Help needed!

A

Andy L

New member
Hi All,

I have a 2 1/2 year old weim who I have been training myself and I am no pro. This is his second season hunting and we have a problem. He will not leave my side when we get in the field. This year I have only been hunting with buddies who also bring dogs, one said he thinks the other dogs may make him stay by me, but he loves being with other dogs. Any ideas or tips would be great, you all have forgot more about training dogs than I know. Again thanks for all your help as we work this problem out

Andy L
 
He could be spooked by other hunters, unless you have hunted him with other people before, or it could be a dominance issue. I would try just you and him hunting, see if he acts normal, then go from there. Sometimes several shots over a dog by different hunters will make them shy.

I am no expert just my .02 worth,

Rod
 
Well hello Andy.... Don't feel bad at all... I have been going through this same problem... But mine has had a happy ending... I also have a wiem, she is 3.5 now.... She is a great dog... Points like you have never seen before... Well at home she did any ways.... Backed my other male weim/lab mix to perfection... That was until we got in the field and the she became a shoe shinner.... For the first two seasons I just let her be... Let her walk by my side and do what she wanted because I already knew that she knew how to hunt she just had to get some confidence and go do it... If a bird would hold tight enough for me to walk up on it or walk past it she would point it picture perfect and hold it for ever.... at the end of last season she hadn't changed a bit... So just as the years before spring and summer I worked with her all the time.... I told myself this season that if nothing changes then she was just going to be my pal and stay around the house.... The BAM she came out of her shell and opening weekend she worked light an amazing dog... She was incredible... It was just like she finally built up enough confidence to get out there and do what she does best.... May have been the best season of my life... Both of my dogs are on their "A" games and it is just amazing... So I say please don't give up on your dog... I love this breed and I truly believe they just need time to mature...
 
Another thing... As long as you have the obedience training down try not to worry about much other "training" rather just give him some field time... Even if it is just going to the local park and letting him run and "hunt" in the fields or other wooded areas.... Just let him run don't bother correcting anything he does... What I think may have happened is that he is "over trained"... He may be afraid to run because he will get called back... I think I may have done this also... My female is very timid and this is the first dog that I have worked with that is like this...
 
Will she retrieve birds if you throw them?? Does she shy away from live birds??? if your dog likes birds and agressivly goes in for a retrieve, you can simply let birds go right in front of her for them to run off. Get her pumped up and cut her loose after a short while. You want to keep it short for a while, then you can start holding back for a longer time as it gets better. Pretty soon she will take off and go lookin. If not yea you may need to just let her follow and watch for awhile. Watch out blasting right over her though. If she is shy that may not be good for you to even do the shooting when you have her out, let someone else shoot.
 
I to had the same issue last year with my new pup and by no means am i a pro maybe a poor trainer at best and also a different breed of dog, but this year while hunting doves something clicked as soon as the first bird hit the ground he went into a field hunting frenzy now the only time i have him shining my boots is about mid day after hours of hunting which i have narrowed down to lack of endurance so we have been working on that, but for us live bird action seemed to be the trick, this year he has made 11 point and flushes and every once in a while will catch scent and take off down the field and flush birds to far out the good thing is he acts differt before he jets so most of the time i see it coming.Now if could get him to sit still while duck hunting that would be great. Once your dog figures out the field is their play ground she'll get off your boots.Good luck!!!
 
Thanks everyone! I now can take a huge deep breath and relax! I plan to get him out alone this weekend and see how he does. Thanks again for all your help, I will keep you posted on his progress.

Andy L
 
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