Training a pointer- Tips and tricks

[Redthies]

I see quite a few dogs at the tests where e-collars are not permitted and the "obedient"dog turns into a lunatic because he knows the handler has no control over them.
That be the day where I have to have a gadget on my dog to make sure he'll listen when hunting.

I hunted with a friend and his two pointers last year (one GWP and one Pudel), and the different styles were apparent. His dogs were far ranging and required a whistle and lots of vocal input, whereas my Weimaraners (thanks to my Teutonic bride and her amazing dog training skills) would stay within 40-50 meters, and follow my hand signals. I know how I prefer to hunt…

In the end, both styles of work got us birds, but I like having a close dog. If I lived in the prairies, I’m sure they would range a bit further out as we could still maintain visual contact.

Buy and read both these books a couple of times before your dog arrives:

[Bustercluck]

Our dog should be here mid June. I feel like I’m already behind schedule on learning at my end.

[Dutch]

Have A GSP who is "home schooled" never used a collar on her during training but use one now. They are a tool nothing more she needs a buzz (vibrate)every now and then (my collar has sound vibrate and nick) when she starts to break on a runner but she has been great at the 30m sweep. She does everything I want in a pointer and never had one until her. So my advice take your time ,trying to do too much too fast can lead to some not so good habits. Enjoy the moment sometimes they seem to be too short.Have had 3 labs and a golden retriever all "home schooled" patience and time.

[Redthies]

Dutch is right. Lots of patience. 15 mins of training is tons. Anymore and they stop learning. Little by little is the way.

[britman101]

Also realize there is never a "fully broke" gun dog. If you are on your own books can share things to work on, but when things go south as they will from time to time, how you react as a handler could possibly lead to future problems. If unsure, to the point of even blowing a gasket, take a break even if it means cutting your hunting day short. Then back to the drawing board to figure out what went wrong.

[Bustercluck]

Do any of you guys have an order for training the simple tasks? What’s the most important? And is there anything to not train? Like shake a paw?

He sits on command and is coming now. I’m working on stay and as soon as he has that down I’m going to work on go from stay. I also have a training dummy with some grouse scent that I’m trying to drag around the grass to see if he can pick the scent and track it down.

[Spy]

I hunted with a friend and his two pointers last year (one GWP and one Pudel), and the different styles were apparent. His dogs were far ranging and required a whistle and lots of vocal input, whereas my Weimaraners (thanks to my Teutonic bride and her amazing dog training skills) would stay within 40-50 meters, and follow my hand signals. I know how I prefer to hunt…

In the end, both styles of work got us birds, but I like having a close dog. If I lived in the prairies, I’m sure they would range a bit further out as we could still maintain visual contact.

Buy and read both these books a couple of times before your dog arrives:

Weimaraners like to stay in hearing distance, pointers like to roam and cover way more territory..

[Spy]

A grouse wing on the end of a fishing rod with about 5’ of line is a great training tool for pups.

[Spy]

Have A GSP who is "home schooled" never used a collar on her during training but use one now. They are a tool nothing more she needs a buzz (vibrate)every now and then (my collar has sound vibrate and nick) when she starts to break on a runner but she has been great at the 30m sweep. She does everything I want in a pointer and never had one until her. So my advice take your time ,trying to do too much too fast can lead to some not so good habits. Enjoy the moment sometimes they seem to be too short.Have had 3 labs and a golden retriever all "home schooled" patience and time.

Good post.

[mastercaster]

A grouse wing on the end of a fishing rod with about 5’ of line is a great training tool for pups.

Ya, but only to use once, maybe twice while they are really young because you'll be training your pup to "sight" point instead of getting them to use their nose (sense of smell).

Just work on general obedience for now at the home ,,,2-3 times per day for no more than a few minutes at a time. Keep your pup on a long check cord when teaching recall in case they get distracted. Try not to put the pup in situations where it may fail. ie. Calling a dog when it's off leash, especially when it is totally distracted. Obedience commands I taught my last pup before it was 12 weeks old were "Here (come) combined with 3 short tweets on a whistle, Wait, Stay, Leave it, Off, No, Down, Kennel Up, Sit, On your bed". If your pup jumps up on you don't say "Down" because that command means to lay down and stay down and that's not what you really want the pup to do. Use the word "Off!" and turn your body or lift your knee. Teach your dog to walk on a leash without pulling.

A hunt/training commands I started working on fairly early was "Whoa". This command could save your pup/dog one day if it chases something or attempts to cross a road. I worked on "Fetch", as well, during play time, which included "Hold" and "Give"

Get your pup out as much a you can in as many different environments as possible just to give them tons of exposure. Every pup will go through a couple of fear periods in their first yer and a half of life so the more experience they garner as they grow the better because they'll quickly work through those situations because there will be far fewer things the pup may be leery about.

Expose your pup to other dogs that you trust. Dog parks can be "iffy". They can pick up bad habits quite easily when there are poor dog owners about who don't care about their dog's behavior.

It's never too early to go out into fields where there may be upland game birds because they'll teach a young dog a lot! Purchasing a launcher that can hold pigeons, quail, or chukars is a good investment. Find someone who water fowl hunts and get a frozen bird or two, Doing drags with a dead bird through a grass field can be done early in their life,,,,just keep them short. Searches are fun for the pup, as well. Just hide a bird and bring the pup in down wind. Keep your expectations down to a minimum at first and let the dog just roam.

There's tons of dog training videos on Youtube for training a pointer. They're free,,,,check them out. If you want a really good DVD set check out Jon Hann's "Perfect Start to Finish",,,,pricey but very good!