My Training thread;

[Tom&Dexter]

Relax mate there made of stern stuff

If she is raly that nervous or causing you a problem get on to the previous owner ASAP and seek advice

 

you need to find a local training club dosent need to be gun dog specific and get some socialising and fun with a bit light training in.

 

p.s get some pics up

[turk101]

Hi all, I was the previous owner of Daisy, and unfortunately had to let her go.

She was a little poorly as a little puppy, so spent a fair few months of her puppy life on medication not going out socialising etc: She is a very intelegent dog and will in time be fine i am 100% certain on that. She has always being a bit nervous but once again i think with time she will outgrow that. what we have to remember is she started to do things at 5 - 6 months old that 3 month old pups would have done already. I personally think she just needs a little time to settle in and get her confidence up.

 

Richard what we used to do at bath times was put her in the bath and give her a nice shower she loved it never a problem.

When your out she loves water but springers have a habit of rolling in puddles etc.

With regards to other dogs she was nervous of others but has always had another dog as company, her mum and brother up till 5 1/2 months and my dog snoop up till 10 months. she was always fine with them.

 

Hope this helps everyone a little.

 

richard take your time and make things fun for her, trust me you have a little bundle of energy there waiting to please.

 

regards turk101

[fieldwanderer]

Ayup turk, was surprised you hadn't found this sooner! Thanks for all your help sofar.

 

 

All's well, she soon forgave me when she saw her lead and I've got the joe irving book on the way (here tomorow or monday at a guess) also a whistle on the way one with adjustable pitch.

 

Next question though, I've been using a halter and she's doing really well on it (compared to a normal collar). When do I stop using it and do I go back to the normal collar occasionally so she can see the error of her ways?

 

Anyway, I'll leave it at that as she's not had a morning walk yet and is pestering me

[Gillaroo]

Hi Fieldwanderer

 

Read Keith Erlandson's books. They are excellent.

 

From my experience - take your time on everything and don't expect too much from the dog early on. She must see YOU as her one and only master and look to you for everything including commands, food, praise etc etc. Once you have truly bonded with the dog then start the real training. It will be much easier than trying to do something straight away.

 

In terms of walking to heel there are various methods to stop her from a stick in front of her nose to a chain to a halter to leaving a loop in the lead and letting it go when she pulls - same effect as pulling someone by the arm then suddenly letting go causing a loss of balance which some dogs hate. Each to their own I guess. Remember to just get her to sit at heel on the lead randomly while out on a walk and stay. Move off when you say so and not when she stands up. If she does stand then with a simple sit command make her go back down. Little and often is the key to success.

 

Last of all, I would get yourself a decent kennel and limit the time spent in the house. By all means socialise her but on your terms.

 

Good luck and in a few years time you'll have a cracking dog. Look forward to the updates.

 

Cheers, Gillaroo

[fieldwanderer]

Thanks for that gillaroo, I agree with the point about a kennel - others in the household seem to be hindering her progress. BUT at the moment, she's nervous of people (strangers) so I can't help but think isolating her will probably make things worse.

 

Time for a quick update;

 

She still doesn't like the sight of guns, I spent a while trying to help with this and will continue to do so - I sat on the floor with the gun next to me and got her retrieving a ball, she wasn't keen to start with but got there in the end. I was going to move the gun closer gradually but she cowered every time I reached for it but I ended up with it sat on my lap, still playing ball but she was obviously nervous. I ended on a high but still concerned, any help with this would be much appreciated.

 

She comes really well to a whistle now and I've made a start on showing her a single "toot" on the whistle means sit today, she's picking things up really well sofar though and seems keen to learn. The pulling on the lead is still an issue but I think she's working it out slowly, and she seems to be getting better with other people and dogs.

 

Oh, and a quick question for the parents among you; can you still get caps and cap guns or have they been banned? I won't need one for a while yet but it's a cheaper option than a start pistol.

[fieldwanderer]

:blink: Well, todays training hasn't gone quite as well as I'd hoped so I've come to a decision.

 

Up to now, I've been working with common sense, advice from you guys and info from online. I thought we were making good progress, to the point I was starting to think she knew much more than I thought.

 

Yesterday, having read the first few chapters of the book I got, I decided she was probably ready to be introduced to something slightly more interesting. Unfortunately, some of what's in the book is a bit simple but I've been trying to guage roughly where she's up to. I gave her a go at "quartering" over a rough patch of grass, zig-zaging over it with her and giving a peep on the whistle to tell her to change direction. She performed spot on, a little untidy but I was still really impressed and she left me wondering whether she already knew how to do this too. I don't intend to push her, I just felt it would give us both a bit of a change and mark the start of us doing some training as opposed to the little bit of work I've been giving her on our walks; come, sit, fetch,leave it and wait.

 

Today, to be honest, we found she's (read - we're) not as ready as she'd seemed and she had a very enjoyable (I'm sure) half hour completely ignoring me and chasing the local wildlife about in the woods she's incredibly fast but that's not the point.

 

So, Training starts properly tomorow, starting right at the first page of the first applicable chapter of the book. No more trying to suss where abouts in the book she's reached already, I'm going right back to square one.

 

I still need some help with the nerves though guys, can anyone help with her running/cowering from me when I'm holding a gun?