Don't give up on your dog

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fuller

New member
Rewind 5 years ago my GSP that I had for a little over 10 years had his final hunt. I got another GSP to take Harvey's place they got to go together on one hunt and then Harvey had to retire and only lasted a couple more months after battling cancer. I live in south Dakota and took Harvey out almost every week. He started hunting at about 8 months old and from the start was an amazing dog worked circles around other dogs and never missed a bird. The new puppy Kramer now 5 years old I took hunting almost every week and from the start was just another walker and to be honest was a big disappointment. I tried not to compare the two but Kramer sure wasn't what I hoped for. Year 1 went buy, then year 2, then came year 3 and I thought well at least I have a nice companion. Last year we go out and he is a hunting machine point birds, running them down it was like somebody turned the switch on. This year can't come quick enough to see him in action again. My whole point is be patient keep working with them and when you're about ready to give up on them one day their switch will get turned on.
 
fuller said:
Rewind 5 years ago my GSP that I had for a little over 10 years had his final hunt. I got another GSP to take Harvey's place they got to go together on one hunt and then Harvey had to retire and only lasted a couple more months after battling cancer. I live in south Dakota and took Harvey out almost every week. He started hunting at about 8 months old and from the start was an amazing dog worked circles around other dogs and never missed a bird. The new puppy Kramer now 5 years old I took hunting almost every week and from the start was just another walker and to be honest was a big disappointment. I tried not to compare the two but Kramer sure wasn't what I hoped for. Year 1 went buy, then year 2, then came year 3 and I thought well at least I have a nice companion. Last year we go out and he is a hunting machine point birds, running them down it was like somebody turned the switch on. This year can't come quick enough to see him in action again. My whole point is be patient keep working with them and when you're about ready to give up on them one day their switch will get turned on.
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Nice post...can relate 100%
My best wirehair didn't switch on until 1/2 way thru her 3rd season.....had an incredible nose and finally figured out what to do with it...
And as we all know....a hunting dog is nothing but a life support system for a nose....

I have also had a couple of wirehairs that were pretty much on top of their game at 6 months, which when you get a slow learner can make it hard to adjust....hence your excellent post
 
Yeah, don't give up, I still see this scenario. People take their new dog out a few times. It's very disappointing for whatever reason. They give up and make a pet out of them, when they should be pouring it on! A buddy of mine took his young shorthair to Iowa once. Flushed every bird it could find. He put him back in the dog box and never took him to pheasant land again. He wound up being a very good quail dog but according to my buddy just couldn't handle them pheasants.:rolleyes:
 
That is precisely why if I hunt with others, I ask them if they mind hunting with a young dog. You never know which version of the dog you're going to get. When I hunt on my own, which is 90% of the time, it can be frustrating, but I don't get overly upset at the dog because it's only affecting me. When I feel pressure to put others on birds or have a good showing from a dog, then I get stressed and angry with the dog. Season 1 ended fantastically for me last year after a hair pulling start, and I've tried to set my expectations that the first handful of hunts this season will mirror the first half of last season while she remembers what we're there to do.
 
MNMEAD said:
That is precisely why if I hunt with others, I ask them if they mind hunting with a young dog. You never know which version of the dog you're going to get. When I hunt on my own, which is 90% of the time, it can be frustrating, but I don't get overly upset at the dog because it's only affecting me. When I feel pressure to put others on birds or have a good showing from a dog, then I get stressed and angry with the dog. Season 1 ended fantastically for me last year after a hair pulling start, and I've tried to set my expectations that the first handful of hunts this season will mirror the first half of last season while she remembers what we're there to do.
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Hell I don't like that pressure even with my 5 year old dog haha even though they know all the ropes, they still can be knuckleheads at times and it usually seems to be when others are watching versus when you're alone and they are hunting fantastic.
 
I'm out there to have fun and enjoy the day,get exercise, shoot guns.My dogs love looking for birds, and I don't stress them.Some hunters are way to serious about it.
 
About 7 years ago, I had to replace my old Chocolate Lab who was a great hunter. He was 13 and had a full life. So I went to the same breeder I got Gus from, and my first mistake: took my wife with me. She meant well but was insistent on this one remaining Chocolate pup; for whatever reason I had doubts about this pup being the last of the litter; I knew better but we ended up taking him home. The breeder said she was starting to train him and he was progressing. I think, in the advertising world, they call this talk "puffery". Long story short: we tried for 18 months, took him to a very experienced trainer/breeder we had previously used; after 3 months at $700/month plus food, he called and told me "It's not happening". But he is an honest and gracious man--told me his son's dam (yellow Lab) had just had a litter of pups, she was from very good bloodlines, and he said I could have my pick of her pups---at NO extra cost. Well, boys, Providence was with me. I went over and after serious study, picked the most active, precocious, rambunctious Yellow male Lab in the litter---and I am VERY pleased to say that, after 5 years he has proven to be the best dog I ever had...keen nose, full of desire and high prey drive; never saw him refuse a retrieve and he is extremely persistent. He is a house dog and is well behaved. Moral of this story: Sometimes we just make a wrong choice--but instead of years of psychoanalysis and frustration, you don't HAVE to live with it--you can always make another choice! I was 68 at the time and wanted to finish out with a dog that could HUNT!! We asked around and found a nice home for the nonperformer--on a farm with 3 young kids who love him. It worked out well for all concerned.
 
I know a guy that is currently trying to find a good home for his 1 year old yellow lab that is lacking the "drive" he is wanting out of a dog. This pup comes from a reputable breeder and known experienced trainer (from what I can tell anyway).
He wants $3000 for him and I know that this doesn't cover all of the cost that he has in him knowing the purchase price, and what 3 months of training has cost most of us. When I see this dog, I don't see a dog that lacks drive, I see a puppy that is tired of working. I could be wrong. I would love to take him in to see if he comes along over time as he matures and gets a chance to run free for a while. The worst outcome for me is it would just be a typical lab, that is mostly through with his destructive stage that is house broke, works really well with place and force fetch...I just can't do it right now (because the wife said so).
Anyone here disagree with my thought that in this case, too much training at a young age may be a bad thing? Can an experienced dog owner/trainer tell when a dog just doesn't have "high energy drive" at 1 year old?

Anyone on here looking for a project dog? I know he will be very picky on where this dog goes for his forever home because he is a great family pet today. I can try to connect anyone interested to the seller.
 
fuller said:
Rewind 5 years ago my GSP that I had for a little over 10 years had his final hunt. I got another GSP to take Harvey's place they got to go together on one hunt and then Harvey had to retire and only lasted a couple more months after battling cancer. I live in south Dakota and took Harvey out almost every week. He started hunting at about 8 months old and from the start was an amazing dog worked circles around other dogs and never missed a bird. The new puppy Kramer now 5 years old I took hunting almost every week and from the start was just another walker and to be honest was a big disappointment. I tried not to compare the two but Kramer sure wasn't what I hoped for. Year 1 went buy, then year 2, then came year 3 and I thought well at least I have a nice companion. Last year we go out and he is a hunting machine point birds, running them down it was like somebody turned the switch on. This year can't come quick enough to see him in action again. My whole point is be patient keep working with them and when you're about ready to give up on them one day their switch will get turned on.
Click to expand...
Even if the switch never turns on,you still love them.You don't give them away.Bad karma...
 
My golden will be 4 years old on Veterans Day this year... She was not worth a hoot until her 3rd birthday... She had shown some signs when she was a 1 and 2 year old, by the last hunt last season, she was what I would call good. Not ready to anoint her just yet, but I am excited to get this season going.
 
I guess it depends on what you want. I have a very well bred lab who went to a very experienced trainer at 6 months old. After 6 weeks, the trainer called and said come pick the dog up. As it turned out, the pup had no interest in the rigor of training and, ultimately, hunt tests. The trainer called her a wash out. I was heartbroken. I tried to give her away (to each of my adult kids) but was unsuccessful. At 9 months old I took her out wild bird hunting on a Sunday afternoon after church. We don’t live in a state with lots of wild birds. I didn’t expect much. We walked the edge of a field and about half way down she twitched her tail and started to sniff the ground. After a few minutes we continued on and then turned around and headed back, a little further in. On the way back, In the same area as before, the twitch in her tail started again and she flushed a rooster. I luckily hit it, not well, and she took off after it. I saw them get into a tussle and she ended up bringing it back to me. She was probably 40 pounds at the time. The rooster from beak to tip of the tail was close to the same length as the dog. Turned out she loves hunting and is pretty good at it. We dove hunt and pheasant hunt regularly now. I’m so thankful that I ended up keeping her. Turns out I wasn’t much for hunt tests either so it worked out great! Seems things happen for a reason.
 
I still don't regret, even for an instant, doing the dog swap mentioned in my post above. The dog I gifted was clingy, with no drive to hunt. I love dogs, but business is business. I don't have many years left to be in the field, and I'm not wasting them on a non-performer, especially with Purina Pro Plan Performance costing $88.99/bag. Each to his own....
 
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