my puppy is starting to worry me
 

I just got my puppy a few months ago, but with school, football, and the play, its hard for me to find time to work too much with her. then when i do find time it seems that its raining outside and its so muddy. anyways, tonight i brought a quail wing inside and tried to get her to point. she didn't lurch at it or anything, but she put her tail between her leg. i don't know if this is because we were inside or what, but she didnt seem timid, she was pretty excited. that is one thing that worried me. the other is that when i call her, she will run to me, but then roll over and lay on her back. i don't want her to do this, but more sit when she comes up to me. got any suggestions on how to fix this?
thanks

RE: my puppy is starting to worry me
 

The puppy rolling over on its back is just a sign of submission showing that she recognizes your dominance. Just like she would an adult dog. Nothing to worry about.

I'm not what you hoped to accomplish with a quail wing in the house, but it's not something I would do. Too unnatural.

There are a couple of theories on steadying dogs. A lot of pro trainers say let pups chase birds and get birdy and they can steady them. True.

I hunt my dogs on wild birds and never let pups chase birds or catch a wing. I start the whoa command at an early age. I just can't see having to untrain something I don't want. If your dog has good instincts, and most do, then then teach the pup to stop on a dime when you say 'whoa' and you will have an acceptable meat dog.

If my time were limited, I'd work on the whoa command. It will allow you to get control of your dog under almost any circumstance.

RE: my puppy is starting to worry me
 

10 or 15 min of training is all it takes. Do it two or three times a day and start with the basics. Obedience is 1st and fore most. Then I strongly encourage, if you are not doing this already, never let a gun dog do things in play or training thatyou don't want it to do in the field. In other words, don't let the dog develop bad habits.I think just about any dog trainer could testify that it is much easier to stop the habits before they start then to correct them later.

RE: my puppy is starting to worry me
 

When I run my dog, I give her a steady diet of woah + heel to the place and then when we are returning to the car. If you just walk your dog, I would suggest woah + heel while returning home.

Concerning play, don't ever play tug-of-war with your dog. It develops bad retrieving habits and shows dominance.

RE: my puppy is starting to worry me
 

Just like real hunting.[:o]


.

RE: my puppy is starting to worry me
 

FIND TIME to spend with your dog OUTSIDE. The first few mounths are critical to development dont blow it off. Forget the wing and take the dog into the wood's for walk's.

RE: my puppy is starting to worry me
 

All the advice offered is good, but just remember that these things take some time. You didn't say what kind of dog you have, how old, or what you plan to hunt. These all have an affect on the developement of the pup. Whoa, and heel are great commands, and every dog should obey them, but I wouldn't start the pup on them too soon. If you teach heel before the pup is hunting out in front boldly, and independently you risk turning him into a boot polisher. Whoa, if not taught correctly can put too much pressure on a pup, and instead of him hunting he will be anticipateing your next command.
Get the dog in the cover you plan to hunt, and expesed to the birds you will focus on. Keep the yard work to the come command, and light whoa training. I think the most important thing is to keep the pup in birds. The more he wants to hunt the less he'll feel the pressures of the other training later.
Anyway, just my 2 cents. Good luck, and have fun.

RE: my puppy is starting to worry me
 

your 2 cents is always welcome with me...
anyways, my puppy is a 14 week old english setter... i plan to hunt pheasant and quail with her...
i've always grown up with my dad having a dog, and when we woudl go out, he never used the whoa or the heel command, so it seems unnatural to me, so i have just always said easy, which seems to work very well with our other dog...
anyways, thanks for the advice all...

RE: my puppy is starting to worry me
 

You don't have to worry yet, 14 weeks is very young. Have fun with the pup. Work on having it come to you when called, so it comes reliably. In actuallity this takes a long time, so keep the training fun. Also, keep exposing the pup to birds. There is no such thing as a dog that's too birdy. I would try to keep the pup in quail, as they run less than pheasant. This will help to keep the dog from breaking point, and busting birds.

Anyway, you can do it. It's a lot of fun.

RE: my puppy is starting to worry me
 

Hey man don't sweat it!! You have a 14 week old puppy, its not a dog yet, it's just a puppy. enjoy the time you spend with your pup no matter how long or short the time is, don't expect too much too soon. make the time that you train fun for the dog, when the dog does good, really make a big deal of it. give it a treat and love it up real good. one thing you can do that does not take much time is to start conditioning your dog to loud noise (eventualy gunshot) what I do is start clapping loudly over the dog when it is eating (or distracted) when it no longer flinches move to something louder like a book slammed on a flat surface. your dog will tell you when its ready to move to the next louder thing. You don't want a gunshy dog that runs to the next county when you shoot your gun