New Pointer Puppy

[amcardon]

Hey guys, we recently picked up a 9-week old female German shorthair pointer and I'm looking for some feedback on training her. I have never really hunted birds and wouldn't even know where to start with her or if I will ever have time in the future to get after birds much. So, is there any point in training her on birds, even though I think it would be awesome to have that option. Anyway, right now we're just working on crate training and basic obedience, but I'm gone from 5am-7pm M-F so all of that falls on my wife. We also have 5 kids from 7 months to 10 years old, so I'm trying to decide, is it worth having somebody else train her (the puppy ;-) ) and if so, who would you recommend?

Like I said, obedience training is most important as she is a family dog, but some hunting/gundog training would be nice, but unsure of how much practice she'll get...

I appreciate any help, first dog I've had since I was a kid so this is all new territory for me!

Oh, not sure if it makes any difference, but the parents are both hunters and work birds multiple times every week.

 

[Wheel Gun]

I suspect that she will make you a fine companion.

 

[Jeff405]

I took one of my dogs to Full Circle obedience school, they are pretty good and you work with the dog in the Saturday classes, it was helpful for both of us. Its up on expressway I think.

 

[MrShooter]

I'd stick with obedience and socialization for a good while. Their capacity to learn special training is better a few months from no . Play games with her that get her to use her nose. Hide treats, etc.. Make it fun but don't over do it. 5-10 minutes 2-3 times a day is ok.

If her parents are bird dogs, that should make it easier but not all dogs are good at it.

 

[MrShooter]

Here's my best friend @ 6wks up to 16wks.

 

[dlbleak]

she's beautiful aaron. mrshooter gave some good advice. if you are planning on taking her out to the field, work with noise distraction often. some guys take a pup out and starting shooting over them only to make them gunshy. when we started our first dogs out, we would make a few loud noises while they were eating. maybe bang a pot and pan together or something like that. then we moved up to 22 rifle at a distance then slowly worked our way up in the shotgun gauges while closing the distance.
we could part their ears with a shot and it wouldn't bother them in the least.

if the parents were hunters you might be amazed at what she knows already. good luck with her!

 

[magna19]

Just my opinion here. It doesn't sound like you'll be hunting with her much but don't let that discourage you. This breed has a high probability of natural pointing/ retrieving and finding birds with very little to no training. There is a book that has some very useful info for a beginner with bird dogs. Its called (Speed Train Your Bird Dog) by Larry Mueller. It has several easy training tactics that will go along way if you decide to hunt her later on or not. Mostly the tactics he uses while doing your routine/daily activities with your pup will help a lot. For instance things like teaching a new puppy the meaning of the command NO!!! Preparing for the word Whoa!! during daily feeding so it wont be new at later serious training. Introducing leash training etc. Also focuses on things not to do that will allow your puppy to train you.

 

[magna19]

she's beautiful aaron. mrshooter gave some good advice. if you are planning on taking her out to the field, work with noise distraction often. some guys take a pup out and starting shooting over them only to make them gunshy. when we started our first dogs out, we would make a few loud noises while they were eating. maybe bang a pot and pan together or something like that. then we moved up to 22 rifle at a distance then slowly worked our way up in the shotgun gauges while closing the distance.
we could part their ears with a shot and it wouldn't bother them in the least.

if the parents were hunters you might be amazed at what she knows already. good luck with her!

That's probably the best way to not end up with a gun-shy dog. I like to rack a pump shotgun while bringing the food bowl at feeding time to them after they are comfortable at the new home. It makes the gun nothing new for later on training. One of the most important things to remember during the 22 rifle and working up to the shotgun is NO eye contact or emotion while/during firing of guns. (your pup will look directly for your response to the noise also) if he thinks you might be startled of the noise then he has a better chance of being gun-shy.

 

[huntemup]

Whether you think you'll actually hunt or not, get in touch with folks at your local NAVHDA chapter.

I have over 20 years training experience in everything from obedience to schutzhund to search and rescue, to personal and property protection. That said, training a bird dog is a whole different game. When I got the dog in my avatar, I had never hunted upland birds. I bought him to be a running companion, and an antler shed hunter. I lived for deer hunting. Fast forward to 3 years later, deer hunting takes a back seat to quail and pheasant. I live for the rush of excitement I get following him around and watching him do what his genetics and our training has prepared him for.



Puppyhood can be a pain in the butt sometimes. Those razor sharp teeth, racing to the garage for the shop vac for those " ugggh!! I just took you outside" moments Enjoy the journey. They grow up fast.