Gun Dog Forum

sounds good. I'm in

Ezzy gave you solid advise. I would seriously consider a field bred cocker for your needs. I have hunted over one for the past 5 years, he is on the larger side as far as cockers go, about 35 lbs. and is very quiet in the house. In fact I can't recall hearing him bark for the first few months I owne...

They do allow hunting on fort Riley, there are a few hoops to jump through however like finding the areas open for hunting and registering your gun with the fort. Personally I would strongly advise not hunting on post, especially with dogs. I know of a couple people who had their dogs cut up pretty ...

I'm guessing that you initially trained sit with the dog at heel, most people do. Your dog is going to this reverting to this default position as it made boss happy in the past, perfectly normal but it is frustrating. I would give the dog the sit or hup command once, if the dog starts in your direct...

my wife and I have had similar issues with our GSP, at home she would kennel just fine, but if her crate was in the car, she didn't want to jump in. What we had to teach her was that there was NO other options to the command. When we said kennel, she had to kennel. We did this by attaching a lead to...

I have an ecs, I'm not sure if he is typical for the breed or not but i'll share my experience with you. He is 5 y.o. and 35-38 lbs, not a huge dog, but not small either. the only time I've seen his size be an issue was in thick grass/brush and heavy snow, and he just tended to tire out from pushing...

working cockers are neat little dogs, I have one my self, and he went through a phase just like you described. I think ACooper told you some solid advise, I also think even with only doing 1-4 retrieves your dog is getting a little bored. I might even cut the number of sessions back so your only doi...

Traditionally spaniels are taught to "hup" (or sit) on a single whistle toot or upon flushing a bird/rabbit. I have read that if the dog sits they are less likely to chase, I am not sure that is true. If it was me I would probably teach hup, although there is no reason you could not teach whoa and h...

sounds like things are going well. I would also recommend you check out "Urban Gun Dogs: Training Flushing Dogs For Home And Field" Its a good book and explains much of the training that will need to be done eventually.

Before giving up on this dog, I think I would plant a couple pigeons with there wings taped up, and then work the dog through the area. Since the dog may not understant what it is smelling at first you may have to actually show the dog the first bird. Once the dog sees the bird flapping around i wou...

shady, You brought up a good question and that is something I should have said in my original post. In the end I want mostly a good gun dog. That being said I think I would enjoy running her in NAVHDA events and possibly NSTRA. As of right now though she need more bird exposure and unfortunatly I'm ...

I have a 10 month old GSP and was wondering if anyone could recommend a good trainer in the Kansas/Missouri area. Thanks to everyone in advance!

A few years ago I was in the same situation as yourself, I ended up deciding on a Working English Cocker Spaniel. Don't let the size of these dogs fool you, they are rip snortin' bird maniacs in the field and laidback, sweet pets in the off season. If the cocker is not your cup of tea, I would look ...

The bell Idea is great, I would however recommend that instead of pawing at the bell teach the dog to hit it with its nose. It will keep the walls looking nicer for a bit longer.

I have a field breed cocker and seems to be very much like yours. In the house he is a retrieving maniac, but once outside he would rather hunt and could care less about any bumpers or balls. I don't know your situation but for mine i think this stems from his exposure to wild game and birds. Its ju...

If your looking for hogs, check out Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, I hear they have a fairly large population on post. Also if your lucky enough to get drawn there are also a few elk around and on Fort Riley.

I just joined and saw this post. I am also from Manhattan area. I have been warned by a retired army officer to be carfull of the razor wire on post. Aparently its fairly common for strands to be "forgotten" in the field makeing this type of accident all to common. On the other hand Kansas does have...

my name is Tom, 27, married. 2 dogs, 4 year old english cocker and 8mo GSP. Currently am working on a PhD in chemistry. I enjoy spending time in the outside working the dogs, and watching them work. I hunted most of my life in one way or another. Only started upland hunting 4 years ago when I first ...