Mater the Griffon

[labguy]

Kasomors advice is exactly right. Please don't demand too high a standard at 12 weeks. Right now all you want is to build retrieving desire.

There is lots of time after his adult teeth come in at around 6 months to demand higher standards.

You might also want to work on some basic puppy obedience with treat rewards and no harsh corrections between your retrieving sessions. Watch the dog and as soon as his attitude sours the least bit, you'll know you have done too much. Five or six short sessions are much more productive than one 15 minute session.

I like your reference to "calm assertive". Cesar has the best handle on canine/human interaction of anbody that I've seen.

Nice little pup you have there. You should have a good dog for next season. Keep it happy and keep it fun (for both of you). Good luck.

[Sasquatch]

I noticed your posts when i was researching the breed. How is your dog doing ? What type of hunting do you do ?

He's doing great and is probably the easiest dog to train I've ever had. We hunt grouse mostly but pheasants once in a while. My friend hunts ducks with his and says she does really well. They are great swimmers, that I can attest to.

I'm thinking seriously of getting another one now that he is almost 7...that's why I wanted to know where your breeder was. Both of these dogs came from Quebec. (mine is on the right)

[Foxton Gundogs]

X3 on what Kas said keep it fun end on a good note and add more "work" very slowly. Get to know and read your dog he will be your best "barometer"

[yamadirt 426]

He's doing great and is probably the easiest dog to train I've ever had. We hunt grouse mostly but pheasants once in a while. My friend hunts ducks with his and says she does really well. They are great swimmers, that I can attest to.

I'm thinking seriously of getting another one now that he is almost 7...that's why I wanted to know where your breeder was. Both of these dogs came from Quebec. (mine is on the right)

That's a great pic. I think the breeder brought in the dam from Quebec for my litter. Its a small world with these dogs.

[Sasquatch]

Just thought I'd give you an idea of what you have to look forward to yama. I haven't met a disappointed Griff owner yet, I'm betting you are not going to be the first.

[yamadirt 426]

Well Mater did his first live retrieve today. I was on the farm hunting pigeons with the pellet gun and manage to bring one down. He did not clue in exactly what we were doing. He was just following me around the farm. So when the bird fell he was flapping around and we both approached. He was very interested but the bird was flapping alot and he was apprehensive. It was not like the duck wings that did nothing as they hit the ground. I scooped up the bird and we walked outside of the barn. I really had his attention now. It was a 45mins of walking around the barns trying to down a bird by this point.
So I threw the bird up and it carried itself about 40' before it touched the ground . Mater was on him from the minute it left my hands and this time no hesitation. He picked him up and brought him right to me. It was great. My bud on the farm came over and grabbed my phone for some footage and i threw the bird up again. This time it sailed about 35 yards and took a left out of sight behind some round bales. But Mater again was on him. By the time we came around the round bales Mater was on his way back bird in mouth. This bird was very much still alive with no tooth damage. So Mater did use a nice soft mouth. Then on the third toss the bird went the other direction back into the barn and then down into the manure pit where we could not get to him or else he would have made that retreive also. That ended training for the day. If i can figure out how to get the video off my phone I will but next time I will just bring the video camera. So he is not afraid of the pellet gun or live pigeons at this point. And I could not be happier

[WaderGator]

VERY jealous about your puppy. whats his energy level like around the house and what kind of exercise do you give him everyday? my buddy has a german shorthair and she was pretty energetic when she was younger. just wondering how different the breeds are

[yamadirt 426]

He is very calm around the house. He has his bursts of energy where he plays with my other dog or wrestling with my 3yr old but I would say 50% of his awake time is sitting or laying around and watching what's going on. He will get up to put a stalk on the cats or is enticed into some sort of play by one of us. That is one of the consistent comments we get is how calm he is at anybody's house. Daily exercise is fetching in the back yard, walks in the dog park,walks about the farm, wrestling with the "boys". We just started some leash training today. So there will be walks around the block but id more prefer to do some sort of field work. Although I know the leash training is very important

[Foxton Gundogs]

Watch those retrieves on wounded or dieing birds, I'd try to stick to birds that you know are dead then live birds in a "sleave" untill he figures out how to handle moving birds. A good "wing beating" can sour a pup pretty fast and it can take a while to bring them back. Sounds like you have a whole pile of "raw MATER-erial"lol to work with and I know how hard it can be to sty restrained when you have a good one. In the long run tho you will be much better off to bring the pup on slow.
Good luck
Have fun.

[WaderGator]

good to know. I'm probably going to be seriously looking at getting one in the next couple years. make sure you post lots of updates!