New 9month English Setter advice.

[upnorthbacon]

Just sealed a deal on a 9 month old English Setter and looking for advice. I'm told she has been introduced to guns and started on birds, and started on an e-collar. I have a collar on order which should be here by the weekend when I pick her up. I'm really excited to get her, this is my first bird dog and I've been reading everything I can. We need to introduce her to being an inside dog instead of a kennel dog which she's been so far. I also want to start taking her out into the woods as well, what can I expect from a dog her age this first year? Would it be a mistake to take her out with my hunting partner's GSP so she can learn from him as well? What advice do you have for me? I do have access to a paid ranch to take her out and shoot some pheasant over her but in the woods here all we have is grouse/woodcock. What should be my main focus at this point in her development cycle?

[bobman]

Do nothing for atleast the first two weeks other than allowing her to adjust to her new home before trying to continue her development.

Because its your first dog put the ecollar away and just do yard work with a check cord to teach come or here, she should already know that very well. Make sure you find out what commands her former owner used and use them to be consistant. Once shes well adjusted to her new surroundings take her hunting this fall as often as possible. Be certain shes conditioned to the gun first and if you don't know how... ask. Do not hunt her around lots of other people until shes real clear on the flush shoot bird falls sequence, infact I still wouldn't her first hunting season.

Crate train her in your home so she has a place to be in when your not able to be watching her but be sure not to leave her in there too long a young dog like that need lots of exercise.

About your friends GSP that will be ok until you are certian she understands that birds are what you are after then hunt her alone so she develops her own "hunt".

Most importantly is don't be in a hurry, let her develp at her own pace, videos and books do not emphasize that nearly enough, it doesn't go NEATLY step by step like a video.

WHEn you decide to use the ecollar ( that should be next spring if ever) get a mentor that knows what hes doing nothing can screw up a dog quicker than a guy with his first dog and a ecollar. If you don't know how to read the dog they are a real real bad idea

Setters are real nice dogs that live along time, your main focus should be to let her first season be unpressured fun, pointing dogs need very little training other than comeing when called, you dont teach them to point or hunt thats in them naturally. Let her be a pup this year.

[Sharon]

Excellent advice from Bobman.

Be absolutely right on top of housebreaking from the get go.Any older dogs that I have bought who have been in the kennel have had a hard time becoming house broken. I kept them on a leash attached to me for the first while so that any time they made a move they were outside - also confined their house space to one tiled room.

[rockllews]

I'm going to have to second Bob's 'put the ecollar away' for now. Learn how to handle/control/read your setter without it. Use a cord. I think you should teach with other tools and then use the ecollar as an aide. Once she becomes used to minding you and knows what is expected, you might bring it out later if reinforcement is needed.

Some sources also don't emphasize repetition enough. Teach in the yard and then reteach in the field, then woods, etc. You'll want her to obey your commands in several locations/environments, so test her wherever you go... if she 'forgets' something she has learned, back up real quick and reteach it and reinforce it on the spot. Also, short, positive training sessions, the more frequent the better.

First season, don't put too much pressure on her or expect too much. First year or more is theirs to be a pup and bring out their natural instincts and drive. Formal training can be done later. All she'll really need now to know is her name, here, no, and kennel. Let her explore and chase whatever's within reason (not deer of course). Grouse, woodcock, pheasant, quail- whatever you've got will help her learn how to develop.

Lastly, since she's from a kennel, I'm going to stress socialization. Get her around your family and then introduce her to lots of people and things (yard equipment, household appliances, etc). Take her places once she's comfortable and confident. She'll need some adjustment time since she's being coming into a new world, so a crate in the house will give her a secure place. She'll need rules and structure. An outdoor kennel is not out of the question either for while your at work- she's young, so it'll let her have more space, and it's what she is used to.

Good luck with her. Setters (ok... bird dogs) are awesome

[whitedogone]

do as others have said for the first couple of weeks. While you're waiting to get started order the Perfection Kennels Perfect Start DVD.

[47sgs]

In years past, I have purchased probably a half dozen young dogs from field trialers that I converted to hunting dogs and house pets, and it really wasn't a very hard conversion. Part of it is reading the new dog. Soft, timid dogs require you be more careful, bolder dogs are a piece of cake. Almost all the english breeds, setters, spaniels, pointers, tend to be people dogs. They want to please, and they want to be around people. For house training, we would bring them in for awhile, watching them closely, then take them outside until they relieve themselves. If we couldn't watch them, we'd put them in a crate, then later take them out and not bring them in again until they were done. The association of being outside to relieve themselves was learned very quickly, even for male dogs that seem to want to go all the time. They all became as dependable as any dog house trained as a puppy.
As far as continued training of the puppy, it probably depends on what the previous owner has done with her, and how much he/ she knows about training, and how much they are willing to help you with the getting you up to speed. If he's a professional trainer, has used the ecollar on extremely low settings since she was a puppy, and is willing to show you what he's done, how, and why, plus is willing to work with you some, you can continue doing what he's done. If it's a matter of the previous owner being a hunter who just slapped a collar on the puppy to get her used to it, I'd avoid using it like the plague until someone who knows what they're doing helps you with it. It is real easy to srew things up with the collar, especially with a more timid dog. Have fun with her, let her learn to find and handle wild birds on her own, then if you want a more finished dog, get her or both of you to a trainer that knows what he's doing to help you get her finished.