a new dog wait or go for it

Kieron854

as the title says im thinking of a new dog prob a pointer or setter but would i be better off wating till feb for a pup or gettin it sooner and having an older dog come the following season ,even a pup already born will still be young come nov 2013 so should i go now or wait and think of 2014 instead

dodderangler

Kieron854 wrote: »

as the title says im thinking of a new dog prob a pointer or setter but would i be better off wating till feb for a pup or gettin it sooner and having an older dog come the following season ,even a pup already born will still be young come nov 2013 so should i go now or wait and think of 2014 instead

I'd go for it now
I'm hopin to move into new house by Xmas and get a GSP pup and hope she'll be ready for nov 2013

TriggerPL

dodderangler wrote: »

Kieron854 wrote: »

as the title says im thinking of a new dog prob a pointer or setter but would i be better off wating till feb for a pup or gettin it sooner and having an older dog come the following season ,even a pup already born will still be young come nov 2013 so should i go now or wait and think of 2014 instead

I'd go for it now
I'm hopin to move into new house by Xmas and get a GSP pup and hope she'll be ready for nov 2013

I agree if ya got one now that 8 weeks or more then your into a 14 or 15 month dog for next November . As long as ya eased him into it you would be fine

EPointer=Birdss

I traditionally wouldn't buy now as our other dogs will need work leading into a season to get them fit & ready.
Secondly with the evening closing in I always find I've little or no daylight time mid week or weekends to be with the pup. Come Feb that changes.

Also a 2 month old pup now will be 6 monthish by Feb & 9 monthish by the time birds are laying just as a dog would be starting to hunt.
By buying after the season you can start working a 9-12 month old dog come Nov which I feel gives it a good start in it's first year.

It's also nice to give a pup a good start coming into warmer weather rather than into a winter.

All that said & done I may be buying shortly myself due to present circumstances.

snipe02

just focus on getting the right pup and it will be ready when its ready shoot over your friends dogs and take your time deciding if the right one comes up go for it if not holds out if youve no other dogs its easy put time in

terminator2

fools jump in , EP is ban on with what he said ;)

TriggerPL

terminator2 wrote: »

fools jump in , EP is ban on with what he said ;)

I agree but if ya come across a pup u are happy with , i wouldn put off buyinh because your waiting till feb for training reasons , if ya have time during the winter to train why wait , I'd perfer to have a pup bit older than a year on the first of November

EPointer=Birdss

TriggerPL wrote: »

I agree but if ya come across a pup u are happy with , i wouldn put off buyinh because your waiting till feb for training reasons , if ya have time during the winter to train why wait ,

I'd perfer to have a pup bit older than a year on the first of November

Agree with 1st half if it suits

Disagree with 2nd half as I'm a big fan of dogs in the field young
Not to necessarily shoot but to train on game etc & progress as they are ready.
The pointer bitch is 9 months & I'm holding her back for the last 2 months.
She's ready for birds now in a big way.
The pointer dog hit the season @ 9 months & had a dozen birds in the bag by the end of it.
All depends what you want. I like raw hunters not polished dogs. Looks great but not for me.

berettaman

I agree. My cousin has a saying "They learn nothing in the shed"...Due to circumstances I ended up using a setter for shooting earlier than expected, around nine months. He wasn't brilliant but the experience he earned was well worth it. You can train them to do anything but youthful enthusiasm counts for a lot. Drop a few birds infront of them and they start to settle. You can almost see the light bulb going off in their heads. He is four now and solid enough for me..

TriggerPL

Mayb I've missed something ere where was the dog said to be left in a shed .

My point is if he has a pup lined up he happy with and has the time during the winter then he should go for it

It will stand to him to have a dog 16 months rather than 9 months come the first of November .

It doesn't change the way you train your dog .

Dalken

TriggerPL wrote: »

Mayb I've missed something ere where was the dog said to be left in a shed .

My point is if he has a pup lined up he happy with and has the time during the winter then he should go for it

It will stand to him to have a dog 16 months rather than 9 months come the first of November .

It doesn't change the way you train your dog .

Agree with this, so long as you are happy it's the pup you want and you are sure you can put the time in over winter. He's right in my opinion about the age also, come 1st Nov the more mature the better.
Ideal time to get a pup is when you'll have the time to train it.

Kieron854

Right this will be a second dog so im not in a rush what ep says about coming into spring summer and getting bright nights to train ect makes sense and if pointers setters can start working at 9 months or so id be better off wating and spend my long winter nights looking at dog porn (adds )

EPointer=Birdss

Kieron854 wrote: »

Right this will be a second dog so im not in a rush what ep says about coming into spring summer and getting bright nights to train ect makes sense and if pointers setters can start working at 9 months or so id be better off wating and spend my long winter nights looking at dog porn (adds )

If you can pick up a pup in January IMO you'd be laughing.
Come sept you can be running it in fields & getting it on birds. Thats 6ish weeks of light work before the 1st.
Basics should be in place - recall, drop, casting etc
Lead training on birds for pointing. If the dog is pointing on scent & doing the basics the rest is experience & patience.
Coming up to the 1st you can have the gun introduced, feathered retrieves cold then warm (if you shoot duck bring one out when you get home) wild birds trailed & flushed, dogs reaction gauged & handled accordingly.
There should be no reason you won't be able to drop a bird before January ends!

This is exactly how I've just trained the pointer bitch (with not half the time I'd have like due to work commits) but I guarantee I'd have birds shot in the 1st week with her bar recent problems! :mad:

The flip side!
If you have the time now & the right litter comes up go for it now. 4 months won't make a huge difference & a litter might not come up til March/April once lads breed after the season. Buying an 8 week old now will take minimal effort til after the season only your company. It will be itching the go well in advance of the season & chanelling those energies is your challenge if you decide to...

Either way best of luck
EP

daithi55

if the time suits ya now id go with it if not wait till early next year
my friend has a lovely litter of english pointers thats ready to go in 2 weeks if id the space and time id take one of him
have seen both parents work and there good dogs

EPointer=Birdss

daithi55 wrote: »

if the time suits ya now id go with it if not wait till early next year
my friend has a lovely litter of english pointers thats ready to go in 2 weeks if id the space and time id take one of him
have seen both parents work and there good dogs

What's the story with the breeding there
Any pics of the parents

Alchemist2

if you want to get the pup do,I have almost 20yrs experience involvement with gundogs of various breeds prob not as much as many guys here but for what its worth i have fooked up manys a dog but each time i learnt something new, imo take your time, no matter what the breed the obedience end of things generally goes swimmingly and you may think you have a very clever dog and rush things along to get to the interesting stuff but this is where you will find the wheels come off.... game drives dogs mad with excitement and if not introduced in a controlled manner you WILL be pulling your hair out if you have ready access to game for your dog chances are most of what ive just said wont be a problem but if you are dependant on wild game to train your dog take your time and the older the better.. i have learnt tid bits from guys here and elsewhere but don't be in any rush, one last thing instill the stop command if you never bother with sitting/staying etc do the stop as it will get you out of all sorts of bother

berettaman

TriggerPL wrote: »

Mayb I've missed something ere where was the dog said to be left in a shed .

My point is if he has a pup lined up he happy with and has the time during the winter then he should go for it

It will stand to him to have a dog 16 months rather than 9 months come the first of November .

It doesn't change the way you train your dog .

I never said that they should be left in a shed. It is an expression. In other words they learn when they are in the field and the more they are out there (and the sooner) the better. I think you missed the point of what I was saying. No bother.
Anyway, every dog develops at different rates but having them in the field early starts to build up experience. It can take some setters until 3yrs old to finally "get it"!

daithi55

EPointer=Birdss wrote: »

What's the story with the breeding there
Any pics of the parents

there not registered but as me dad always said papers are only good for wiping a dogs ass

il find out later off him prices and il get a few pics for ya