Fortune favors the prepared

B

BakkenRoosterMan

New member
So, my family is set to introduce a Brittany pup into our family this spring. For me, this means getting all kinds of prepared to train my first four-legged hunting partner. So I wanted to pick the brains of some of the more experienced dog handlers on the board.

The only question I have for today is this:

What is one thing that you wish you would have known before were you trained your first pup?
 
Just one thing? Wow. There's a lot I wished I new back then. Then again, I was 12 when I trained my first bird dog (and my family had zero experience), so I was quite naive.

Well, I think the best thing I could say, advice-wise, is that for a single dog owner (owning just one dog), is to take your time. It's not a race and you will have lots of seasons with the dog. So take your time on the basics, lay down a good foundation, keep those expectations realistic, because any holes in your early training will show through later on if you rush through.
 
Maintain a very high standard. What's good in the yard will only be ok (at best) in the field.
 
Brittanys are easy to train and don't need that much of it. Let the pup be a pup. Get bonded with the pup so that it wants to make you happy. Oops, I exceeded your limit. :p
 
This dog knows how to hunt. All I have to do is be a good leader and let her know what I want. Keep it simple and consistent with lots of praise. If a dog is willing to give up a perfectly delicious quail, it's probably willing to do about anything. Don't screw that up.
 
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