Gun Dog Forum

Wow, great feedback, everyone! Thank you very much. To respond to several of the above questions...this would be the first pup I force fetched. My pup is a 7 months old GSP. I tend to like the Delmar Smith training method, but was curios about the FF after reading Mr. Shelley's book. Thanks again t...

Now that you see it points the wing, throw it away and use real birds. If you want a bird dog then you need real birds.

Like you I have both a GSP and a Lab. I found that they each have their challenges. I was working my short haired with the trainers lab doing steadiness drills in the upland field. My dog would point and she would bring in her lab to flush. Lab would sit to the shot, sit to the whistle, and sit to t...

I taught whoa to my GSP using a half hitch around her waiste. Used this as a begining http://www.gundogsonline.com/Article/introduction-to-the-whoa-command-Page1.htm After that i used a long rope staked out, put half hitch around her and attached to her collar. Used a leash and walked her out to the...

Have a GSP and have taken her all the way thru Mike Lardy's program. 90% of our retrieves were blind. Hunted from a boat and the dog was in the blind with us. Found the handling made it easier and got the dog out of the water faster, during the cold weather it helps. Started working on difficult, to...

Don't all trainers preach repetition. If you let your dog repeat undesired behavior, is that not where the problem begins? If the dog flushes and chases which is usually fun for the dog and then you shoot and the dog retrieves, why would it ever point again? Not to say that all bumps are on purpose,...

When I did the pretest for NA with my GSP she was wound up pretty good. One of the judges recommended that I calm her down before the real test and suggested walking her up and down the hill on test day while waiting for our turn. Definitely helped with her concentration. Make sure you release the d...

3 days of teasing the dog is what happened. Dog learned only way to get a bird is to go get it itself. If a dog points a bird there should be a reward of bird in the mouth that is provided by you. That is why most people won't shoot over a dog that is not steady. Teaches the dog it must rely on you ...