Is it ever too late for a dog?

patakadarragh

Ive a springer bitch out in they yard that we got as a pet 6 years ago....her parents were working stock and she has papers....she is strongly built and to my untrained eye looks to be hunting our own fields very well......keeps going as well so stamina is looking good...

She has been only a pet for all her life and was only trained in very basic obedience by myself....but she has always been a very obedient dog....i want a dog for next year when i will hopefully get my first licence(im 15)but tbh i dont have the money to buy a dog so decided id give it a go training her....i suppose its been a fortnight now and to date i can get her to come when called....she isnt going more than 20 yards away unless i tell her and has mastered the "down" command.She is not interested in retrieving dummies so set the larsen trap and have been using magpies,crows and whatever i can catch for her to retrieve.....its comin along ok and she is half retrieving.

Is there any real future for a going on seven yr old dog in the field?
And what is the next stage in the training?


cheers, Darragh.

landkeeper

best shooting springer bitch i ever saw wasn't worked on game till she was six , the lad that owned her trained her to six months then he had a serious accident so she became the family pet , when he got better he started her on game she was superb steady as a rock and a fantastic retriever
so anything is possible esppecially if you have the inclination and time

irish setter

of course there's a chance darragh sounds like your halfway there. the springer boys would be able to tell you more and maybe correct me but if she is coming back well and keeping close and is droping to command you could try her on game. if she flushes anything drop her and don't let her chase. you'll be able to tell how you are going if you imagine if you have a shot or not, till you get your gun. keep working on the retrieve but if it don't get to 100% don't worry, a fit young lad like yourself shouldn't mind retrieving the odd one. best of luck with her

bruskey

Hello darragh.
Your little springer sounds like the real deal.At her age she will have her own way of doing things.If she stays within shot and hunts well dont be too hard on her if she wont retrieve.If you have any rabbits close by take her there and see how you get on. If you can get your hands on a rabbit pelt and a pheasant wing.(any local shooter will oblige) Buy two small dummies and attach the bunny to one and the wing to the other with elastic bands. Throw these out for her only a few times whenever possible.This will learn her to retrieve and know the smell she,s meant to hunt. Try this in water also ,any small drain will do as too much water will frighten her for good.Time and patience and more time and patience may be needed but stick with her as you could get another four years out of her. Has she ever had a shot fired beside her? If you are feeding her with a tin bowl give it the odd kick in her presence to get used to sudden noises that are associated with yourself give her plenty of reasurance when you do this as it will pay dividends in the future.Best of luck and enjoy your dog and your hunting. Keep us posted on progress.:)

patakadarragh

Thanks lads,

I got my hands on some pheasant wings from a mate and now she is very interested in the suped up dummy.

Shots have been fired around her no problem so i know she is not gunshy.

Water is also good as i threw the aforementioned suped up dummy into a river and she was in after itl ike a shot.

She is now (due lots of coaxing and a little bribing) bringing the dummy back 6/10 times and the other times she is usually just reluctant to come all the way but drops it when i say.

I hope to take her out soon after some rabbits with a neighbours very experienced dog that will prob teach her more than i ever could.

Tbh im reluctant to take her into game country as there are a few pheasants hatching atm but i know a few places i could take her apart from our own fields alright.

Im surprised at actually how relatively easy it is to train her...i reckoned it would be 2 hours everyday but tbh its more like twenty minutes on say thursday teaching her a new command and then for the next few days about ten minutes perfecting this before moving on to the next command.

Lads do i nedd to train her to drop to the shot? Ill have to convince my father to dust the cobwebs off the sxs and come out to help me train her do thats so.

Here i am with my exams on atm worrying about how the dog is getting on!

cheers,Darragh

dicky82

patakadarragh wrote: »

Here i am with my exams on atm worrying about how the dog is getting on!

cheers,Darragh

at least you have your priorities in the right order!!!:D

anneboleyn

My uncle trained a Springer bitch that was 7 years old.. works a treat, although ocasionally gets a bit stubborn and develops " selective hearing"

patakadarragh

Guys do i need to train her to drop to the shot?

jimbrowning

patakadarragh wrote: »

Guys do i need to train her to drop to the shot?

some do, some dont. try her out this season and see. its nice 2 have dog that wont thke off after a hare tho! other option is not to mis!!!
IMO, get a book on training springers. training little and often is the key. dont have the dog getting bored. nothing better than watchin a dog work well knowing you trained it yourself. most importent thing is that he/she stays within a shot, even if he/she is on the scent of game. no point flushing birds if the gun is still 3 fields back. keep us posted!

elius

jimbrowning wrote: »

its nice 2 have dog that wont thke off after a hare tho!

:D:D:D:p

irish setter

you said she has mastered the down command, if this is correct then thats all that needs to be done. if you want her to drop to flush simply command her to drop when there is a flush. same goes for shot. they soon pick it up and you won't need to use the voice command

patakadarragh

Yeah she drops to the ground when i say drop.Ill just start saying drop when she flushes something and hopefully she will get the idea and also ill get someone to fire a gun and ill tell her to drop.

Looking good so.Ill stick at it.

Do ye reckon its a good idea to take her out with an experienced dog or is it neccessary?

Cheers

terminator2

remember you are young she although not old she is middle aged so dont push her too hard,my last springer worked till he was about 8 then he started to slow down,if you think she has potential what about getting a litter out of her

patakadarragh

terminator2 wrote: »

remember you are young she although not old she is middle aged so dont push her too hard,my last springer worked till he was about 8 then he started to slow down,if you think she has potential what about getting a litter out of her

she is neutured.

terminator2

well there is nothing you can do about that:D:D