Bird hunting dog owners

I am going to be picking up a GSP pup the 2nd week of April. He was born a week ago. I am going to be training him to pheasant hunt with me and want some tips from some of you who have trained their dogs.

What are some good training toys, books, or videos to get me started. I know it's going to be a lot of work and consistency but I'm wanting to start him off immediately, so I need to start getting a game plan together.

I'll post a picture of him once I get some. Haven't picked him out yet and I get 3rd pick of the litter!

Also trying to figure out a name for him. I have a 2 year old that I have to argue with lol


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Anyone??? I'm going to Des Moines tonight to look at training toys!


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We started ours with a pheasant wing. You will see that they are a very smart dog and won't need a lot of training in the way of picking up scent. The first time we took her out, she wasn't more than 16 weeks old and she put up 7 roosters. If you want him to retrieve then pick up some retriever launchers. That is the one thing we regret not doing with our GSP.

 

Any thing written by delmar smith or his son is a must read...

 

I'll definitely take a look at a launcher. Planned on getting a pheasant wing to start as well.


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Do yourself a favor and pick up the DVD's or the books by Richard Wolters. There are several that I would look at, but Gun Dog, Water Dog and Family Dog are really good.

Richard Wolters Link

Here are a few of my own pieces of advice :D
1. One thing that I would stress is that you'll hear that you can't have a working dog that is a pet too. There isn't a bigger load of crap in the entire world.

2. Don't burn your pup out, while you can work for 30 minutes at a time, young dogs shouldn't. You'll get far better results out of 2 15min sessions or 3-10min sessions.

3. If you can get your dog to WANT to do the things you want him to, you're far better off than forcing him to do the things you want.

4. Force Fetch your GSP. It's painful for a very short time but you'll be thankful you did it forever.

This is what you have to look forward to :D Mine is a GWP with short hair :D

 

Thanks for taking the time to respond! This pup will definitely be family dog first. My 2 year old would be crushed if she couldn't play with the puppy lol.

I'll be getting him at 8 weeks old so I'll definitely do my best to keep sessions short and fun for him. I have heard that they need to be force fetched and that a lot of the other aspects are kind of self taught, as in pointing and finding the birds.


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Can't wait to see pics of your pup. I hope to own mine own in about a year from now

 

My husband also swears by Wolters.

And our Labs (they have both passed on now) were definitely family pets.

 

I can't wait to get to pick and know what he looks like lol. My buddy is also getting one from this litter. He took too long deciding so he is getting last pick of a female. I think we are calling them Daisy and Duke haha


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No problem :D Pointing will definitely be their natural instinct, finding birds will come with experience and experience alone. Someone mentioned the bird wing, basically this will just tell you that they will point at a young age. Don't be discouraged if they don't and after they do it a few times, stop. First thing is first get them to know their name before you start anything else. :D