Another Look At Gundog Training

[atbh61]

The question "when should I start training my new pup?"

I can never understand how someone gets a dog and has not thought about this. The truth is you started to teach your new pup before you even got it home.If you think back to the visits to your pup before you got it home did you single it out from the other pups and start to make a bond with it. And so the training starts. Even if you do not start formal training with you pup just by being with it you are teaching it.

 

The Magic Time.

I call the early life of a dog the magic time, have you ever been out and met someone with a young dog pulling them along?

thats because they did not understand the concept of the magic time. That dog is now lost and no training will get it back.

I would never take on a Dog like that and have high expectations of it. Yes it could be helped and even worked but i would not want to work with it. Early days training should have got the dog close and paying attention miss that and its gone.

 

So, Now we know that the training has started what are we going to do with it?

The pup is home and getting the hang of things toilet=outside bowl=dinner humans=fun bed=safe and so on. This has all been done without a lead. However the big day comes when you need to take pup out away from home into the big world. If you can walk him of the lead to the field or training area NO heel training yet. If you cant walk him carry him NO heel Work. very last resort if you must put a lead on him but NO heel work.forget about the word heel you can do that later.

Stop and sit is what we all need.

start you formal outdoor training by just walking round the field and looking at your pup he will not want to go far and all that sill running round will make he think about having a sit down. here it your moment catch it every time as his bum goes down pip your whistle and give the hand signal. walk over and tell him he is a good boy. he is now sitting at a distance and not leaving that position to be told he has done well. That is so much better than making him sit and backing away (he wants to be with you not left behind ) and he is be told he is good for staying there not for coming to you. The recall is not part of the lesson.

I will stop there for now if anyone wants me to carry on I will if not I will I hope have started a new fresh look at our Dogs

[lee-kinsman]

Welcome to the forum. I'd like you to carry on.

[atbh61]

Welcome to the forum. I'd like you to carry on.

Thanks for the welcome and I will just pop some more on here this evening.

[gazbev]

This is interesting,interested in your next posts.

Gary

Just noticed you are new, Welcome to the forum

Edited September 20, 2013 by gazbev

[smirff]

looking forward to your next post I have a 16 week old lab bitch my first dog so any info greatly appreciated

[atbh61]

Sorry chaps I have been away getting a slating but will post here soon

[Cosd]

I'm interested in reading more of your posts as I have an 8 month old dog and by no means an expert. Your profile interests states "Dogs" but all I have got from your statement/lesson above is that if the dog isn't text book mould it's a waste of space! Or is that just for you who expects nothing but perfection?

 

 

Cos

[atbh61]

I'm interested in reading more of your posts as I have an 8 month old dog and by no means an expert. Your profile interests states "Dogs" but all I have got from your statement/lesson above is that if the dog isn't text book mould it's a waste of space! Or is that just for you who expects nothing but perfection?

 

 

Cos

Hi Cos, I am sorry if that is what you thought I said.

However I did say " it could be helped and even worked but i would not want to work with it. Early days training should have got the dog close and paying attention miss that and its gone." Do you not think you stand a better chance of having a good working dog if the early days have gone well and the dog has bonded to you?

[karpman]

Hi Cos, I am sorry if that is what you thought I said.

However I did say " it could be helped and even worked but i would not want to work with it. Early days training should have got the dog close and paying attention miss that and its gone." Do you not think you stand a better chance of having a good working dog if the early days have gone well and the dog has bonded to you?

Crack on then I want to read more, you have incited my interest as I have been thinking of getting a springer and knocking the lurcher over the napper. (Joke)

 

Karpman

[Cosd]

Hi Cos, I am sorry if that is what you thought I said.

However I did say " it could be helped and even worked but i would not want to work with it. Early days training should have got the dog close and paying attention miss that and its gone." Do you not think you stand a better chance of having a good working dog if the early days have gone well and the dog has bonded to you?

I absolutely agree that getting off to a perfect start is what to aim for, how can it not be? But I'm not sure if I accept that a dog which doesn't have that perfect start can't become as good and even better than the one which does. My opinion isn't based on experience so we can move on if you like.

As I said I'm keen to read more on your methods and views.

[scotslad]

It depends on the dog/breed/individual but off course u can still train a dog to a high/decent standard even if u have not had it as a pup.

 

Some breeds are easier than others, labs u can train at almost any age, althou u might struggle more with other breeds (not picking on HPR's here but i would not like to attempt to train an untouched 1yr+ old gwp, for example althou still not saying it can not be done). My mate has just took on a 2 yr old lab, his first gundog, which 6 months ago had limited basics if any, in 6 months the dogs like a new dog and a tidy dog at that picked its first duck on sat there after a flight. But he has put a lot off work into it and has been shown the right way by a good trainer so he hasn't made the mistakes that most off us make with our early dogs

 

Aways remember a local FT trainer who has been at it for 40+ odd year pretty succesfully too, sitting in the shoot howf he started on about his first FTCH (and he will have had a good few, not that unusal for him to have 2 or 3 in kennel at sametime), a local vet phoned him as had a 1yr old lab to PTS as owner could not handle/train it wondered if he wanted it FOC, had it made up within 2 years!

 

While i will not denny wot u do in that first few months can make ur life a lot easier, if it was soooo vitally important why do some off the big trailling kennels farm out a lot off pups till 6,12 or even 18 month and just have them back every now and again to see wot there like, yes they will be gettin trained but not by the fella who will eventually trial them if they make the grade so it miust be possible to form the bond later in life.

You only have to go back 20-30 years and it would be quite unusual to start a dog so young, but going back 20-30 years a big stick would sort an awful lot off problems. Thankfully we have moved on

[kent]

When should you train a dog? when its ready for the task you wish to teach it provided the other bits are in place required for teaching that task. There is no time scale they are all different. Bad habits can be trained in but tasks taught to a dog that had not developed any awareness of its own mind tends to not retain anything much past the point of when independent thought kicks in.

It is now known that the teenage human brain re-wires for adult life, I 100% believe the same is true for dogs. Its quite possible to all sorts of crazy advanced stuff with a small pup, though you will need to re-do 90% of the work again as it enters this re-wire stage. You might call the early stages an "age of innocence" or an "age of extreme gullibility" but either way it exists the fact can be attested by any parent or person who has trained quite a few dogs in their time.