Question about 'Whoa'

[KMWJR]

New to upland hunting, new to owning a dog, and new to training (implied).

Ok, now that you have some context. I am working on teaching 'whoa' to my puppy (5 months old GSP), she will sit when I give her the command, so won't move and will hold very still until I give her the release command. Is the sitting something I need to be correcting?

I take full responsibility that is is a result of my inexperience, I think my main concern is will this present any issues/danger in the field?

Thanks in advance!

 

[TheJason]

I personally wouldn’t whoa a pup at five months. That doesn’t help though. I would not let her sit at the whoa command. Use a slip lead around her flank to keep her from sitting.

 

[KMWJR]

What do you train at 5 months?

 

[TheJason]

What do you train at 5 months?

Basic obedience with tons of emphasis on recall, introduction to water, fun retrieves, gunfire conditioning, more obedience, intro to e-collar, tracking/drags on a lead, more obedience, etc.

I want a dog to have a good steady point before I whoa them. I personally think many folks use whoa way too much, when they really should shut up and let their dog learn to handle birds.

 

[300stw]

whoa is used in many situations, its part of obedience. i start every pup on. here. and whoa. and kennel, at 6 weeks of age, dont let them sit on the whoa command, the last 30 or 40 pups i have started. i dont teach sit to a pointing dog until 2 yrs old or so

 

[Bigjay73]

Why even teach sit to an upland dog? I never understood its purpose.

 

[300stw]

Why even teach sit to an upland dog? I never understood its purpose.

i teach it to dogs that are going to be a house a bunch, or down either one,,, my personal dogs are taught down belly on the ground, I don't teach them sit,,,,,

I use whoa everyday with my personal dogs, in and out of doors, vehicles, kennel ect, I make my wirehair help work cattle even using whoa and down commands, whoa him in front of a gate to keep cows, horses in when I feed ect,,,,
I rarely use whoa on first contact point on birds,,, if I want a dog to relocate, I let him go and then "whoa" him where I want them, pretty soon a smart dog learns to stop and relocate many times on there own,,,,,in the chukar hills I like to be able to whoa a dog before we go over the top of a hill after a long climb, get ready, take a breather, keep the dog insight, ect,,,many times the birds get pointed just over the crest on a long climb, the birds don't hold forever, just the way I do it,,,,,

 

[TheJason]

i teach it to dogs that are going to be a house a bunch, or down either one,,, my personal dogs are taught down belly on the ground, I don't teach them sit,,,,,

I use whoa everyday with my personal dogs, in and out of doors, vehicles, kennel ect, I make my wirehair help work cattle even using whoa and down commands, whoa him in front of a gate to keep cows, horses in when I feed ect,,,,
I rarely use whoa on first contact point on birds,,, if I want a dog to relocate, I let him go and then "whoa" him where I want them, pretty soon a smart dog learns to stop and relocate many times on there own,,,,,in the chukar hills I like to be able to whoa a dog before we go over the top of a hill after a long climb, get ready, take a breather, keep the dog insight, ect,,,many times the birds get pointed just over the crest on a long climb, the birds don't hold forever, just the way I do it,,,,,

All good points.

We began the "down/stay" i.e. "Halt", incorporated with a long whistle blast at about 12 weeks.

 

[TheJason]

Why even teach sit to an upland dog? I never understood its purpose.

I use it all the time when we have people come in the house, outdoor settings with other people/dogs, stopping to cross the street, etc.

 

[BrentD]

Sit is pretty useful when I need to get a collar on, or some burrs out or whatever. Lots of purposes, including what JLS just said.

 

[Frenchy]

I'm not a pointer guy so I can't help on the sit to whoa, but when it comes to puppies. Don't get in a hurry. Teach basic obedience & canine good citizenship. Basically just how to be a good pet. While doing that try to encourage their natural instincts and drive for bird hunting. The mechanics of it will come later.

I think more dogs are set back by well meaning trainers that are trying to turn their pup into a complete bird dog too soon. It takes time. and lots of baby steps.

 

[1_pointer]

It's amazing to me what dedicated "dog people" do with their dogs. If you guys ever get to meet Hank, excuse his faults, as they are mine.

 

[KMWJR]

Thanks for all the feedback! I have never bird hunted before nor owned a dog, so all of this is new to me. All advice is appreciated. (Adult onset Hunter)

 

[Brock A]

I think society says that "whoa" and sitting should not be used together. I trained my GSP the whoa command using a wing first, then live planted birds with the slip leash around his stomach. He picked it up very quickly. But to be honest, I don't think I used the command ONE time in the field this year. Its used in the house for obedient reasons more than anything now. Sometimes he is sitting and sometimes he is standing. Basically he knows no matter what he is doing, when I say whoa that means stop.

 

[rideold]

I trained my pup (and I'm new to this as well) to whoa (I use "wait".....and yes, I've been politely corrected on that by some trainers) right away when I brought her home. Every time I leashed her up to go on a walk I tugged on the lead and gave the command; every time we went through a doorway, most street crossings, random times while we walk. She picked it up in a few weeks and I didn't have to put any pressure on the lead after a while. I added a single whistle to the command after a while and now she will stop where she is when in the field. She's a year and a half now. Now, if I could have as much success training her on birds I'd be happy.