German Shorthair pup help
11-05-2012, 09:04 AM
#11
Spike
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 32
First I think you need to read everything you can about training. Then I would not even consider a collar until the dog is 6 or 7 months old. I found that if you do a good job before they are 6 or 7 months that you probably will not need a collar.
Given what seems to be inexperience at training a dog for hunting, I would probably think you are better off not getting a collar. So easy to ruin a dog with a collar to the point where the dog will not hunt. I think you are better off buying a long lead.
In my experience, keeping a pup in control at all times as it grows up give you a dog that is trained to respond to your commands because you always have it under control. If you train to where it does not realize it can disobey your command you have less need for a collar.
I think a collar if used appropriately, as a previous post said about reinforcing a command it knows is a good tool. However, I see far more misuses than positive uses. I used a pinch collar with studs on it to do the same thing to insure they come on command and walk right next to me when I tell them to heel.
In doing that you are insuring that they act like they cannot do as you command fast enough. I had collars back when tritronics first started making them. But as I got better at training I found that my last few dogs never even had the collar on.
If you train your dog that not listening is never an option you will not find your self using the collar to try and get your dog to listen to what ever command you are giving. If they do not immediately respond, you really have not trained them enough.
It really is so very easy to train the wrong thing with those collars that with your inexperience I think you are way more likely to teach teach the wrong thing with a collar than the right thing. I saw one dog that ran back to the owner and would not hunt because it got shocked when it was hot on the track of a bird. Just trained the dog that finding birds could be a negative thing.
Not sure what the current thinking is but my vet neutered very early on. I would say at maybe 7 or 8 months. I am not advising as your vet should let you know when but as I recall it was just after the dog went into heat for the first time. Male dogs were neutered before a year old as well.
I never had a dog that seemed to lose drive from being neutered and none of my dog got fat which is one other tale that I have heard. I think we need to leave breeding to the serious breeders who really want to improve the breed and insure our dogs are not going to breed out of lesser reasons. I would never have a male dog that is not neutered. I had one lab who was neutered later in life when I had a foolish thought that I was going to breed dogs but that dog was perhaps my best trained dog but still would run off the second he saw that I was not watching what he was doing. If I saw him getting ready to head out and told him to come back he would but if I was not watching him, he was out looking for the ladies. Never did it while hunting but at home he liked to take a stroll when the opportunity presented itself. Not one of my neutered dogs ever did that.
Given what seems to be inexperience at training a dog for hunting, I would probably think you are better off not getting a collar. So easy to ruin a dog with a collar to the point where the dog will not hunt. I think you are better off buying a long lead.
In my experience, keeping a pup in control at all times as it grows up give you a dog that is trained to respond to your commands because you always have it under control. If you train to where it does not realize it can disobey your command you have less need for a collar.
I think a collar if used appropriately, as a previous post said about reinforcing a command it knows is a good tool. However, I see far more misuses than positive uses. I used a pinch collar with studs on it to do the same thing to insure they come on command and walk right next to me when I tell them to heel.
In doing that you are insuring that they act like they cannot do as you command fast enough. I had collars back when tritronics first started making them. But as I got better at training I found that my last few dogs never even had the collar on.
If you train your dog that not listening is never an option you will not find your self using the collar to try and get your dog to listen to what ever command you are giving. If they do not immediately respond, you really have not trained them enough.
It really is so very easy to train the wrong thing with those collars that with your inexperience I think you are way more likely to teach teach the wrong thing with a collar than the right thing. I saw one dog that ran back to the owner and would not hunt because it got shocked when it was hot on the track of a bird. Just trained the dog that finding birds could be a negative thing.
Not sure what the current thinking is but my vet neutered very early on. I would say at maybe 7 or 8 months. I am not advising as your vet should let you know when but as I recall it was just after the dog went into heat for the first time. Male dogs were neutered before a year old as well.
I never had a dog that seemed to lose drive from being neutered and none of my dog got fat which is one other tale that I have heard. I think we need to leave breeding to the serious breeders who really want to improve the breed and insure our dogs are not going to breed out of lesser reasons. I would never have a male dog that is not neutered. I had one lab who was neutered later in life when I had a foolish thought that I was going to breed dogs but that dog was perhaps my best trained dog but still would run off the second he saw that I was not watching what he was doing. If I saw him getting ready to head out and told him to come back he would but if I was not watching him, he was out looking for the ladies. Never did it while hunting but at home he liked to take a stroll when the opportunity presented itself. Not one of my neutered dogs ever did that.
11-06-2012, 06:55 AM
#12
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: PA.
Posts: 5,195
First I think you need to read everything you can about training. Then I would not even consider a collar until the dog is 6 or 7 months old. I found that if you do a good job before they are 6 or 7 months that you probably will not need a collar.
Given what seems to be inexperience at training a dog for hunting, I would probably think you are better off not getting a collar. So easy to ruin a dog with a collar to the point where the dog will not hunt. I think you are better off buying a long lead.
In my experience, keeping a pup in control at all times as it grows up give you a dog that is trained to respond to your commands because you always have it under control. If you train to where it does not realize it can disobey your command you have less need for a collar.
I think a collar if used appropriately, as a previous post said about reinforcing a command it knows is a good tool. However, I see far more misuses than positive uses. I used a pinch collar with studs on it to do the same thing to insure they come on command and walk right next to me when I tell them to heel.
In doing that you are insuring that they act like they cannot do as you command fast enough. I had collars back when tritronics first started making them. But as I got better at training I found that my last few dogs never even had the collar on.
If you train your dog that not listening is never an option you will not find your self using the collar to try and get your dog to listen to what ever command you are giving. If they do not immediately respond, you really have not trained them enough.
It really is so very easy to train the wrong thing with those collars that with your inexperience I think you are way more likely to teach teach the wrong thing with a collar than the right thing. I saw one dog that ran back to the owner and would not hunt because it got shocked when it was hot on the track of a bird. Just trained the dog that finding birds could be a negative thing.
Not sure what the current thinking is but my vet neutered very early on. I would say at maybe 7 or 8 months. I am not advising as your vet should let you know when but as I recall it was just after the dog went into heat for the first time. Male dogs were neutered before a year old as well.
I never had a dog that seemed to lose drive from being neutered and none of my dog got fat which is one other tale that I have heard. I think we need to leave breeding to the serious breeders who really want to improve the breed and insure our dogs are not going to breed out of lesser reasons. I would never have a male dog that is not neutered. I had one lab who was neutered later in life when I had a foolish thought that I was going to breed dogs but that dog was perhaps my best trained dog but still would run off the second he saw that I was not watching what he was doing. If I saw him getting ready to head out and told him to come back he would but if I was not watching him, he was out looking for the ladies. Never did it while hunting but at home he liked to take a stroll when the opportunity presented itself. Not one of my neutered dogs ever did that.
Given what seems to be inexperience at training a dog for hunting, I would probably think you are better off not getting a collar. So easy to ruin a dog with a collar to the point where the dog will not hunt. I think you are better off buying a long lead.
In my experience, keeping a pup in control at all times as it grows up give you a dog that is trained to respond to your commands because you always have it under control. If you train to where it does not realize it can disobey your command you have less need for a collar.
I think a collar if used appropriately, as a previous post said about reinforcing a command it knows is a good tool. However, I see far more misuses than positive uses. I used a pinch collar with studs on it to do the same thing to insure they come on command and walk right next to me when I tell them to heel.
In doing that you are insuring that they act like they cannot do as you command fast enough. I had collars back when tritronics first started making them. But as I got better at training I found that my last few dogs never even had the collar on.
If you train your dog that not listening is never an option you will not find your self using the collar to try and get your dog to listen to what ever command you are giving. If they do not immediately respond, you really have not trained them enough.
It really is so very easy to train the wrong thing with those collars that with your inexperience I think you are way more likely to teach teach the wrong thing with a collar than the right thing. I saw one dog that ran back to the owner and would not hunt because it got shocked when it was hot on the track of a bird. Just trained the dog that finding birds could be a negative thing.
Not sure what the current thinking is but my vet neutered very early on. I would say at maybe 7 or 8 months. I am not advising as your vet should let you know when but as I recall it was just after the dog went into heat for the first time. Male dogs were neutered before a year old as well.
I never had a dog that seemed to lose drive from being neutered and none of my dog got fat which is one other tale that I have heard. I think we need to leave breeding to the serious breeders who really want to improve the breed and insure our dogs are not going to breed out of lesser reasons. I would never have a male dog that is not neutered. I had one lab who was neutered later in life when I had a foolish thought that I was going to breed dogs but that dog was perhaps my best trained dog but still would run off the second he saw that I was not watching what he was doing. If I saw him getting ready to head out and told him to come back he would but if I was not watching him, he was out looking for the ladies. Never did it while hunting but at home he liked to take a stroll when the opportunity presented itself. Not one of my neutered dogs ever did that.
i never used e-collar but now after 46 yrs ,i am getting one.
i only wanted a beeper that i could turn on/off to find whiskers BUT my breeder says, JIM WHAT IF WHISKERS GOES AFTER BEAR/DEER/COYOTE/SKUNK/PORKY.
how are you going to get him to listen?we used to chase dogs and just yell at them not to chase deer but in pa now, YOU CAN SHOOT DOG FOR CHASES GAME like bear/deer.
so they felt i need a e-collar for that reason.
i like your info. wish you could change my mind on e-collar to just beeper collar but most feel i am making mistake just getting a beeper collar.
they said the vet bill on quills would be enough on price of e-collar vrs beeper collar.
11-06-2012, 08:04 AM
#13
Fork Horn
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location:
Posts: 435
There is no set time line for a dog to when he's ready for a collar. A lot of it depends on what kind of dog are trying to develop also. For the hunter that likes gundogs that hang in close you may never require a collar. We run a lot of field trial dogs it's a whole different animal. My good training friend has always told me when your dog is figured out that he doesn't need to listen he's ready for a collar. It doesn't necessarily matter the age of the dog it's just when he comes to the realization that he can do what he wants then you need to put a collar on him. If you do your yard work properly the collar comes in handy as a reinforcement tool. The collar is not for teaching commands its for reinforcing commands the dog knows and chooses to disobey. You cant go by hard and fast rules and generalizations about when to use a collar only you and your dog know when he's ready. When you feel like your dog is confident in his commands and he's choosing not to obey them then it might be time to go to the next level which includes a collar. Yard working a young dog is the key though you can teach a dog just about everything you want to know what the checkcord. Good luck with your pup don't be in a hurry with him remember 1 thing he has the rest of his life to be a broke dog he's only going to be a puppy for short time. Enjoy it now while he's young enough that he can't disappoint you
11-29-2012, 04:47 AM
#15
Fork Horn
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Navarre, Florida
Posts: 108
First thing do is to train the dog so it isn't gun shy. I had many friends who had shorthairs and we all trained our dogs together.
These dogs generally are very gamy and will seek out birds from a very early age. Take them into the field as often as possible. I had a great place close to my house that was loaded with quail and pheasants and I took the dog there every night after work. I let her seek out birds on a long lead (50') and then as she got used to that I started on getting her to hold point. Very few of my friends used shock collars, and those that did seemed to all have males who wanted to chase deer. I actually hunted with my dog when she was
4 months old even though she would bust a lot of birds.
These dogs generally are very gamy and will seek out birds from a very early age. Take them into the field as often as possible. I had a great place close to my house that was loaded with quail and pheasants and I took the dog there every night after work. I let her seek out birds on a long lead (50') and then as she got used to that I started on getting her to hold point. Very few of my friends used shock collars, and those that did seemed to all have males who wanted to chase deer. I actually hunted with my dog when she was
4 months old even though she would bust a lot of birds.
11-29-2012, 04:24 PM
#16
Spike
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: minnesota
Posts: 3
gsp pup
first things first all the basics should be pretty solid. always run the dog on a check cord just let the little thing drag it around. get your pup on as many good flying birds as you can when it is young and just let him/her chase them. there are some good dvd's out and about that will help you as well. good luck.
www.krecklaugermanshorthairs.com
www.krecklaugermanshorthairs.com
12-26-2012, 11:29 AM
#17
Spike
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 5
I believe that a dog should be around 1 year old before it see a e collar. It must know what it did wrong if you use an e collar. A check cord is your best training aid for a pup. If the pup is starting to point you can "work" in on the cord while whoaing him. You can guide him back to you while calling him back.
To many people want to rush it and go right to the Ecollar. Start slow and do it right, use a check cord. Ive found 25ft is plenty long enough. Any longer gets tangled to easily.
To many people want to rush it and go right to the Ecollar. Start slow and do it right, use a check cord. Ive found 25ft is plenty long enough. Any longer gets tangled to easily.
12-29-2012, 01:52 AM
#18
Fork Horn
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Minneapolis
Posts: 171
As far as spay/neuter, I recommend to our puppy people that they wait until the dog is about a year old unless there is a very good medical reason not to. That is based scientific studies that are summarized on this paper http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongT...uterInDogs.pdf
12-29-2012, 02:03 AM
#19
Fork Horn
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 253
Not much training I did with my dog but he knows the basics and can catch onto what we want pretty easily. Just be careful with the shock collar, my dog ran after a cat one day in our neighborhood and I had it on medium intensity. When he didnt come back I figured that I had the collar loose and popped it up to max, big mistake. My dog let out alot of yelps and came right back now. That wouldnt be so bad, but now when I try to put the collar on him, he shakes uncontrollably and runs away from it. Needless to say I dont use it anymore, I do plan on trying to get him used to it when I get back home by just leaving it on and having him get used to it. Dont know if I will be successful. Use it sparingly.
Ive seen one of my neighbors really misuse those collars and it makes me sad, not only are the collars left on the dogs so it starts to dig it, but the shock is used for everything. Im sure its effective, especially when that dog takes off, just make sure to use a slightly untolerable setting.
Also, ive never taken my dog hunting but hes an american staffordshire terrier mix and he loves retrieving, neutering him at 6 months didnt do anything. I barely notice a loss in energy, the only difference we saw was no balls, and no white man juice hanging from his dong all the time along with less red rockets.
Ive seen one of my neighbors really misuse those collars and it makes me sad, not only are the collars left on the dogs so it starts to dig it, but the shock is used for everything. Im sure its effective, especially when that dog takes off, just make sure to use a slightly untolerable setting.
Also, ive never taken my dog hunting but hes an american staffordshire terrier mix and he loves retrieving, neutering him at 6 months didnt do anything. I barely notice a loss in energy, the only difference we saw was no balls, and no white man juice hanging from his dong all the time along with less red rockets.
