RE: GSP froze on hunt.
My friend had the same issue when he received his GSP. He didn’t buy him from a trainer but he was from good stock. We went out with him at about the same age to test his abilities. His natural instincts were working well but he was not ready for the gun. When the bird got up I shot the bird and his birddog ran like a shot to the other side of the field and coward at the site or sound of the gun. Obviously my fiend was devastated. But breezing through your posts I believe that the main problem here is curing his Shyness to the Gun. After some research what my friend did was introduce the gun back to the dog in a positive way. Each time he fed the dog he would have his gun in hand. He would also lay the gun by the bowl while the dog ate and in his pen while he slept (old gun is advised) giving the dog a constant reminder that that gun will not hurt him or scare him when it is around. He then started to shoot the gun randomly during non hunting situations from a distance working his way back to the dog when he shot. You can even start with a low caliber such as a .22 and work your way up to the 12 gauge. This allowed the dog to understand that this loud boom is not just associated to the dog pointing and hunting birds but can happen at any time even during play time. His work paid off. By the following season the dog was a little older and more mature. With the anxiety of the gun behind him this dog is now a pheasant hunting machine. It sounds like you have a pretty good dog their, if you work him back in properly I think that he will be OK. Just take it slow. If he is from good genes his instincts and will to hunt will eventually take over. But first you must make him understand that the gun will not harm or hurt him in any way. Good luck I’m sure he will be fine.