9 month old GSP.......chasing on the flush

[Coach]

I have a question regarding my 9 month old GSP. She is just starting to put all the pieces together. Pointing birds, retrieving, etc.

Last couple times out she has pointed some birds nicely. When I flushed it, it turned out to be a Hen and she chased it up and over the hill with no regard for my commands. I waited and she did return after 5-10 minutes.

I am a hunter, so do not see a reason to go beyond steady to flush at this point. I think it is a real advantage to have the dog on the heels of a rooster.

Do I try to correct this behavior? If so, how??

[Wyobio]

You will get all kinds of answers on this, most will say your dog needs to be steady to the flush. Really just depends on what you want from your dog. My wirehairs are not steady, and there are times that their breaking led to no shot (too close to the bird) or they broke and flushed more birds that were nearby. But they have also made some amazing retrieves on birds, some that I did not even know I hit. And being hot on the heels of a crippled rooster is often the only way you get them. That said, if the dog is trained to be steady, you can always release her to track right after you shoot.

As far as the chasing, I would not be too concerned about it in a 9MO dog. Next offseason you can work with her on obedience.

[ezzy333]

At the stage I think your dog is from what you posted, I think your pup did wjat is expected and I would be very happy it showed the desire to go get the bird.

Ezzy

[Coach]

My 9 year old Setter does the same thing, but stops the chase within 25 yards if she does not hear the shot...........

My biggest question is do I let he be a puppy, or try to correct it now?

Up to this point she can do absolutely no wrong........I am letting her be a puppy. The only time she has been corrected in the field is if she wanders to close to a road and does not respond to a command, or chases a deer, etc.

I love the prey drive she has.............just did not know if I should let this continue or try to stop it now.

MK

[gonehuntin']

Ask yourself this qestion:" What benefit can my dog get from chasing birds?". There is none. From the time they are small pups, I break them off the chase, gently. Some dog's will never quit chasing and it becomes a real problem. Being a hunter and not worried about field trials, I teach them to WHOA on one whistle, two whistles means NO, so that when a dog is chasing or too far out, two blasts will cause him to stop the chase or shorten his range. Three blasts means HERE>

Dobn't let yor dog chase, he'll learn nothing. Train him in the yard, not in the field. If you can't control him in the field, keep him on a cc.

[cjhills]

Do not give her a recall you know she will ignore. Stop the chase. It will cost you birds in the long run and it does not help on the retrieve. It is also dangerous for the dog and serves now useful purpose, unless the dog as a lack of prey drive. Highly unlikely. ignoring your recall and chasing usually get worse......................Cj

[setterpoint]

i always let the dog have fun and chase as long as there are no dangers of roads etc.for there first year after that i put o n the breaks i think the birds teach them more at that age than i can they learn they cant catch them but you will have to put a stop to dog chaseing birds after first year ..just my two cents worth

[Neil]

I will stay out of the "steady" debate, but you need to work on recall. A dog that will not come when called, even if a pup, is untrained.

[khaselow]

Your dog sounds like its coming along very well. Congrats on your good training.

Let me first say that I am no expert and there are many ways to train stop to flush.

One method is to first train whoa and then in the field unexpectedly release a pigeon in front of the dog followed by a whoa command and stop the dog on a cc. After repetition the dog will associate the bird flight with the whoa command and should start to stop automatically. To me the nice thing about this method is that it doesn't put a lot of pressure on a young pup and keeps it all fun and exciting for the dog.

The next step, if you were inclined, would be to shoot some of those birds and allow the dog to retrieve only some of them (and you retrieve some). That way the dog will eventually stop to flush and after the shot look to you to see who gets the retrieve. Now you have added some steadiness.

Just a thought from a rookie,

best of luck to you and you've got a good looking pup for sure.

Kent

[bobman]

I've owned about 40 GSPs in my life and everyone of them learned not to chase on their own, I would ignore it and it will more than likely go away

[ibbowhunting]

I have a question regarding my 9 month old GSP. She is just starting to put all the pieces together. Pointing birds, retrieving, etc.

Last couple times out she has pointed some birds nicely. When I flushed it, it turned out to be a Hen and she chased it up and over the hill with no regard for my commands. I waited and she did return after 5-10 minutes.

I am a hunter, so do not see a reason to go beyond steady to flush at this point. I think it is a real advantage to have the dog on the heels of a rooster.

Do I try to correct this behavior? If so, how??

what was the command given? Whoa? Here?, at that age there is nothing wrong with the dog chasing birds, but there is something wrong with a given command that cannot be reinforced, got a check cord or a ecollar, will the dog do that command in the yard? 100% of the time, if she won't do that command in the yard she is defiantly no going to do it in the field, sound like you have a nice gps with high prey drive, perfect!