Meet Jake the Portuguese pointer

[Cosd]

Jake arrived from Portugal 7 weeks ago now, this is the picture when he was a pup:

 

 

This is Jake today at 24 weeks old:

 

 

 

 

And here's a picture of his dad working, hopefully Jake takes after both his parents....

 

 

 

His training is coming along. We are working the basics in sit, come, stay and heal to voice, hand and whistle.

 

Last couple of weeks he has changed whilst out in the park as he discovers the power of his nose. So training has eased off a little as I let him discover this new world. We generally have two 5 minute sessions a day. His recall is excellent to the whistle, even when out and he's in the middle of playing; He could be at full pelt and a single long peep of the whistle and he stops in his tracks and looks back. Three short peeps and he comes bounding over.

 

At home is is a hand full to say the least, I'm sure he thinks his name is "No"

Edited June 4, 2013 by Cosd

[aga man]

he looks a cracker cos. bet he is filling the back of hat disco already. i notice his dad has a docked tail whereas jake hasn't. is there a reason for that was it a preference? just interested really.

 

atb aga man.

[fenboy]

Yeah but he is not looking at you , he needs to get his "game head on " ------sorry long story

He is looking great cosd , I take it the eating issues are over , it does seem strange to see a HPR with a tale though , was that your choice ??

 

I need to type quicker , I have been beaten to the tail question

Edited June 4, 2013 by fenboy

[Cosd]

he looks a cracker cos. bet he is filling the back of hat disco already. i notice his dad has a docked tail whereas jake hasn't. is there a reason for that was it a preference? just interested really.

 

atb aga man.

 

Thanks aga.

The non docked tail is becoming accepted in the breed. Some breeders dock and others don't. To be fair I wanted docked, but I couldn't wait for another litter.

[Cosd]

Yeah but he is not looking at you , he needs to get his "game head on " ------sorry long story

He is looking great cosd , I take it the eating issues are over , it does seem strange to see a HPR with a tale though , was that your choice ??

 

I need to type quicker , I have been beaten to the tail question

Yes thanks, he's eating well. I feed him 170g Arden Grange Large Breed Puppy and I mix in 60g or Natures Menu puppy twice a day. He now licks his bowl clean.

[fenboy]

Yes thanks, he's eating well. I feed him 170g Arden Grange Large Breed Puppy and I mix in 60g or Natures Menu puppy twice a day. He now licks his bowl clean.

 

Mine eats for England , he is on skinners puppy now , 400 g a day plus 150g of natures menu raw food !!

[al4x]

Looking good other than the tail he sure looks like you will be pulling your hair out soon

[Cosd]

Alright guys, you're going to give me a tail complex 😄

[fenboy]

I asked more out of interest , its not that I don't think he looks ok with a full tail , its what nature intended after all .

I guess though its just most of us shooting types don,t generally see it and therefore takes a little getting used too .

[aga man]

i think he looks fine with the tail. i can't ever see it becoming a problem from a working point of view like some spaniels can.

Edited June 4, 2013 by aga man

[Cosd]

I asked more out of interest , its not that I don't think he looks ok with a full tail , its what nature intended after all .

I guess though its just most of us shooting types don,t generally see it and therefore takes a little getting used too .

I was just kidding.

In the PP world it's quite common. I'd say its almost a 50/50 split of docked and in-docked tails.

 

So far he doesn't seem to thrash his tail so I'm not expecting him to damage it. If he does damage it I'd consider docking then, otherwise it stays as is.

 

Plus my youngest daughter would hate me forever because she thinks its cruel and unnatural.

[fenboy]

i think he looks fine with the tail. i can't ever see it becoming a problem from a working point of view like some spaniels can.

Yes and as long as your happy with it no one else's opinion should matter

 

Oooops thought that was Cosd 's post , too many Disco avatars

Edited June 4, 2013 by fenboy

[Highbird70]

A Labrador its much better than that lemon..

[al4x]

I was just kidding.

In the PP world it's quite common. I'd say its almost a 50/50 split of docked and in-docked tails.

 

So far he doesn't seem to thrash his tail so I'm not expecting him to damage it. If he does damage it I'd consider docking then, otherwise it stays as is.

 

Plus my youngest daughter would hate me forever because she thinks its cruel and unnatural.

 

 

thats like a fair few breeds some of it is down to agravation factor and cost more than long term benefits. Be interesting how you get on as odds are with a pointer you are as likely to get it damaged in the house as in the field. It was the first thing I checked before taking mine to the stud dog that I had somewhere that would dock the litter, and it seems the main question I've been asked by potential buyers. But they would be shooting homes rather than show.

 

Have you got him retrieving anything for fun yet? Its my first thing when I have my next pointer pup as the current one isn't that fussed by the retrieving side and I think that is because I didn't get her interested in it early on.

 

p.s Highbird I take it you know you are responsible for the future devastation in the cosd household as without you he might have bought something sensible

Edited June 5, 2013 by al4x

[Cosd]

 

 

thats like a fair few breeds some of it is down to agravation factor and cost more than long term benefits. Be interesting how you get on as odds are with a pointer you are as likely to get it damaged in the house as in the field. It was the first thing I checked before taking mine to the stud dog that I had somewhere that would dock the litter, and it seems the main question I've been asked by potential buyers. But they would be shooting homes rather than show.

 

Have you got him retrieving anything for fun yet? Its my first thing when I have my next pointer pup as the current one isn't that fussed by the retrieving side and I think that is because I didn't get her interested in it early on.

 

p.s Highbird I take it you know you are responsible for the future devastation in the cosd household as without you he might have bought something sensible

 

We do bits of retrieve play but not too much. When he was a little younger he wasn't too interested in retrieve, so I would do a single throw and retieve every couple of days. Now he seems more interested so we play retrieve almost daily for 2/3 throws each time then we play something else as I don't want to bore him with it.

 

He has taken a big interest in sticks this last week so that's the tool for the job most days.

 

He's very interested in birds almost since we got him. He'll usually chase them when on the ground then stand there watching till they are out of sight.

 

I'll talk to Highbird later

[al4x]

sticks though a bad idea in one way at least its getting the instinct going, Mine wasn't interested in more than a throw or two and so I left it and really it has been a challenge ever since. If you look round HPR training advice some say leave retrieving late others like Rory Major don't and i'm inclined to think some are more keen than others.

[fenboy]

I would not be keen with throwing sticks for a dog to retrieve , firstly there are some real horror stories of the damage they have done when it goes wrong .

 

The other thing I was always told to only use soft things for retrieving training as hard objects can cause hard mouth , now I cant say 100% thats the case or not but I prefer to err on the side of caution and all my dogs have only ever retrieved soft objects.

 

A piece of garden hose cut to around 18 inches is a safer replacement for a stick.

[al4x]

I agree almost entirely fenboy the only thing worth mentioning is don't leave the hose with them or its liable to get consumed

[Cosd]

I would not be keen with throwing sticks for a dog to retrieve , firstly there are some real horror stories of the damage they have done when it goes wrong .

 

The other thing I was always told to only use soft things for retrieving training as hard objects can cause hard mouth , now I cant say 100% thats the case or not but I prefer to err on the side of caution and all my dogs have only ever retrieved soft objects.

 

A piece of garden hose cut to around 18 inches is a safer replacement for a stick.

 

Totally hear what you are saying, and trust me a stick is not the object of choice by me. Whilst he has shown interest I'm using that with the intention to take a soft bone (cuddly toy type) with me to the park as a replacement in the next week or so.