German Wirehaired Pointer Club of America

[obsean3]

Hello all. I am new to the forums and I need some help with my new puppy. He is not quite 3 months and I have been working with him daily, using Richard Wolters "Gun Dog" book as my training guide. The pup is doing great with the sit and stay commands, and is learning to heel pretty good as well, but when it comes to getting him to obey the come command, he just puts his head down in the grass and ignores me. I have put a length of rope on to the end of the leash so that I can get a good distance from him and still give him a tug when he needs it and that works, but as soon as I try to do it without the leash on him, he refuses.
I also can't seem to get him even the slightest clue on the housebreaking idea....Any ideas or suggestions would be helpful. I'm not sure if the dog is lazy or just independent, either way I need to figure out a way to stop it now before its to late...Thanks

[dualgwp]

The long line is the right thing to do for the come command, but remember he is just a little guy and it takes time. Their attention span is pretty short at this age, but if you keep at it, it will all click in.

The housebreaking... are you crating the puppy? Are you limiting his space? Are you keeping to a good schedule? All of these things will help you get him housebroken quicker.

Remember, what goes in, must come out. Your job is to keep track how soon after it goes in..... it will come out. Some pups will poop within minutes of eating, some longer. Once you have that figured out, your timing will get better and the pup will start to learn. Don't allow him the freedom of the house, keep him confined somewhere where you can keep an eye on him... watch for the signs that he is going to empty out. Then get him outside, wait till he does it, praise the heck out of him , then bring him back in. He'll get it, promise!

[kerily]

My GWP puppy had a little bit of a challenge learning 'impulse control'. If we didn't get up quick enough, he would pee right at the door. Here is what worked for me;

1 - take him out regularly to the same spot at times when he should have to go (after waking up, after eating, after playing, when he starts to snif around, etc.). Keep him on the leash.

2 - tell him 'go potty'. When he goes, give him a food treat that he really likes.

3 - when he is consistently doing this on-leash, move to off-leash.

4 - when he is consistently doing this off-leash, have him sit at the door on the way out. Continue treating.

5 - eventually, he will learn to sit at the door to tell you that he has to go out and do his business.

I tried this without the food treats and it did not work. The food treats are what go it through his head.

Also, never punish him for going inside, just clean it up and ignore him.

Hope that this helps! have fun with your puppy....

[obsean3]

Hey everyone

Thanks for all the help and pointers. He has been much better, he has even started sitting at the door when he needs to go out. He still has a few accidents, but you can see that he is starting to get the idea. Now if I could get him to sleep past 6 a.m.!!!