Gundog training for a family dog Training

Boing Boing should answer your question lol, the Lords My Shepherd i have sung many a time in the Brummie, next season well lets hope Clarke can emulate Roy.

My dogs are Gundogs* but pets and obedience dogs first.

I say gundogs with a * because they haven't worked yet and we're having a few issues with training.

(Oh and mine play tug, the trick to it is a good "give" command)

Boing Boing!
I would have loved to see Rangnick take the job, simply because my first love is Schalke04. Hence the 04 in my username ;-)
(I wonder if this is the first time the Baggies have derailed a thread on Dogsey. Sorry everyone!! )

I have a 8 month old Springer x Cocker from working lines! Excellent dogs!!!

I didn't find recall difficult to train (and we are still training!). Have you considered using a whistle? I have found this MUCH easier than just my voice. Mine walks offlead almost everywhere these days but you do need to "keep their interest". I'd say training the recall away from a bird mid chase was most difficult but by far not impossible.

we also train using the tennis ball for a reward.

hi all,
sorry i dont post for ages at a time,as i work away and dont have much time to post.

I have just bought a whistle and Im guna start to introduce it over the next though weeks.

Training is going well so far(i think??)

The only thing thing Im struggling with is knowing what to expect my dog to achieve at what age? I know that its best to introduce pups to new stuff from an early age but sometimes worry that im expecting to much from him and maybe pushing him to hard for his age.

He's only 16 weeks btw. I just dont want him to get left behind and develop the bad habits that could last a lifetime.

What i could do with is a detailed plan of what a gundog should be achieving and most importantly at what stage in life?

Dogs are like people, individuals, the acquisition of skills is not a race (or should not be), dogs all develop at different rates and, all owners have varying levels of skills, knowledge, ability and experience.

When your dog is an adult, nobody will know, or care, whether it learned to retrieve at 12 weeks or 12 months.

I arnt training him because i care what other people think, I training him because i want him to grow into a happy obedient do g that i can trust with my children an dother people. Your answer has no real relevance to my question really. Yes, all dogs are different but like I said i dont want him to pick up bad habits that could last a lifetime and for that reason I want him to achieve as much as possible in his first year so i dont find myself having to correct my own failures.

Dog training is not about quantity but quality.

If, for example, you have not mastered training the retrieve by (insert relevant age) it does not mean that your dog will pick up a bad habit.

Dogs are learning 24/7, not just when we decide to actively train them. All you need to do is prevent bad habits developing.

I am sorry you think my post is irrelevant, I disagree.

but the question still remains, what should i be achieving at what age with a gundog. I didnt thing it would be such a tricky question but somehow you have managed to make it one.

I used to have some worksheets that detailed exactly what you should teach and you didn't move on until you had completed it and got the behaviour every time. I'll see if they are still available as i lent mine to someone and never got them back.

It is incredibly difficult to say what age they should be doing what though. A lot of gundog trainers don't start training unil 6 months, some 12 months but i like to start early and get the basics in. At 4 months, i would be starting to get a recall, walking loosely on a lead and just starting to sit.

Eta: i think he has written a book with it all in. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gundog-Training-Made-Easy-Begbie/dp/1411670299

Helen

hi, those work sheets sound like just the thing im looking for.

what i was trying to say in earlier posts is that I understand that there is no set plan to training as all dogs are different, but Im hoping to have some structure to my training regime.This seemed to confuse other people. Like you said mastering one command before moving on to the next, Im just wondering what order of commands to master and at what age would be considered to young.

Recall and sit is all im working on with the occasional retrieves. Ive just introduced a whistle which he's responding well to.

Thanks for the reply, and ill take a look at that book but for some reason gundog books cost a fortune. If anyone want to sell me one for cheap let me know.


thanks jon

All dogs whatever they are going to do later on need basics. They need IMO sit, down stand, recall, loose lead walking and retrieve is good but may take longer. The sit stand and down are also stay commands as the dog shouldn't move until released.

They need these things wherever they are and whatever is going on around them. They need to sit when you throw the ball and wait to be released, they need to down at a distance---all continuatiuons of the basics.

If you have these things you have a good basis for gundog work as well as anything else you want to do.

I'd stop thinking about having a gundog and think about having a dog which needs training, the gundog things will slot into your basics.

rune

Personally I wouldn't bother with a whistle yet---I didn't and I simply added it to the stop command later on and introduced it for turning when quartering.

rune

thanks, great answer

Eric Begbie book 'Gundog Training' ( on Amazon and Kindle) is based on his training worksheets.
It gives an idea of a timescale but as SmokeyB says you dont have to hit every trick on the dot.
It gives you a progression through the different aspects of retrieve, quartering etc'

My first advice would be to get signed up to some specific gundog forums, they are more likely to give you specific answers as they have all been there, done that with many dogs.

I think you are looking for specific answers to your questions which dont exist. Every dog is different, there is no right and wrong answer. The only other bit of advice is not to put too much pressure on a young dog, or take it's training too seriously at the moment. I wouldnt be making a pup sit and wait for a retrieve, let it run in, otherwise you run the risk of de motivating your dog by putting the brakes on before things have even started. Once it's happy bringing items back to hand and is doing it consistently, then start adding some steadiness.

Just to add that i start the whistle from day one. I wait until i get the behaviour and then blow the whistle command as they are doing it. To get the stop whistle, i do wait until they have a 100% reliable sit before actually commanding them to sit
With it.

Helen