which is worse

[ericD]

Well, the summer season is coming upon us and I will have to make a decision about my dog. I work in AK, seven day a week 10-12 hours a day. If I bring my 8mo gsp with me she will spend most of her summer locked up in an apt. my other option is to leave her with my buddies family who, while dog folks, they aren't bird dog folks and I don't believe they have the time or the interest to even maintain the level of obiediance I've been able to instill into my headstrong little girl, but she will have love and lots of room to run. So which would be worse to languish alone in apartment most of the summer with continued training, or no training(probly even regression), but a family and space?

[rkelly]

I would forgo both and send her to a trainer for the summer if you can afford it. You could come home to a pretty well trained dog ready to hunt this fall.

[BigShooter]

At that age lots of us let them be pups although we want to see them get bird contacts. Pressure and formal training can still be done at 11 mos. to a year without a problem. So you could leave the dog with the buddies family. You do not want the pup in a situation back home though where it has too much freedom & learns to self hunt. 11-12 hours is too long to leave the pup alone. You'd need a dog walker and possibly an assistant trainer to help out while you're at work. You also could sell the pup and start over when you really have the time for a dog. I figured you'd already thought about the $500 (plus or minus) per month that it would take for a trainer but at that age it'd be about the best thing you could do.

Tough decision.

[tommyboy72]

I don't use a trainer and don't believe in it. I see the need for people who want to hunt but have no clue as to where to begin but in my opinion what makes a good hunting dog is a bond with it's hunting buddy and owner. Sending a dog to a trainer is like sending your child off to boarding school. Do you want to raise your pup or have someone else do it for you? I say take her with you. I know this post is going to sound condemning but I don't mean to.

[BigShooter]

I say take her with you.

I was thinking along the same lines until I really thought about leaving an 8 mo. old pup alone in an apartment for 10-12 hours/day - 7 days a week. For starters, a dog that age usually will have a problem holding its urine that long.

[Ayres]

Delmar said no formal training until a dog is a year old. A lot of us have broken that "rule" (myself included), but I think it would be more fair to her to stay where she's got love and room to run since she's so young. You won't miss out on anything training-wise, and more importantly, she'll be more conditioned when you're able to pick her up. You take her with you and keep her cooped up in an apartment while you work all day long and she'll become a couch potato.

[ericD]

well after talking to a couple trainers this evening I decided to split her time between my buddies and three months at the trainers. Gives my buddies family a break, and gives me a hunting partner this fall, easier on the wallet too. I really wanted to train her myself and I am disappointed about missing so much of her young life, but the decision has finally relieved me of several months of stress worrying about this summer. Selling her is not a option, if I waited for a better time I'd never have a dog. Thanks for the replies.

[birddogger]

well after talking to a couple trainers this evening I decided to split her time between my buddies and three months at the trainers. Gives my buddies family a break, and gives me a hunting partner this fall, easier on the wallet too. I really wanted to train her myself and I am disappointed about missing so much of her young life, but the decision has finally relieved me of several months of stress worrying about this summer. Selling her is not a option, if I waited for a better time I'd never have a dog. Thanks for the replies.

Now that is a good compromise, IMO. Not really what you would like, but life is what it is.

Charlie

[Rich Heaton]

Ok, good for you EricD for coming up with something that works for you.

I don't use a trainer and don't believe in it

Interesting,,,, Tommy,,,, I think people use trainers because they can give the dog a better chance at reaching there "god given" potential with somebody more knowledgable than themselves. The problem with people training there own dogs is they seem to fall into a rut and the dogs will never advance past the owners ability to train,,, which often times is a kindergarten level.

Sending a dog to a trainer is like sending your child off to boarding school.

I think a more accurate analogy would be sending your kid off to school or homeschooling,,,,, ya ever met a normal homeschooled kid?

[Shadow]

I've got two pups- situation would have to a lot worse than yours before I'd leave them with someone else for a long time-

if it was me- I'd bring them and right off find someone who could take them out for a maintained walk/run every day-

I feel they're at the age they really want to bond

you have to look at what's best for you and your pup- in your mind- too bad some of these smart dogs couldn't talk- eh

[postoakshorthairs]

I don't use a trainer and don't believe in it. I see the need for people who want to hunt but have no clue as to where to begin but in my opinion what makes a good hunting dog is a bond with it's hunting buddy and owner. Sending a dog to a trainer is like sending your child off to boarding school. Do you want to raise your pup or have someone else do it for you? I say take her with you. I know this post is going to sound condemning but I don't mean to.

In many ways i agree with this....if you know what your doing. I have read WAY too many posts on here to believe that every dog is better off being "trained" by their owner and not a trainer. If you either don't know what your doing (not talking anyone specific..just general terms), or don't have the schedule to do it, a good trainer is a terrific option. I would, however, be pretty picky about which trainer, what they offer, how much time they will recieve etc. I wouldn't want to send it somewhere for 500 bucks a month to get out twice a week for 15 minutes. I'm not talking of anyone specific but I know of a couple of instances of that.

[tommyboy72]

Rich you have a point and to some extent I will agree with you but rather than sending your dog to a trainer to learn what you lack the ability to teach why not either research and teach yourself what you want your dog to know or pay a trainer to teach you what you want to teach the dog. My buddies that are trialers are always willing to explain anything I want to know when it comes to training and are only a phone call away. That way not only does the dog learn what you want them to but you gain knowledge for the next dog you train.

No I have never met a normal homeschooled kid.

I guess that is where we differ in our opinions of dog training though. I am a firm believer that a dog will accept lessons, chastisement, discipline and punishment much better from it's owner than from a trainer.

To make another point as well I have met some really dumb school teachers.
I went to college and hung out with people I wouldn't let teach my kids to wipe their rears but they are licensed by the state and have the education and classroom instruction to be called teachers.

I think I should let you know that I am not much on "backyard training" such as using a check cord, planted birds, launchers, cap guns and advancing through 12 gauge. I skip a lot of the steps and run my dogs on wild birds from day 1, use a blank 209 pistol right off the bat or a 20 gauge if it is during season, usually start training at 6 months and am hunting over dogs by a year to a year and a half, I don't make my dog wear an ecollar for a month before I begin using it, use the ecollar at an early age usually about 6-7 months, teach come to whistle and very few other commands and enforce it with the ecollar as well as enforce trash game training with the ecollar, and run young dogs with older dogs. There are probably several other things I do that may be unconventional or considered wrong but I train hunting dogs not trial dogs or robots. I would put my hunting dogs up against any dogs anyone wants to bring out here though. Birddogger (Charlie) and RonR (Ron) have both hunted with me and can attest to the fact that my dogs find and point birds just as good as a dog that has been through the whole strictly enforced training process.

[dwilson]

I'd take the dog with me and hire a neighborhood kid to walk it a couple times a day while you are at work... Train on your days off and have the comfort that the pup is with you and safe.

[Neil]

Send the dog North with a pro, it is the best experience for a young dog,

Neil