help with my springer

[Philluk 181]

Yep we agree Casso but there is still no harm in playing and training, you make your pup sit a feeding time we agree, nothing wrong with saying sit then pip the whistle, as I walk to my local park I make him sit at each road crossing, each time I say sit and blow once, then i just stop, he sits, I blow he sits, I've never raised so much as a finger to him it's all voice based. I did get close out shooting today I made him sit and I walked to a fox hole with the terrier and he crept forward.

 

It's all about fun and let the dog take in as much as he can but as long as it's fun keep it going I spend 2 hours a day on a one to one basis with him and have done since I got him in May.

 

If there is one bit of advice I can give is time, you can't spend too much of it and ther more you do the more it pays, i sit I play, I walk, I shoot, I work, it all involves the dog.

[wyeman 1,236]

I on an earlier post said before I let my pup as a pup run after squirrels down the road when we go for a walk, I had the.. He is only a puppy. Now I struggle to stop him doing the same thing daily, his ears are up the heel goes to rat, all because I let him be a pup.

 

Allowing a pup it's puppyhood is totally different to allowing it to run riot. I am presently introducing my totally untrained, apart from returning to his name, 7 month Spaniel pup to a a rabbit pen. The idea to this is that whilst it is busy self hunting the cover, he will discover fresh scent and rabbits to follow. This introduction will, depending on the puppy, only take place 2 possibly 3 times, any more and you will ingrain that habit of out and out chasing into the pup and make your future training to steadiness that much more difficult. Very much like your experience of allowing the pup to chase Squirrels, in a way you were teaching it to chase.

 

The other point I would like to make is that the although the development of a puppy is fairly fast particularly during the early months, much of this is down to undisturbed rest. That is why you get a better response to short duration but regular training sessions.

 

Returning to the question of when should training should commence, I use the analogy of a pack of wild dogs. In this example young pups are left at the den, certainly not taken hunting until they are old enough. They stay in close proximity to he den, playing with the rest of the litter and resting/developing. In this early stage of life they are allowed certain liberties (biting etc) that go unpunished by the rest of the pack. As the pup gets older, physically and mentally, it then gets shown social skills usually by threat of or actual punishment by the bitch. Finally, once old enough, they get taken hunting and shown the requisite skills.

 

When we take on the responsibility of a puppy, we take on all these roles, once shared by the pack. So why then do we take it hunting or for long treks when it's only a few months old? Why do we expect any obedience from a puppy that is only weeks or months old - without question both physically and mentally underdeveloped? Play with yes, socialise it yes but do not expect too much from your charge.

Edited January 12, 2013 by wyeman