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AuburnGSP

Posts:6

10/28/2009 12:52 PM
I am new to shorthairs so sorry if i sound ignorant. I rescued a shorthair from a kill shelter about six months ago. The vet said she was two and a half. She is very well behaved in the house and in the field she seems to know what shes doing. I havent had a chance to take her out yet but i was wondering if she isnt trained would it be to old. Ive given up on the retrieving part just holding point and stuff. thanks for your help

pixie bee

MH
Posts:4452

10/28/2009 2:55 PM
Thanks for rescueing a GSP. why did you give up on the retrieving? 3 is not old. It's actually a good age b/c the dogs are physically and mentally mature.No more hormone surges. Francine

"Time with my dogs clears my mind, renews my faith, and lets me see the world as it is. My only regret loving dogs as I do, is the misery of their early departure." Robert G. Wehle

AuburnGSP

Posts:6

10/28/2009 3:28 PM
Well i wont say give up maybe postponed on retrieving. I should be able to get her in a field on some quail this weekend so i will be able to access her alot better after that but is there anything i can do not being in the field. Im from middle georgia so we dont have an abundence of birds. I bought some quail scent and she does a great job finding the drag but quickly loses interent and moves on to keep looking. Like i said i really do not know much about training so anything would be helpful thanks for your reply.

Texas Belle User is Offline

Austin, TX

MH
Posts:7864

10/28/2009 4:48 PM
You don't mention how she is with obedience. So, how about obedience work? Always a good thing to do when you can't be out in the field. Also, how is the play retrieve? I teach my dogs to retrieve anything I send them for whether or not it smells like a bird. I guess the other thing is where do you want to get to with your pup? What are your goals? I don't think a dog that is three is too old. I am always training my dogs for new things. My oldest is now 6 YO and she is still learning new things.

Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna) Yellow Rose GSPs "A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato

pixie bee

MH
Posts:4452

10/28/2009 6:01 PM
There is come,sit,down and if you want a steady in the field dog then you can teach whoa. I work up to a 20 minute sit,down and whoa. You can also teach a solid hold foundation w/ogoing full into a force fetch. Don't give a command you can not reinforce.Don't ask - tell. Don't make excuses for when your dog disobeys - get on her and reinforce. If you google you will find many,many bird dog training sites.

"Time with my dogs clears my mind, renews my faith, and lets me see the world as it is. My only regret loving dogs as I do, is the misery of their early departure." Robert G. Wehle

AuburnGSP

Posts:6

10/28/2009 7:26 PM
she sits and ive taught her to stay. She play retrieves in the house but when we move outside she doesnt want anything to do with anything i throw. As for the goals i would love for her to be a good hunter and that is all. Retrieving ducks and doves and pointing quail. SHes very obedient but since i got her at an older age its kind of hard to communicate. Ive been working on the whoa command and she will come when called.

Texas Belle User is Offline

Austin, TX

MH
Posts:7864

10/28/2009 9:23 PM
For hunting one of the best training tools I have found are the videos Perfect Start and Perfect Finish. The method can be used on any age dog and it is pretty easy for novice trainers to pick up. You can take your pup as far as you want in the training too. The videos are kind of expensive, but are very good. You can get them off of the Perfection Kennels website. Just Google it. With regard to the retrieve, I would keep playing with her in the house. And move the game outside with the same toy. Forget the scent on the article and the drag. Just toss the toy for her and when she brings it back praise her. If she doesn't bring it back end the game. She will start bringing the toy back. If you want to add the scent to the toy you are tossing you can, but honestly these dogs are smarter than that and know the difference between the scented article and the real bird. Heck mine even know the difference between and dead bird and a live one, and I have some friends who say the dogs can smell the difference between pin raised and wild. If you want to teach your dog to track, hot dogs work great for first starting out, but I wouldn't add the retrieve in at the end yet. The dog has know clue you want them to retrieve the object at the end of the track. You have to work up to that. I would suggest you find someone that you can work with that has trained a pointing dog before and that can work with you and your dog.

Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna) Yellow Rose GSPs "A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato

AuburnGSP

Posts:6

10/28/2009 9:37 PM
I will look into the videos and for some help. Thanks alot for all the info.

Texas Belle User is Offline

Austin, TX

MH
Posts:7864

10/28/2009 10:00 PM
Good luck and let us know how it goes. Also, we would love to see pictures of your dog.

Bev Quarles, the Pointer Sisters (Belle and Halo), the Outlaw GSP (Johnny Ringo) and the little Princess (Fauna) Yellow Rose GSPs "A dog has the soul of a philosopher." - Plato

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