First Time GSP Owner Looking for Advice

[RMM]

Like the title states, we are planning on picking up our first dog at the end of February, a male GSP puppy. Growing up we had a Brittany and she was a great dog. I've hunted with GSP's before and have always loved them. Looking for advice on training videos you guys have used and done well with as well as general do's and dont's. I'll mainly be hunting pheasants and grouse with him.

 

[KurtR]

Standing stone kennels that has a YouTube channel a lot of gsp have said is good

 

[RMM]

Standing stone kennels that has a YouTube channel a lot of gsp have said is good

Appreciate that, I actually came across them on searches and have seen a few videos of theirs.

 

[TreeStandAthlete]

I'm by no means an expert. I have a 3 year old GSP which is my first hunting dog. She's a full time family member and we're more the weekend warrior vibe when it comes to chasing birds. I'll tell you right now, hold onto your hat, that dog is going to have more Go than it, or maybe even you at times, know what to do with. Great with the family, from the start been a natural and always willing to work and learn, only issue we ever really ran into is her just getting too amped up and flushing the whole damn field. I've had and grown up with everything from labs to Aussies to Schnauzer show dogs and I gotta say I don't see myself ever not having a GSP in the family. You're gonna have a blast with that dog!

 

[Ucsdryder]

Just remember…

 

[jmez]

Training Pointing Dogs by Paul Long.

Sent from my moto g power using Tapatalk

 

[Forks]

I run EP's and GSP's and the only advise I can give is let the little guy be a puppy and enjoy the ride. Laying a good foundation and keeping my mouth shut in the field.......produces what I'm after.

 

[loganwayne]

A well breed dogs is going to have more natural ability than you’ll realize and know what to do with.
Basic training and bird contacts is all I worry about the first year. After that you can really start “bird” training. But each dog will be different. My older French Brittany was learning hand commands at 7 months and will hold all day long basically from a puppy. My little female she was 2 before so got out of the puppy stages to really start working with her.

 

[Squincher]

There won't be huge differences from your Brittany. GSP's seem to mentally mature a bit faster.

Oh, and they bark. A lot.

 

[RMM]

I appreciate all the replies fellas, I'm excited to get him home and to start working on obedience. Has anyone used pigeons for training? A buddy at work has a dozen from when he trained his lab that he offered to me for free

 

[KurtR]

I appreciate all the replies fellas, I'm excited to get him home and to start working on obedience. Has anyone used pigeons for training? A buddy at work has a dozen from when he trained his lab that he offered to me for free

yep i use them all the time. I have a place to go catch some when ever i want. Pull the flight feathers and let the pup get fired up getting a live bird.

 

[JGood]

Best Way to Train Your Gun Dog
By Delmar Smith and Bill Tarrant

Delmar is quite possibly one of the greatest dog trainers to ever do the sport. While some of the training methods are older and possibly out of date with the advent of modern ecollars etc., the training philosophies he lays out are monumental in the bird dog training world. The chapters on developing puppies are hugely helpful and will guide you with not only training tactics but guiding principles on how to give your pup the right start.

Good luck

 

[Mosby]

I am trying to learn the Gibbons-West, Dave Walker, Mo Lindley view of the world of dog training with some Perfection Kennels mixed in. Vizsla's require a softer touch than other breeds and I get my new pup in a couple weeks but I believe the real key to dog training regardless of what methods you use is getting the dog around birds as much as possible.

 

[HuntingGriff907]

I would highly recommend linking up with a local NAVHDA (North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association) chapter. There are often training days and a Natural Ability test for younger dogs which can put you on a nice training path with your dog. The chapters are also good resources for purchasing training birds. All of the comments in this thread have positive recommendations as well.

 

[Montana Slim]

As above - don't rush. Too much pressure too young is a trap I think many people (myself included) find easy to fall in...

 

[loganwayne]

I also only grouse hunt. But from what ive been told grouse and pheasants are going to act different when pressured from a dog. the dog will have to work that out on their own. they WILL bust alot of birds until they figure out that different birds have to be treated differently. they may be perfect with a pigeon or a pin raised quail but bust every wild bird they come in contact with for the first year.

 

[cuttiebrownbow]

don't let them catch planted birds, let them have fun and don't hammer their excitement with too much obedience. Don't let them jump or bite. Focus on recall. Positive reinforcement.

 

[commandoNate]

Congrats, and welcome to the club! Remember that getting your first bird dog is just the down payment on a new hobby. When I got mine a few years ago I was just looking for an excuse to extend the hunting season a little. Then come the e-collars, new shotguns, travel kennels, clothing and gear, on and on and on.

 

[Salmonchaser]

I’m down to my final two GSPs. I’m 66 they are both 10. You got some great tips and the only thing I would add is a minimum of 3.5 miles a day. I guided with my dogs until last year. Both are too injured to keep working, if we don’t get them into a run every other day they drive us nuts. They are bold wonderful dogs. Have fun

 

[RMM]

Congrats, and welcome to the club! Remember that getting your first bird dog is just the down payment on a new hobby. When I got mine a few years ago I was just looking for an excuse to extend the hunting season a little. Then come the e-collars, new shotguns, travel kennels, clothing and gear, on and on and on.

Yep, I've heard buying the dog is the cheapest part and I'm already seeing that. Luckily I'm set on shotguns and clothing. My problem is going to be finding enough birds to hunt him regularly. Our grouse population has been bad the last few years and pheasants are never good because they're all pen raised and die in the first week or so when they're released.