GSP puppy

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Ryanlish
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GSP puppy

Post by Ryanlish » Mon Oct 24, 2016 9:57 am

I'm planning on sending my 12 week old male GSP to school to be trained at the end of December. is there anything I need to be doing to get him ready?


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ezzy333
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Re: GSP puppy

Post by ezzy333 » Mon Oct 24, 2016 12:18 pm

I am not sure what training a pup that age needs or what you want to accomplish so I can't tell you what you need to do.
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Dakotazeb
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Re: GSP puppy

Post by Dakotazeb » Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:06 pm

If I do the math correct your dog will be 5 months old by the end of December. Seems very young to go to a trainer. What is the trainer planning to do with the dog and how long will he have the dog?
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Sharon
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Re: GSP puppy

Post by Sharon » Mon Oct 24, 2016 5:03 pm

Gee it's your first post; I don't want to give you a hard time. :) But anything that needs to be done now you can do yourself. Much wiser to send the dog off to the trainer in the spring.

try this question : My dog will be 5 months old by the end of Dec, I'm planning to send him to the trainer in the spring. What should I be doing now before the Spring? :wink:

WElcome to the forum. You'll get excellent advice on here , but if you are easily offended......
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ROTTnBRITT
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Re: GSP puppy

Post by ROTTnBRITT » Mon Oct 24, 2016 7:55 pm

I sent my pup north with a trainer at 6 months old. I feel it was a great thing for him. He got to learn all about wild birds at a young age. Before he came home he was finding and pointing grouse and woodcock. It was all about exposure and figure ing things out for himself. No pressure or corrections.

So..if you are just looking to have the pup exposed to birds and learning to run and hunt, then not much you need to do and I don't think it's a bad idea.

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Re: GSP puppy

Post by AAA Gundogs » Tue Oct 25, 2016 12:37 am

It just depends on your goals and wallet.

I think that young pups can really gain a lot from a winter camp in Texas, Georgia, etc.

I think that older pups, especially those that have experienced a winter camp, will come back different dogs after a couple of month summer camp on the prairie.

Young dogs thrive on bird contacts. The more of them that can be wild, the better.

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Re: GSP puppy

Post by AAA Gundogs » Tue Oct 25, 2016 12:53 am

Sharon wrote:Gee it's your first post; I don't want to give you a hard time. :) But anything that needs to be done now you can do yourself. Much wiser to send the dog off to the trainer in the spring.

try this question : My dog will be 5 months old by the end of Dec, I'm planning to send him to the trainer in the spring. What should I be doing now before the Spring? :wink:

WElcome to the forum. You'll get excellent advice on here , but if you are easily offended......
The other train of thought is that anything you can do on your own, unless your retired with easy access to birds, the trainer can do more effectively and frequently.

In the field trial lab world, there is a whole segment of trainers that specialize in young puppies. They lay the foundation from 8 weeks until their ready to move on to more advanced work.

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Re: GSP puppy

Post by NEhomer » Tue Oct 25, 2016 3:57 am

Puppyhood is over in a flash and losing contact for any number of weeks of that would be my deterrent.

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Re: GSP puppy

Post by CWT » Tue Oct 25, 2016 4:21 am

a 30 day school at 4-6 months is a good idea IMO.
Last edited by CWT on Thu Oct 27, 2016 9:04 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: GSP puppy

Post by mountaindogs » Tue Oct 25, 2016 8:27 am

I agree with younger ages to school. I have started to teach lots of puppy things that help my dogs steady up easily and retrieve correctly. Also puppy bird and field time is super important. Do you live in town where you have laws against shooting? It's very helpful to PROPERLY expose young dogs to shooting and a trainer should be able to do that easily and correctly. I offer puppy programs that are available for 6 months and younger only for all of these reasons. If you don't have access to birds and places for your puppy to run and hunt for them, a puppy program trainer in the early stages is a great idea. The big caution here is do NOT send your pointing dog to a primarily retriever trainer at 5 months without fully knowing what their program is. Retriever trainers often start FF and E-Collar conditioned Heelwork obedience at 5 months and this is way to much pressure and too much control for a young pointing dog.
Some birddog trainers have great puppy programs. George Hickox, for example, does lots of puppy training and it gives the dogs a very sound start in their training. I don't start the e-collar quite the way he does, but I use much of his early puppy whoa training with clickers and tables. I also use less pigeon work because my GSPs do better with less "sight work" but that's just my opinion I guess.
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Re: GSP puppy

Post by mountaindogs » Tue Oct 25, 2016 8:37 am

As a direct answer to your question, talk to the trainer about their program and goals and ask them what skills might be helpful.
For me, a puppy that is good in a crate and good in a kennel for at least short periods of time, makes a world of difference. Like a week of training's worth, at least, because the settle in time is way reduced and they have some concept of waiting while I train the other dogs. Also a puppy that is already play retrieving and does NOT have SIT on its mind is helpful. Untraining the SIT and getting a standing pause on cue is much harder if they have had SIT for everything before they come to me. Sit is not completely taboo, but when it is a puppy's default it makes that Hickox methods I sort of use, a longer process. So if you have been drilling that, talk with the trainer, but likely they would prefer you stop for a while.

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Re: GSP puppy

Post by Sharon » Tue Oct 25, 2016 2:35 pm

Well , obviously I gave you bad advice Ryan. Listen to what others posted and go for it.
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Re: GSP puppy

Post by ezzy333 » Tue Oct 25, 2016 2:57 pm

Sharon wrote:Well , obviously I gave you bad advice Ryan. Listen to what others posted and go for it.

Sharon, I think your advice is right on. Where much of the difference comes from is some people think of a pup as a project that needs work where many of us look as a pup as an addition to the family that will be a pet as well as a hunting dog that will be a project that will be fun to work with. The training is much of the fun of owning that first gundog and no one thinks it has to be perfect but will hopefully do well and teach me a lot about what I can do different or better next time. But the chances are pretty darn good that pup will turn out well if it came from good hunting dogs. Any one can buy the near perfect dog(if they are independently wealthy) but there will never be the personal pride associated with we did it ourselves. That is why I hate this attitude that it is really difficult to train your pup whem in reality it will be a challenge at times but extremely easy at others but it will always be you and the pup that did it and learned from each other. My idea is never to be perfect but be the best you can be and get better with every experience that only comes when it you and the pup in the field together.

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Re: GSP puppy

Post by polmaise » Wed Oct 26, 2016 11:58 am

Sharon wrote:Gee it's your first post; I don't want to give you a hard time. :) But anything that needs to be done now you can do yourself. Much wiser to send the dog off to the trainer in the spring.

try this question : My dog will be 5 months old by the end of Dec, I'm planning to send him to the trainer in the spring. What should I be doing now before the Spring? :wink:

WElcome to the forum. You'll get excellent advice on here , but if you are easily offended......
It's actually 'Good advice' (imo) but it can also be received negatively or positively depending on the OP .
Some folk just don't know what to do or what's best in the formative period 12 weeks onward,some do and do it so naturally because they have experience ,some have experience and still do things wrong (for the OP's expectations and or desires) .My 'alarm bell' was the original quote 'To get him ready' ! ...Ready for what ?..at 12 weeks -24 weeks it sure ain't gonna be ready (for what others perceive as 'ready')
Depending on the climate where you are at what period of the year a 12 week old 'anything' will have different 'puppy training with any Pro' in any country,and simply waiting is valuable time in the conditioning phase lost,if ''Nothing is done'' , valuable time during the conditioning phase doing wrong stuff can be detrimental in the long term .
It's a mine field when you read all the permutations.

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Re: GSP puppy

Post by CWT » Wed Oct 26, 2016 1:00 pm

What I am talking about is generally termed an Introductory program. Typically they are 30 days and while they do basic commands the main thing is they are introduced to birds and taken to the field once/twice everyday and exposed to birds each time. I think it develops extreme excitement in the pup and makes training easier down the road. If you don't have ready access to land to do it yourself it seems to work well. Plus there is no wild birds in this neck of the woods. But I am no expert and certainly don't have the experience most of you do with upland dogs.

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Re: GSP puppy

Post by polmaise » Wed Oct 26, 2016 2:33 pm

CWT wrote:What I am talking about is generally termed an Introductory program. Typically they are 30 days and while they do basic commands the main thing is they are introduced to birds and taken to the field once/twice everyday and exposed to birds each time. I think it develops extreme excitement in the pup and makes training easier down the road. If you don't have ready access to land to do it yourself it seems to work well. Plus there is no wild birds in this neck of the woods. But I am no expert and certainly don't have the experience most of you do with upland dogs.
What I'm talking about is a 'sequential program' suited for a dog at the point they are at and the owner/handler can achieve.
.
Introductory programs I remember at school/learning wasn't the same as what my brother learned .

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Re: GSP puppy

Post by Sharon » Wed Oct 26, 2016 3:41 pm

polmaise wrote:
Sharon wrote:Gee it's your first post; I don't want to give you a hard time. :) But anything that needs to be done now you can do yourself. Much wiser to send the dog off to the trainer in the spring.

try this question : My dog will be 5 months old by the end of Dec, I'm planning to send him to the trainer in the spring. What should I be doing now before the Spring? :wink:

WElcome to the forum. You'll get excellent advice on here , but if you are easily offended......
It's actually 'Good advice' (imo) but it can also be received negatively or positively depending on the OP .
Some folk just don't know what to do or what's best in the formative period 12 weeks onward,some do and do it so naturally because they have experience ,some have experience and still do things wrong (for the OP's expectations and or desires) .My 'alarm bell' was the original quote 'To get him ready' ! ...Ready for what ?..at 12 weeks -24 weeks it sure ain't gonna be ready (for what others perceive as 'ready')
Depending on the climate where you are at what period of the year a 12 week old 'anything' will have different 'puppy training with any Pro' in any country,and simply waiting is valuable time in the conditioning phase lost,if ''Nothing is done'' , valuable time during the conditioning phase doing wrong stuff can be detrimental in the long term .
It's a mine field when you read all the permutations.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Exactly and that's what I sometimes forget here. I would know what to do with a 5 month old till the Spring , but not everyone would. I need to remember that. Then again with all the terrific programes available now ......

How many folks on here are pro trainers?
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Re: GSP puppy

Post by polmaise » Wed Oct 26, 2016 4:02 pm

Sharon wrote: How many folks on here are pro trainers?
Not many I bet ?..But there should be ...then again . maybe not. :)

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Re: GSP puppy

Post by Luminary Setters » Thu Oct 27, 2016 7:34 am

I accept puppies as early as fourteen weeks, and sometimes as early as twelve weeks. By far the biggest issue most bring into the program is poor canine socialization. It is amazing the number of young puppies see that need a week just to learn how to play with other young dogs. Good puppy programs, are not about training, they are about well rounded exposure and the opportunity to development their natural ability. As has been pointed out, its not complicated, and anyone can to it if they have the time, the place and birds. Many do not, and a good puppy program is a better place for a 14 week old puppy than spending the day in a crate while at work or the kids are in school or baseball practice.
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Sharon
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Re: GSP puppy

Post by Sharon » Thu Oct 27, 2016 2:53 pm

Well said!
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Re: GSP puppy

Post by polmaise » Thu Oct 27, 2016 3:47 pm

Luminary Setters wrote:I accept puppies as early as fourteen weeks, and sometimes as early as twelve weeks. By far the biggest issue most bring into the program is poor canine socialization. It is amazing the number of young puppies see that need a week just to learn how to play with other young dogs. Good puppy programs, are not about training, they are about well rounded exposure and the opportunity to development their natural ability. As has been pointed out, its not complicated, and anyone can to it if they have the time, the place and birds. Many do not, and a good puppy program is a better place for a 14 week old puppy than spending the day in a crate while at work or the kids are in school or baseball practice.
I advocate my pups (bred here) that they don't leave until they are around 10 weeks old .
So I'm confused by this 'Canine socialization' mentioned when for the first few months of their lives are with other canines and their mother who is well more equipped to teach them as is their siblings on 'Canine socialization' . Perhaps it's canine /human socialization with other canines that is an issue .

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