sending pup away

EastTyrone

ok, s it's my first time trying to training a dog, it has shown to me that my pup is too bold for a novice, like myself to train, so i was talking to a professional dog man and field trialer that he will take my 7 month pup for 5 weeks and get the pup sorted, for £45 a week, what would i expect to get done on him and would that be a reasonable price a week, I know there can be no limit put on having a good pup, if i can get him settled down i will have the pup of a lifetime as he has boundless energy and a drive for cover that can rival a dog of 5 years old.

jap gt

its not a given that you will get back a great pup, the dog is only a pup at 7 months, i have a pup 2 months older and shes still a fool around a field, what cant you get the dog to do, maybe you are expecting too much too soon

EastTyrone

when i have the pup out on ground he'll not respond to any of my commands just head down and hunts away, even when i get him into my foot and get him sitting and i go to move of he will just get back p and away again, where as if i have him on my yard he'll obey me like im the king, but once he gets excited he's away to the dogs

jap gt

EastTyrone wrote: »

when i have the pup out on ground he'll not respond to any of my commands just head down and hunts away, even when i get him into my foot and get him sitting and i go to move of he will just get back p and away again, where as if i have him on my yard he'll obey me like im the king, but once he gets excited he's away to the dogs

to me it sounds like a pup, but maybe a bit more of the basics before taking it into the field, i would be worried about sending such a young dog to get trained, he could be pushed to hard to early and ruin him

EastTyrone

i told the man i'd give him another month or a month and a half before i send him to him, i know myself though that im not experienced enough to handle my pup. how did u get control over ure pup from doing that? when i tell my pup to sit on my yard he'l go straight down and i could go of into the house or way no down the yard and he'l sit there watching me but when i do it anywere else he'l go down but once i budge hes up again

jap gt

EastTyrone wrote: »

i told the man i'd give him another month or a month and a half before i send him to him, i know myself though that im not experienced enough to handle my pup. how did u get control over ure pup from doing that? when i tell my pup to sit on my yard he'l go straight down and i could go of into the house or way no down the yard and he'l sit there watching me but when i do it anywere else he'l go down but once i budge hes up again

it sounds to me that the dog is doing great, all i would be doing would be pratice more and more, keep lessons short and fun though, the have very short attention at 7 months, who told you you couldnt manage the dog, what way did you teach the dog to sit and stay for you, i would give the dog a few months yet and keep doing what your doing then if it doesnt work out get her trained

EastTyrone

but how would i get him to listen to my commands in the field if all he wants to do is hunt?

jap gt

EastTyrone wrote: »

but how would i get him to listen to my commands in the field if all he wants to do is hunt?

im sure other lads will have great tips, i used a long lead on mine until she was listening to me at most distances, shes still not perfect but shes getting there, others use shock collars, they are a great job but the pup ight be a bit young for it, my advice is get a long line tied the him to control him, others might have better ideas though

muckyprawn

My thoughts would be that the pup is too young...I sent a GWP pup off to a fella a few years ago in hindsight the pup was too young and it was ruined on me. Plus I think the "trainer" may have been too hard on the dog.

lamper35

what are u doing when he doesnt respond???are u going after him and bringing him back too the spot where u first call him??are u just leaving him hunt until he comes back on his own accord???many questions can be asked here..if what jap says doesnt work then try this..
Pick a time too call him back when he is just sniffing around and not on a strong scent as u dont want too discourage him from hunting and he is more likely too respond..if he dont respond too ur command go after him straight away when u catch up too him take him by the scruff gently and bring him back too the spot where u first called him chastise him on that spot then hup him and walk away then call him too u and praise him.this shud teach him that he wont make a fool of u and that he is going too return too that spot when called..be patient with this and after a few times bringing him back he shud figure out he aint gonna make a fool of u:D

pinkyfluff

this pup aint to young to doin the basics returnin to whistle stop whistle and retrievin to hand but the trouble is lads its to young to have the concentration in the field
keep doin basics but only for 20 mins each day after the pup gets a good run first let him go nuts first no restrictions then start 20 mins max no longer then when every command is 100 per cent in few weeks then take into field and get him rangin even then there be times he gets excited but wont be as bad is now and u must correct him everytime once in a dogs life you need to get the commands perfect he ll have them for life then

IceMaiden

To your original question, it’s a debatable point what age to send a young dog away for training & what is a reasonable fee. It does sound like this one is a little immature or cunning, but with the correct input & constant re-evaluating then it will be possible to instil some basics .
It is a very important part of the training regime when is a dog ready to be sent away & how long will it all take, if anyone wants the best outcome for the dog, then really your trainer should only take it on with the condition that before much if any progress can be made it would need to be assessed ,that is basically is it mature enough to spend time & money on training or not ,many dogs that are sent to kennels become unsettled for a week or two until they have adjusted to the new home & kennel life its tricky to asses how much work can be achieved.

Once settled it becomes somewhat easier for the trainer to report the progress & the sticking points etc ,hopefully reaching a stage where the owner is satisfied or has decided enough cash has been invested.
The fee you suggested sounds reasonable, many boarding kennels would charge that & more just to feed ,clean & basic exercise a dog ,so in comparison its not extravagant by any means.

Another method is to go away for a day to have yourself & dog assessed ,basically a good trainer should be able to see what the dog should be capable of doing for its age/ability & show the handler the methods used to achieve this etc. I think you have received good advice in the replies thus far but would remind you that the electric collars should be used possibly as a last resort if all traditional methods fail & that they are a training aid ,ideally to be replaced my voice/whistle commands at some point.

Training is very rewarding but much patience is most helpful, during the various stages don’t be surprised if you find yourself having to return a stage or so , try not to rush anything & try to out-think the dog ,its often a case that they can be to devious & yet you can bet plenty of others have overcome the same problems ,keep asking & re-evaluating little by little. progress will be made.

EastTyrone

sorry lads bit late getting back to youse,

when i have him in the field or in any other area apart from my yard he will only come back to me if he is not on hard scent, when he does come onto the whistle i have to whistle with my teeth to get him in fully

then when i tell him to sit h'l just stare at me in defience and then if i try to push his ass to the ground he'l just resist or else will come straight back up again.

if he is on hard scent the nose is done and he's away until i get to him which can be very difficult at times

had him out sunday on groound with snipe on it (drains etc) and he loved scenting the birds and flushing them and then on minday had him out on the same ground and he knew the exact places to find the birds, not paying much attention to the ground covered in snow but straight to the drains so he does have an awful lot of potential, i just dont want to let it all go to waste by a fault in my training which probably explains why i am so paranoid over the hole thing.

lamper35

just thought i wud show you this on my training session today with this 18 week old springer..its pretty basic and kinda kept it simple too try show how i go about.I talked already about how i done my correcting so i cant show u on this vid as he done nothing wrong..the dog has been doing this quite gd for the last month but i havent moved on yet because i feel these excersises are some of the most important u will teach ur dog...hup and return..most the other training like retreiving etc are pretty easy too do anyway i think u already have that training done so i think i videoed here what u were stuck on..im also sure im open too some criticism here on training and faults i havent instilled yet..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc1TM4nXVoI

EastTyrone

i know were im going wrong now, 1 on 1 with no distractions the pup is down to perfection, but once theres a distraction he's away to the dogs, except if i can hit it in the bud, but if its a major distraction he pushes everything outa his head except that 1 thin g