be very forgiving, however sometimes these dogs are very hard headed and will require a lot of electricity. A timid dog will not take much pressure, a heavy hand or a frustrated trainer and will take far more time. And then theres everything in between. Best to figure out what you got first.

DEFINITELY get your introduction to the gun right. You do not want to mess that up. Slow is best when it comes to that.
 
Well said. It took me a long time for my dog to get used to the gun. first started with a .22. he did well.. when it came to the shotgun, it didnt really scare him, unless it was right next to him. after a year old, he gotten so used to the .22 and shotgun, he didnt seem to mind it now.

some people tell me GSP will point when they are ready, some will point when they are under a year, some will point when they are 2 years old. be patient, if they dont point at the age of 1.. doesnt mean hes compromised. it just hasnt hit him yet.

i agree on basic training if the dog is gonna be in the house, my breeder did a good job training him for in the house. I didnt have any problems when i got him. just had to wait and let him play, he is a puppy,

human grew up babies and our parents didnt throw us at corprate offices and say hey, start working at 6 months old. we have to have time to learn however have fun at the same time. let the pup have fun but dont let him get carried away with biting or chewing stuff up that you dont want him to.

Remington (my GSP) has never chewed on anything but his toys or bone. the only thing he chewed on was a book (my wife's book) and nothing but simple keeping the puppy occupied with chew toys and other stuff. focus on training for birds later.

I took my pup out at the age of 7 months, i didnt train him, i just let him explore and get used to pheasants jumping up and flying.. after a year came, he knew what to look for, he knew what his job was.. and he pointed.
 
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SLOW DOWN! I think KsHusker provided some very good points. I see this all too often where a new dog owner is trying to push a pup too fast. If you havent' trained a hunting dog before get some of the good books out there and do some reading or enlist the services of a professional trainer.

But I think working with him a couple hours a day is probably too much right now. And keep the sessions short. 5-10 minutes at a time is plenty. And concentrate on obedience. I think this subject of training a new pup has been discussed in depth previously on this site. But right now there are 3 things to work on: obedience, obedience and obedience. And just let him be a pup and explore. It's a big new world out there for him so let him explore and figure things out for himself. If he has the proper breeding and genes the hunting, etc. will all come by itself.

Good luck!
 
Ks Husker, I agree with George, you pushing much to fast. Slow down and let the puppy have some fun in this world. Just teach come/here and a few things like that. George is absolutely right on his 3 things to teach right now........Bob
 
yah a few like i said too, just let the puppy have fun. you have better chance of teaching a pup to sit, lay down rather than pushing him into a hunter. over kill it, that pup may not want to hunt.. ever again.
 
You are right Birdman, I have seen that happen a few times also..........Bob
 
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