Expectations?, new pup Options

[iceman09]

My daughter and wife "made " me come home with a German Shorthair back in July. He is almost 5 months old now. We work with him quite a bit, and for the most part given his age I think he is coming along nicely. We plan on taking him out to the woods in Nov. and I know he is still a pup. My question is since this is the first pup I have trained, I am not real sure what to expect out of the first few outings other than lets go for a walk in the woods. Don't get me wrong, I would rather walk in the woods during the worst day of winter than be in the house ever. Thanks for the input

[Bring 'em In]

Well my German shorthair is seven or eight now and I would put him hunt against any other dog. I love that breed. But anyways, he was crazy as a pup. So much running. The shock collar was a great investment. But he was so wild we would let him out of the truck a mile before where he were going to get some energy out. We were lucky that the first time out he accidentally ran into a covey of quail and it started clicking after that. But now he us way more efficient. Trust be, for the next 3 or four years he will be filled with energy but with proper training he will do great! Good luck!

[iceman09]

The collar does help him focus, most of the time I decide to change or quit training before I "stimulate" him. I also need to run some energy off him before we train,lol

[Mr. Mangler]

I always got a quail wing on a fishing pole and worked with mine in the yard to get him interested in the smell and starting to point. I always try to get mine whoa broke first, if you can get them to whoa that makes everything run more smoothly. You might be suprised how fast he catches on, short hairs are extremly smart. I never have used a shock collar, but I know alot of people who do and it seems to work great. I use a long check cord, my voice, and alot of patience. As you probably already know bird dog pups like to chew stuff up so don't leave anything important lying around . Hope this helps.

[iceman09]

when we picked him out of the litter he was the best by far ,pointing at the wing at 7 weeks old. we work with the wing almost every night. He loves it..... as far as the whoa, well we are working on it. He does well with it on a lead but running loose and tell him whoa, you might as well talk to a wall. we will get there though.

[Mr. Mangler]

He does well with it on a lead but running loose and tell him whoa, you might as well talk to a wall.

That sounds 'bout right!!

[iceman09]

going to take the pup out Saturday to hunt his first birds. I hope he will be as excited as I am.........

[iceman09]

Oz has made 3 trips to the field now and I am just amased. The first time out was just me and him. He found one bird and got tired pretty quick. He liked to point mice and stayed to close. on a good note he watched a deer get up and run off and could have cared less. His second trip out , we chose to go with a guide I know. I have known them for quite a long time and love to watch their dogs hunt. That trip went well. He pointed two on his own, respected 3 other points, retreived 3 of those, worked well with another dog, and worked 20 to 30 yards out occasionally coming back to check in.I was quite proud of the little guy. Yesterday was his third trip out. The wife and I had 8 birds released. Oz pointed on 9 birds and stumbled on another 2 that flushed before he got slowed down, I had to laugh as he almost fell down tripping over his own feet when they flushed next to him. Next week he will be 6 months old. I am nowhere close to being an expert on bird dogs,but so far I am very happy with how he is working out. Allthough I am still not sure who is training who.

This last time out I forgot that he worked 20 to 30 yards out on his own, and seen 3 deer that he could have cared less about

[Sp3Ak-Th3-LaNgUaG3]

Sure sounds like he's coming along to me! Looks like I'm getting a German WIREhaired pointer for christmas so I'm starting to get pretty pumped up. I've done a lot of research and have decided this is the breed for me...now just looking forward to training the little guy. I would think by septembe next year he should be ready for his first year of hunting...which is why I wanted one here shortly. Sorry to jack the thread just excited to be experiencing what you're experiencing now! At 6 months old I think you'd be hard pressed to find one doing what he's doing at an earlier age. Got any pictures of him working yet????

[iceman09]

Trent, the only pictures of him so far are on facebook. good to hear about the pup. have you picked it out yet?