| Q18:
I have a 5-mo old puppy who is my first GSP. I
teach Special-Ed Pre-school, and she often goes to school with
me, where she is a great hit with the kids. She is incredibly
patient and calm with all of them. My question is this: I'm
fairly new to bird-dog training (and hunting, too), but have
friends that are helping me. . . Where should she be in terms of
her training? She is house-broken, doesn't chew or jump on
furniture or visitors, she's easy to bathe and doesn't bark
incessantly, knows sit, is pretty firm on stay, and is fairly
well behaved on the leash while walking or jogging with me. In
the field, she is finding pen-raised quail, is pretty steady on
point, (she'll whoa on point, but not too reliable on whoa at
other times), and retrieves like a champ. Are we in line with
where we should be at this point? I'm afraid I'm not hitting
some important skills. Thanks for your time! A: Thanks for your question. Of course, each dog is different, so please take my comments as general advice only--only you and your dog can decide what is working for you at any given age or stage. However, I have developed a suggested training program based on approximate ages for our DK's. With DK's it is a bit different, since they must pass different tests at certain ages, which sort of makes for a "built-in" or "forced" training schedule. (That is one of the beauties of the German testing system). With GSP's that are not being tested in such a system, what to train when, or if at all, is largely left up to the individual owner. Having said that, I see no reason why you can't utilize the DK training schedule to your advantage. I have outlined it on our "Training" page of our GSP Owner's Guide. Please feel free to consult it and give it a try. . . CLOSE THIS WINDOW TO RETURN TO THE FAQ's PAGE. |