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Texas Belle User is Offline

Austin, TX

MH
Posts:7926

11/18/2010 7:34 AM
So I have been following this discussion and wanted to add my observation. Understand this is an observation of one dog and I was wondering if he is normal or an exception. I have been working my boy in the field and I do Hunt Tests with him, but have only done a few walking field trials with him. My observation is regardless of whether at a Hunt Test or Walking Trial my boy adjusts his range based on terrain and cover. He runs allot bigger when we are in a wide open area and naturally shortens up when in a dense area. I have done nothing exceptional to train this behavior, it is something he has developed on his own. I am guessing that a GSP exposed to different terrains will learn on his own to adjust if he is a good hunting dog. Thoughts?

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:4476

11/18/2010 8:53 AM
Bev, basically that's how it should work. There are considerations tho. Shades of gray. I typed another reply but it got eaten up somewhere

"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

APATZ_GSP

Posts:16

11/18/2010 9:11 AM
after reading those last couple posts i realized that maybe i am thinking that the dog needs to work close to keep control and get birds, like the labs that i grew up with always did. i live in ohio and where i hunt there are some fields that the dog could get some range but not that far maybe a 1/4 mile at most but the cover is to thick most of the time to get to him in a timely manner. i was thinking maybe i should try to find someone here with a pointing breed and see if i could go out on a hunt with them and see if the way they hunt is a way i would like to do it or adjust off the things i dont like.

Allen & Ammo

trueblushorthairs User is Offline

MH
Posts:129

11/18/2010 9:11 AM
Bev, I believe that your dog is close to the norm, with some glaring exceptions. The caveat, a dog that is allowed to be a run off, out of control idiot is gonna be an idiot no matter where he is run. A dog that has not learned to hunt, has been cranked down and hammered on with too much obedience and not enough learniing to hunt, is gonna be useless and won't magically learn to range and find birds. Pixie is right that it is a balancing act. I think you'll have to hunt the grouse woods or hunt wild blues in west Texas to see how true the theory is for this dog.

pixie bee

MH
Posts:4476

11/18/2010 9:34 AM
Apatz_GSP, a lab needs to work within 30' or so to be a good flushing dog. This is way to close. Look at breeders who hunt the way you will be hunting the majority of the time. Hunting with a GSP will be a very different experience - don't compare. Enjoy and learn.

"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

oneal3337

Great Falls, Mt

MH
Posts:107

11/18/2010 11:06 AM
Out here we hunt extremely large fields and our dogs routinely work several hundreds of yards away. We don't work quartering much because even though the fields are large only a small percentage of the land holds birds. The first couple of years we let our dogs roam wide but we do direct them to areas that birds prefer so they learn what cover and topography holds birds. This allows us to take advantage of the dogs primary assets of range, speed and intelligence. An experienced dog doesn't waste time covering areas that rarely holds birds but learns to hit the high percentage areas. It is always easier to teach a far ranging dog to work closer then it is to teach a dog that works too close to range farther out. That being said a dog does need discipline and when you direct it to go somewhere whether it be into a nasty bramble area or into a wet cold marsh it better go. One caveat, I only hunt upland with my pointing dogs so I don't use their versatility like Pixie does by hunting fur and waterfowl as well. If I hunted where and how she does I might train my dogs differently.

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