Getting a Springer to hunt, long story

kermitpwee

Hello folks, thanks for taking time to read.

I got a small springer 1 year ago, i bought him with my heart not my head when I saw the conditions he was in and that he had only been out of his pen twice in his 3month old life. Anyway turns out he was older than I thought and that he is a sprocker and currently is 18 months old at a estimate.
I gave up training him at the start as he was very nervous, anyway I started training him 3 months back again and this time the dog took to it well. He will recall, drop to the whistle and retrieve land and water no probs and enter cover no matter how thick on demand. My problem is that he is very sticky, works 3 yards from me and not showing massive hunting. I dont know whether he just doesen't have it or is it that he doesnt know what its about. There is very little game where i live so maybe thats the problem or is it that I have done too much training as the dog often looks back at me looking for commands.

Any springer I had before was a hard nut that needed to be reigned in, this lad is sensitive and frightened of new things due to his life as a puppy, as a result I have been very careful in training. He has a great nose and will search the garden for dummies and pulled a pheasant out of the ditch that i had hid after finding it as fresh roadkill. When out with my older springer that is a demon he will work further out from me but i feel at times he is just following the other dog. He is yet to be shot over.
Am I wasting my time? Should I get in a rabbit pen? I just have feeling that he needs a kick start as he has a great nose, is very obedient and will not gibe up when looking for a dummy. Am i been foolish? Should I write him off? Your opinions welcome please.
Regards
Peter

charlie10

hunting first then train him,not train him and then hunt .i made this mistake with a german pointer. i was talking to an experienced cocker man yesterday who said do ur training but if u feel him steeping down a gear hit the rabbit pen then back to training that way he is up the gears and getting rewarded for the hunting. makes sense to me and i respect this mans judgment .

Vegeta

Don't write him off. As he is it sounds like he would make a handy dog for duck. Stay close, quiet but retrieve well. He'll prob never out swim a lab and obviously if you do feck all duck shooting that's no good to you but he could be of use to someone.

I would definitely try to evaluate what kind of prey drive he has in an area that is game heavy or, as you say, a rabbit pen. If he doesn't have the type of drive you are after then you can make a better decision.

kermitpwee

charlie10 wrote: »

hunting first then train him,not train him and then hunt .i made this mistake with a german pointer. i was talking to an experienced cocker man yesterday who said do ur training but if u feel him steeping down a gear hit the rabbit pen then back to training that way he is up the gears and getting rewarded for the hunting. makes sense to me and i respect this mans judgment .

Thanks mate, ya I always thought you did the training first but obviously Im wrong by the way this dog is going.

Very interesting what your cocker man is saying and makes perfect sense to me, thanks again.

kermitpwee

Vegeta wrote: »

Don't write him off. As he is it sounds like he would make a handy dog for duck. Stay close, quiet but retrieve well. He'll prob never out swim a lab and obviously if you do feck all duck shooting that's no good to you but he could be of use to someone.

I would definitely try to evaluate what kind of prey drive he has in an area that is game heavy or, as you say, a rabbit pen. If he doesn't have the type of drive you are after then you can make a better decision.

Thanks for the advice, i will get him in a pen asap. Last season I shot a woodcock and hid him in very cover. I had 4 dogs with me, 3 proven as good dogs, the young dog was the only one that copped on that the bird was in the ditch and went crazy to get him. I do know he has a great nose but perhaps the older dogs have only become accustomed to finding the scent of warm woodcock not cold.

snipe02

get plenty of game under his nose rabbit pen or pheasants and let him go nuts chasing everything and get him hunting like mad then reign him in . you can pull a rope you cant push one its easier to get em in than out away from ya even when ya throw a dummy let him on after it without having him wait give him loads of confidence

furandfeather

I def wouldnt give up on him, iv often found that sensitive dogs turn out to be the best. Hes taking to the training well - maybe to well, in that he sees you as the "all knowing" so he sticks tight to you and keeps looking back for direction. As the other lads said id slackin off the training a bit for awhile and just let him be a dog. And rabbits rabbits and more rabbits even let him chase the first few, it ll give him great confidence. He s mad to please you so you ll be well able to reign him in after all that.

charlie10

another thing i found too with a dog that stays close when he walks ahead of u, stop walking ,and when he looks back walk on again that way he builds confidence and it puts distance between ye.:)

kermitpwee

Great advice here lads thanks very much. I didnt train him today, i usually train him every day twice a day. Brought him out for a walk with my uncle and his son. I didnt ask him to do anything on the 3 mile walk and he moved out a little, stuck his head in a few ditches, half entered and came out and then entered twice on his own and stayed in. Its not a lot but a little sign of hope. I than got him quartering in a big field for about 200 yards then he got a bit bored. Im going to cut down the training with him and seek out a rabbit pen. Thanks again to all posters.
Regards
Peter

charlie10

i keep an acre of grounnd at home for the training and i dont leave him hunt it . then take him on rabbits and do no training just leave him hunt (n.b i am only going to leave him run loose while he is in the adolescent stage) this is my theory anyway might not suit everyone but ...

kermitpwee

charlie10 wrote: »

i keep an acre of grounnd at home for the training and i dont leave him hunt it . then take him on rabbits and do no training just leave him hunt (n.b i am only going to leave him run loose while he is in the adolescent stage) this is my theory anyway might not suit everyone but ...

No it would suit my lad as well, my uncle has a sprocker who is a hunting machine. He ideally needed serious steadying rather than hunting initially. I guess ya have to read the dog to see what they need.

Shoot2kill

How is the dog going for you since?

kermitpwee

Shoot2kill wrote: »

How is the dog going for you since?

I had him out today with my older springer and he hunted very well for 4 hours, he was hunting off his own bat too. He even had the older dog following him into cover. I am shocked tbh and dont know whether today is a one off or he will keep getting better.
I have stopped all retrieving with him and he is starting to open up, seems to love ditches and cover(he would enter on demand but never of his own accord before) which again I am shocked by. Today I introduced him to horses and sheep, one thing is for sure that the stop whistle I trained him on is working 100%. Very happy for know, i think he will be fine. Still have to introduce him to shot so I will be a little worried there.
Thanks to all that were kind enough to help me out.

Shoot2kill

Sounds like you have the makings of a good dog on yours hands there, he's keen to please, good on the whistle, retrieveing off land & water and now entering cover.... Like the lads said before, rabbits, rabbits and more rabbits now!

Any pic of him?!

kermitpwee

Shoot2kill wrote: »

Sounds like you have the makings of a good dog on yours hands there, he's keen to please, good on the whistle, retrieveing off land & water and now entering cover.... Like the lads said before, rabbits, rabbits and more rabbits now!

Any pic of him?!

Ya i am hoping to get into a rabbit pen in the next two weeks, I will put up a pic or two in the next few days. As I said he is very small as you will see!

kermitpwee

Pics!

The dog in question is the L/W Jake, the B/W is my older dog Reload.

I dont know how to make the pics pop up immediately so if anyone can change it please do. Thanks.

Shoot2kill

Crackin lookin dogs lad... Big serious heads up on them!

charlie10

jake is a noble looking dog

snipe02

that black and white lad looks like a mentalist, smashing lookin dog

terminator2

heres my springers , the dog on the left is only starting to hunt now , this video ide say she was 8 mths , shes the pup on the left http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1Gk9QHt57s&feature=plcp

EPointer=Birdss

snipe02 wrote: »

that black and white lad looks like a mentalist, smashing lookin dog

I would of called the L/w one Clint!
Hes a serious looking f#ckr!!

Looks like he's just after saying " I know what you're thinking. "Did he fire six shots or only five?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk? "

Shoot2kill

EPointer=Birdss wrote: »

I would of called the L/w one Clint!
Hes a serious looking f#ckr!!

Looks like he's just after saying " I know what you're thinking. "Did he fire six shots or only five?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk? "

:D:D:D