Just brought the new pup home!

hey guys just brought home my first Gundog, a yellow female named "Yankee!" This little thing is 100 mph all the time and is just a little spaz, which im hoping will transfer into an awesome "Drive" later on!! :D But i guess my question is just some simple advice on what a good daily schedule for her should be other than the 2 day "Chill out" period that everyone has told me about and maybe some of your favorite articles/ threads on this subject.

Thanks in advance and Good hunting,
-Blazin' Gun Retrievers-​
 
How old is the dog BGR, My first advice is to give yourself more than 2 days for a chill out period. I think you should bond with dog first, about 4-6 weeks. Then worry about real training.
 
She is 4 months old to the day Bob, and with the 2 day thing i think they meant just to let her acclimate to the new place. But at this point im planning on just letting her be a puppy, is this the right way to go? when should I begin working obedience, and also do I only need to play with her with pheasant wings or will anything work?

Thanks and good hunting,
-Blazin' Gun Retrievers-​
 
I would start on simple commands right away. Make it fun and always be enthusiastic to build confidence. Bonding at this time is also a priority. Use her name alot so she understands you are talking to her. "Sit" and "Here" should be first. If she likes to play fetch, you can tell her "fetch" as she is retrieving say here when she is bringing the dummy/ ball back. I think you are right about letting her be a puppy, so don't get discouraged if she messes up. Congrats and GL.

PS If you want a classic book to review I would recommend Wolters' "Gundog" over the holidays.
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Yankee

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Haha... There are the pictures of the little hellian! Her picture with the bird I brought home for her is a little funny because i had to hold her back and the pheasant out away from her or she would go nuts! (she was anyway but that bought me a time window to get a snapshot in! :thumbsup:) But as promised i brought her home a new rooster to play with and once again Kansas turned into one heck of a trip!

good hunting,
-Blazin' Gun Retrievers-​
 
Well some may not agree with me, but anyway as said above just start on hup, come, stay, crate training, leash, heal stuff. And short retrieves in a hall way or narrow area. Keep sessions short and don't throw two many retrieves, just a few, let her hold on to them for a good while each time praising her up. Get down on your knees to be on her level. Stop when she wants more each time. Don't let her run all over all the time. keep it structured and no free running unless you are training. People wont agree with me on that but it will pay off down the road. I would not go out and start shooting over the dog right off till you get some of these basics down first. After that give a hollar and If you want to know a good way to intro the dog to 1/4ing, birds and later the gun, ask. There are some other earlier posts on here for that part, in training. The biggest mistake some people make is to push the dog, the gun, roosters ect. clip wing pigeons,locked wing and dead pigeons should be the dogs first birds later. Once the delivery is shaped up just mixing pigeons to pick up and deliver is the next good idea. And just remember you can't do all this at once just take your time with her on each step, till you have it down well before moving on. She looks like a nice dog, I wish you luck. We all liked to take a young dog out at one time and hope for big things, but be realistic too, take it slow and next year you will have a top notch dog. you will have all next summer to do allot of this stuff too and the progress during training can be more fun then hunting in most cases. It is a good idea to find a hunt test club or trial club of some sort in your area and learn from them too if you can.
 
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BGR, If I can make a suggestion here, I would take FCSpringers advice here. He knows more about training your type of dog, than a lot of us. You'll notice he gives you all the proper commands. When you are playing "Fetch" I (me) like to work in some basic obedience. The come/here command and also Stay. After throwing the item to be fetched. I hold back the dog with my hands and start teaching "stay". A lot can be done in those short play sessions, but like FC said keep it short and if the pup goofs, so what..just write it off as its a pup. You made mistakes as a kid... right......Bob
 
All sounds like great advice and if you don't mind I'll be shooting you occasional PM's just to make sure im doing things correctly.

Good hunting,
Blazin' Gun Retrievers​
 
All sounds like great advice and if you don't mind I'll be shooting you occasional PM's just to make sure im doing things correctly.

Good hunting,

Blazin' Gun Retrievers​
Any time, and screen through some of the arcives in training here, the guy's have put a bunch of different stuff on here that may help. Just take the stuff that makes the most sence to you and try it. But as I said try to find some place to go and have fun and learn from, if you haven't done much of this. You will be suprised how much fun you can have shooting birds year round. You may find a pro in your area too that would let you come and help and get help yourself for a small fee. Well worth the effort.
 
Congrats Dcup. I hope all works out well with it. You could tell us more about it......Bob
 
Congrats Dcup. I hope all works out well with it. You could tell us more about it......Bob

She is dark with a lot of roan ticking. Base color is liver, but only has one liver patch, reminds me of a half saddle. Her head is all liver except for one very thin streak of white on her forehead between her eyes. She's a very pretty pup.

She is the complete opposite of my 2 year old. My 2 year old is quite reserved and timid and this pup (Sage is her name) is feisty and has lots of drive to do whatever she wants to do. She is very loveable, but I think she enjoys chasing the 2 year old around and chewing on toys more. Cant wait to see what she has for the field next spring, I think she's going to be a good one.

Keep the shoes off the ground:D and never never spoil your bird dog.:Dgood luck with the new addition.

Haha, never spoil your bird dog? Are you married? Both my bird dogs are "spoiled" compared to others' bird dogs, but it has worked out well for me. My dogs love to please me...so far.

:cheers:
 
BGH, good lookin pup! Congrats! Where abouts in Denver are you? I live up near Loveland if you would ever want to train together. I usually train everyday that I am not hunting, even if is just for a little while. I have a 1 year old yellow lab male and train for quite a few other guys. Do you have a program you are following yet? Ten minute retriever is good, so is all of Evan Grahams puplications (rushcreekpress.com) as well as Julie Knutson's book-even if your dog is not a pointing lab, it is still great training material and her kennel is out in Orchard. I would be happy to point you to some great training properties right in Denver, as well as up my way. The CDOW offers a pretty good deal at 1 particluar SWA where you can release birds year round to train. I have personally talked with FCSpringer as well so I know we are on the same page for much of the way we train. Shoot me a PM if you would like to get together or hunt together a day or two. Take it easy.

Best
 
What do you mean, "don't spoil your bird dog." Yesterday I making cookies Choc. Chip Peanut Butter. Tony couldn't stand the smell. You should have seen him work on my wife to get one and share it with him. She did and he was quiet for a while.......Bob
 
Wow guys this is awesome! I never expected this much feedback! I think Yankee and I I may need to head up to loveland! :thumbsup:

REALLY appreciate all the help guys,
Blazin' Gun Retrievers​
 
Anytime, check your PMs. We can head down your way as well, there are some great places to train down there too! Take it easy.
 
Never spoil your bird dog

What do you mean, "don't spoil your bird dog." Yesterday I making cookies Choc. Chip Peanut Butter. Tony couldn't stand the smell. You should have seen him work on my wife to get one and share it with him. She did and he was quiet for a while.......Bob

Nope, nope never spoil your bird dog" DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME"
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