Norm's my first GSP we have Norm as a pet/companion

 I'm impressed when I read about GSP's abilities.  What impresses me more than the hunt is the working relationship between dog & owner.

I was raised on a farm & knew I wasn't allowed to fuss and spoil the working dogs. I thought I had a good understanding why, but unlike the boys,  I spent my time doing everything 'girly' which might of included putting dresses and bows on the inside animals.

I've only ever raised animals with human psychology (love and fussing), to be indoor companions,  I haven't fully understood or raised a working dog.

For people experienced with GSP's both working or companion temperament, I want to ask a couple of questions.

1.  Is there a trainer / dvd / books etc... that is a good resource for me who wants to learn more about training a working dog.

2.  The ecollar is used to train dogs on the field for sport or hunting from what I've read.  There must be a resource to help train the owner (beginner)

3.  Is there a way to guide Norm with a working dog psychology and still have him sit at the dinner table with us?

(jk..he doesn't really sit with us at the table) lol

I'm trying to take in as much as I can about the breed,  I want to learn/ understand Norm better.  I Don't think I'll ever hunt, but maybe I can find other things for him to do,  we're out (on the lead)  exploring the outdoors together every day.

I've been watching a lot of Ceaser Millan.. when he's dealing with working dogs,  to ease their frustration he suggests they wear a backpack on their walk to make them feel like they have a job to do.  Norms not frustrated but this makes sense to me, so  I do this

I'm isolated from dog obedience classes.  I'm searching for instruction for a consistent way to train him so he doesn't end up training me.

Thanks for reading

appologies,  this is in the wrong section of this forum.

Sarox, while some people are adamant that GSP's are working dogs and need a job, in my opinion they are not all the same.  I've had four now (two plus two) and none needed any particular type of training or presented any unusual problems.  If Norm grows up to be extremely active and perhaps destructive, then you may want to consider something like high level obedience or agility to engage his mind as well as his body.  But frankly all of mine have been perfectly happy to be pets.  (It does help to have two, as they will exercise themselves better!) 

So I am a firm believer that all dogs need manners (basic obedience) and whether they are working dogs are not really doesn't have allot to do with it.  I also find that training with my dogs has built a very close bond between me and my dogs, stronger and closer than any of my dogs who were just pets.  For those reasons even if I was not competing with my dogs in various venues, I would train my dogs.  So, to answer you questions:

1.  Is there a trainer / dvd / books etc... that is a good resource for me who wants to learn more about training a working dog.

There are a ton of resources for teaching everything imagineable to you pup.  Check out dogwise.com on the internet.  They have pretty much just about anything you might be looking for.  If you find some books you think might be good post and if I have read them I will give you my opinion.  For the record I train obedience and teach it and I use a mix of methods and tailor my training to the dog.  I like to use positive where possible with GSPs because they respond very well to positive for the most part, but there are times when I feel like the negative reinforcers are the only option, especially for things like avoidance training (i.e., training dogs to stay away from rattlesnakes).

2.  The ecollar is used to train dogs on the field for sport or hunting from what I've read.  There must be a resource to help train the owner (beginner)

Most ecollars come with training info to help train the owner.  However, I like the methods used in Perfect Start and Perfect Finish for training ecollar for a hunting dog.  Personally aside from maybe the recall, you probably won't need an ecollar for training your dog unless you will be training for hunting.  The ecollar is nice for training a reliable recall as you can reach out and touch the dog when you are ready to train with him off leash.  Remember though that the ecollar is not a replacement for training.  The dog has to first understand the command before you ever use the ecollar and there is conditioning to the ecollar that needs to happen as well.

3.  Is there a way to guide Norm with a working dog psychology and still have him sit at the dinner table with us?

Absolutely,  my dogs all have jobs and are also family pets and live inside.  They are also very good (most of the time) when I have guests.  I would again suggest obedience training along with good exercise are the two ingredients to keeping a family dog happy and a good family companion. 

Remember a job for a dog could be a running or hiking companion, someone you hunt with, or a frisbee dog, a biking companion or even a rollerblading or skiing buddy.  I happen to compete in obedience with all my dogs, I do hunt tests with my boy, conformation with one of my girls and my boy, I am training agility with one of my girls and my oldest girl is a therapy dog.  In my spare time I love hiking with my dogs and I usually plan at least one week long vacation where my dogs and I go hiking in the mountains somewhere.

The most important thing though is to have fun with your pup.

Thank you for sharing your experience,  I got a lot from it.

I see I have an 'old school' way of thinking about working dogs.  Your posts helped fill in the blanks of what I didn't understand, all I could see is a lot of hunting myself on the internet, which can be a bit daunting if I have no direction what I'm looking for. 

 Initially, I thought an ecollar might help us work on recall, when I let him run off lead, he comes when he's ready. That's an expensive way to learn 1 lesson.  I might try a very long lead.

He's excellent in most things,  he always sits before coming into the house, before meals.  I'm noticing just recently on walks,  he's constantly trying to lead, I have a short lead.  It's a constant, snap the lead to pull him back, he stays for a few paces, then takes off again,  this coupled with his unwillingness to recall, coupled with his size I'm determined to learn what I need to learn as fast as I can before Norm works out that he's my boss.

I prefer positive reinforcement too, I'm really keen on Norm being well trained,  it's a shame I can't attend any obedience classes, it's more challenging to find direction. I'll look on dogwise,  for some good resources on obedience training.

I now feel enthusiastic about Norm being both, obedient and pampered.

Sarox - What kind of collar are you using with Norm? Also, I would get a bit longer leash to work with. Remember too to praise him when he is where you want him to be as he has not clue unless you tell him when he is doing it right. See the Walking their GSP post in the Hunting section. I justed responded to a heeling question there.

After he understands recall, get a flexi and take him walking and as part of the hike call him back to you. If he doesn't respond give him a pop and then praise him when he gets back. I did that allot with my girl that had problems with recall when off leash and it finally sunk in. I did eventually use an ecollar on her to reinforce that recall when off leash, but you may not have to do that with Norm. I didn't ever have to use an ecollar with my oldest girl. Depends allot on the dog.

I started with a neck chain, I thought he wasn't responding well which translates to ( I need to learn better ways)  I then tried the head halter.  At first, amazing results, only most recently he's pulling.  I'll try a bit longer leash on his next walk but what I think will work for us also is, today from you I learned I can give more praise and still have a good working bond with him.  I'm so close to him, the thought of strengthening that bond makes me feel a lot more enthusiastic.

Thanks for the advice on the recall.