GSP Puppy Advice

[WBouldin]

Hey All,

Wife and i are getting a GSP pup early May and are very excited. We have done tons of research on the breed and feel we are prepared as can be given we have never owned one before. Anyone care to share thoughts on lessons learned with theirs or opinions/best practices on crate training, field training, etc.?

Thanks!

 

[belly-deep]

I’ve owned one GSP but don’t have any breed specific advice. As with all bird dogs, don’t push them through training faster than they want to go. That is the best way to screw your dog up.

I like the Smith method of training. They do seminars around the country. If you’ve never trained a bird dog before, I would try to find one and attend, even if it means driving 500 miles.

 

[CampRipleyLF]

Number one mistake people do is making the crate a punishment, never do this, you will want them to think its their home. GSP is a very forgiving breed when it comes to training, that is why they are so popular. Check out some of Willow Creek Kennels Youtube videos on training. Great stuff from a world class facility. Just a FYI I have no affiliation with the kennel or have I ever had one trained by them but live near them and all I hear is great stuff from their training videos.

https://www.youtube.com/user/willowcreekkennels

http://www.willowcreekkennels.net/

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

Number one mistake people do is making the crate a punishment, never do this, you will want them to think its their home. GSP is a very forgiving breed when it comes to training, that is why they are so popular. Check out some of Willow Creek Kennels Youtube videos on training. Great stuff from a world class facility. Just a FYI I have no affiliation with the kennel or have I ever had one trained by them but live near them and all I hear is great stuff from their training videos.

https://www.youtube.com/user/willowcreekkennels

http://www.willowcreekkennels.net/

I can vouch for Chad at Willow Creek as well. He helped me a ton when training my dog. He didn't need to, but he would let me come over to his facility when I would hit a training plateau, watch me work with my dog, and coach me on things to do to get past it. He is a fantastic guy.

 

[brymoore]

Wear leather gloves for the first six month to limit damage from puppy bites. Otherwise, don't over train your pup and let its natural ability come out.

 

[Irrelevant]

I second the Smith training method.

 

[SFN2821]

Almost went with a GSP myself a couple years ago but ended up getting a Vizsla. Two best pieces of advice I ever got were 1.) Always make it fun. 2.) Know when it's time to stop.

They're so damn smart that they can pick up on the slightest bit of frustration. If you're having fun they're having fun and will do unbelievable things. But same as us they have good days and bad days. Some days its just not clicking and it's your job to know when it's time to let them have a day off.

Good luck!

 

[SFN2821]

I'll also add that I went the clicker training route and I am a believer. Any training I do I'll use a clicker.

 

[rideold]

Best advice I've received is get the basics solid beyond a shadow of a doubt before moving on to more complex things. i.e. retrieving is based on "Come Here". If they aren't solid on the first part the second part will be a struggle. If something isn't working, go back to the base and train on that. That's where I'm at with my 8 month old short hair. She is a great retriever in the house and on the lead but let her free in the back yard and fetch becomes a game of keep away. I'm stepping back to the first part now to get her recall more solid.

Oh, the other piece of advice I've heard more than once is don't move to an e-collar before they are trained without it. Yard training needs to be solid first.

 

[Idahoarcheryhunter]

You're getting a very smart breed that will aim to please its owner. I have seen a few gsp's who can also be a little stubborn patience is the name of the game with training any dog as far as field work I don't really start into too heavy until basic obidience has been done. I personally get super frustrated with dogs who won't obey basic commands from the owner and that turns into further frustration with field training. The one sound method I've used on a few different pointers is make training sessions fairly short especially at a young age 10 15 minutes in the backyard with basic commands and reward the dog when they do something correctly that'll be the reinforcement in their mind that they did the task correctly. Everything will fall in place after that as far as introduction into live birds, wings, trapped pigeons that's a whole different conversation.

 

[1_pointer]

Good luck with the new pup and training! I was in your shoes a couple of years ago. Not a whole lot to add to what was said above, other than I underestimated the amount of time and space it would take. I haven't been as diligent with training Hank as I should due now mostly to time constraints from family obligations. The space thing I have rectified now, but I wish I new about the place I train at now when he was younger. Neither my dog nor I are particularly good at this thing, but we sure do have fun and sometimes even bring home a few birds.

 

[BigGameDIY]

Make sure you spend a lot of time with him/her during off season as well. This dog was bred to run, run a lot and run every day.

 

[JLS]

Lots of exposure, your goal is not to teach it to hunt, but to let it learn in its own. You are just there to help the bred traits come out.

Spend the first months on manners and basic obedience.

First season is meant to be fun. Don’t shoot birds they flush, EVER. Let them figure out how to handle wild birds through as much exposure as you can get them.

Don’t worry about retrieving until after the first season, then you can do the force fetch.

No ecollar until you have obedience and command recognition. It’s a reinforcement tool, not a fix for poor training.

Charlie Johnson’s “Training the Versatile Dog” is a great book. So is “Smartfetch “ by Evan Graham.

Be consistent and be fair in your training. If the dog isn’t learning, maybe the trainer is not teaching.

Make sure to do your gun exposure early and incorporate it into field work with birds and/or bumpers.

Good luck and enjoy your hunting buddy.

 

[Addicting]

We own one currently and he was to energized to be in the house. I put up a pen in the garage and attached a large pen on the outside with a dog door. That gave him enough room to run and still be able to get inside. He is super smart and one of the best things I did was get him whistle and collar trained. We found that with our schedules we don’t spend the time with him afield he thinks we should. We try to get him out once a week, he reminds us with his barking and whining that it should be 50 times a week. Good luck they are good dogs.

 

[WBouldin]

Thanks for all of the input - great advice in here!

 

[Brock A]

All great advice!

I have a 1 year old GSP. I was extremely nervous that I was going to screw up the training last year. But I took it easy and the dog is an incredible hunter. His first year was amazing. Exposure to birds is key IMO. I had several comments from people that couldn't believe he was under a year old. I did alot of work with the check chord and coturnix quail (dont fly much) and the "whoa" command when he was a pup. I didn't introduce the E collar until he was probably 6 months or so. I also taught him how to fetch and retrieve in the hallway with the doors closed.

He loves his crate, holds point until the bird moves, flushes or I pick him and move him (points the cat sometimes...) and is a great companion.

At the end of the day, the dog will probably surprise the heck out of you with how much it already knows about hunting...Thats the biggest take away I got from being in your position last year.

Good luck and post some pictures of the new pup!!

Brock